Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions forFuture Research

Sustainability

Jorge Gironás¹  Ikechukwu C. Ahams²  Alfonso Mejia²  Willa Paterson²  Megan Konar³  Richard Rushforth⁴  Benjamin L. Ruddell⁴  Ana Mijic⁵ 

[1] Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile,Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7820436, Chile;Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University,University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA;Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;Fulton School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA;Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ London, UK;

关键词: water footprint;    virtual water;    urban metabolism;    cities;    life cycle assessment;    environmentally extended input–output;    embedded resource accounting;    water scarcity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su7078461

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Cities are hotspots of commodity consumption, with implications for both local and systemic water resources. Water flows “virtually” into and out of cities through the extensive cross-boundary exchange of goods and services. Both virtual and real water flows are affected by water supply investments and urban planning decisions, which influence residential, commercial, and industrial development. This form of water “teleconnection” is being increasingly recognized as an important aspect of water decision-making. The role of trade and virtual water flows as an alternative to expanding a city’s “real” water supply is rarely acknowledged, with an emphasis placed instead on monotonic expansion of engineering potable water supplies. We perform a literature review of water footprint studies to evaluate the potential and importance of taking virtual flows into account in urban planning and policy. We compare and contrast current methods to assess virtual water flows. We also identify and discuss priorities for future research in urban water footprint analysis.

【 授权许可】

Unknown