Characterizing the building and infrastructure stocks of cities: A case study of a Danish fairytale city

Cities are concentrated centers of people, economy, production, consumption, and waste disposal; thus they present both the problems and solutions to sustainability challenges. Urbanization is a key driver for material use... [ view full abstract ]

Cities are concentrated centers of people, economy, production, consumption, and waste disposal; thus they present both the problems and solutions to sustainability challenges. Urbanization is a key driver for material use and associated energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The development of urban built environment stocks (such as buildings, transport, energy, water, and waste systems) has not only large consequences for the direct energy use and GHG emissions, but it also sets the boundary conditions for construction activities and embedded materials demand. Understanding the urban metabolism, especially the physical weight, material quality, and spatial distribution of built environment stocks in urban areas, would be an essential step to explore solutions for urban sustainability challenges.

In this presentation, we will present a review of methods for characterizing the building and infrastructure stocks in cities and then empirical results of a case study for Odense, Denmark, which is the hometown of the fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, our preliminary results of its built environment and material stocks in 2014.