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Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities
Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities
Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities
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Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities

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The urban metabolism framework maps the activities of cities from their consumption of materials, the different activities associated with those processes, and the wastes produced. Information generated provides a diagnostic tool for identifying high waste generating or inefficient activities and identifying potential points of policy intervention. The streamlined approach surmounts the lack of city level data, which is often cited as the most significant limitation preventing material flow analysis at the city level. Extension of the methodology to cover more cities can contribute toward creating benchmarks for city typologies.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 1, 2014
ISBN9789292546601
Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities

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    Urban Metabolism of Six Asian Cities - Asian Development Bank

    1. Introduction

    The growing importance of urban areas¹ can be illustrated by the fact that the largest 200 metropolitan economies account for 14% of world population and employment but generate more than 48% of global gross domestic product (GDP) (BI 2012). Metropolitan areas function as locations for high-value economic activity in their nations and world regions. Almost four in five boast average incomes (as proxied by per capita gross value-added) that exceed averages for their nations. This is particularly true in rapidly emerging areas of Asia and Eastern Europe, where the average incomes of major metropolitan areas exceed those of the national by margins of at least 90% (BI and LSE 2010).

    During 1993–2007, roughly half of the metropolitan areas that achieved the strongest growth in gross value-added per capita and employment were located in rising nations of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, benefiting from new heights of global economic integration (BI and LSE 2010).

    The spectacular economic momentum of the past 2 decades has turned Asia into one of the main engines of global prosperity and Asian cities into prominent symbols of this success. In a closely related development, more than half the world’s urban population now lives in cities in Asia and the Pacific—cities that are also home to most of the world’s slum dwellers, despite the fact that the region has managed to improve the lives of an estimated 172 million slum dwellers during 2000–2010 (UN-Habitat 2010).

    As urban expansion and new patterns of economic activity interact, novel configurations have emerged, such as mega urban regions, urban corridors, and city regions. Urban areas now account for more than 80% of the region’s GDP. Many of the cities have become centers of international trade and commerce and hubs for regional and international connectivity. As economies mature and become more knowledge-centered, Asian cities are also becoming globally important centers of education, culture, and innovation. They are also the key drivers for stronger and more relevant global environment–economy

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