Applying material and energy flow analysis to assess urban metabolism in the context of the circular economy

Abstract

With the circular economy (CE) gaining more traction worldwide, local authorities are engaging in efforts to develop circular strategies at the urban level. Developing and monitoring such strategies require detailed quantitative information on material and energy flows, which can be obtained through an urban metabolism (UM) analysis. This study demonstrates a bottom-up approach to analyze UM at the sectoral level based on material and energy flow analysis (MEFA), aiming to examine its utility within the context of the CE. The analysis is performed for Umeå urban area (Sweden) with a 5-year timeframe (2017–2021). The application of MEFA provides a detailed quantitative description of material and energy flows per sector, indicating the critical sectors in terms of resource consumption and waste generation and the most significant flows. More specifically, it reveals that the construction sector and households are key sectors within Umeå’s UM and that construction materials, food products, fossil fuels, and drinking water are significant metabolic flows. Furthermore, the application of MEFA with a multi-year timeframe uncovers trends in consumption rates of materials and generation rates of waste and emissions, revealing, for example, the correlation of material consumption and waste generation with the level of construction activity. Overall, by illustrating the potential of MEFA to provide a detailed quantitative analysis of material and energy flows, this study emphasizes its utility in supporting the design and monitoring of circular strategies at the urban level. At the same time, it highlights limitations of the method and suggests areas for future research.