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Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework
Published on: July 24, 2016
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An urban approach to planetary boundaries.
Daniel Hoornweg1, Mehdi Hosseini2, Christopher Kennedy3
1Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe St. North, Oshawa, ON, L1H 7K4, Canada. daniel.hoornweg@uoit.ca.
Ambio
|February 22, 2016
Summary
Cities are key to global sustainable development. This study presents a city-focused monitoring tool to track progress towards planetary and socio-economic boundaries, enabling cities to actively contribute to sustainability goals.
Area of Science:
- Urban Sustainability
- Environmental Science
- Development Studies
Background:
- Cities significantly influence global sustainable development goals due to their roles in culture, economy, resource consumption, and waste generation.
- Effective monitoring requires locally relevant, quantitative methodologies to address urban complexities and global interconnections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present an urban monitoring and communications tool for a city-based approach to sustainable development.
- To adapt existing planetary boundary methodologies for a city's perspective, incorporating socio-economic targets from Sustainable Development Goals.
Main Methods:
- Modification of planetary boundary methodologies to a city-specific scale.
- Integration of bio-physical boundaries with socio-economic targets derived from Sustainable Development Goals.
- Consideration of data availability, city priorities, and implementation feasibility.
Main Results:
- A framework for urban sustainable development monitoring is developed and tested.
- The methodology was applied to Toronto, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, and Dakar, and aggregated for major global cities.
- The tool illustrates the feasibility of a city-driven approach to sustainability.
Conclusions:
- Cities can play a more active role in global sustainable development through a quantitative, city-based framework.
- The proposed methodology provides a vital tool for cities to monitor and manage their progress towards sustainability.
- This approach helps bridge the gap between global goals and local urban actions.
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