Sustainability assessment of universities as small-scale urban systems: A comparative analysis using Fisher Information and Data Envelopment Analysis

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:212

Article

Ai, Ning¹  Kjerland, Marc²  Klein-Banai, Cynthia³  Theis, Thomas L.⁴ 

[1] Univ Illinois, Inst Environm Sci & Policy, Dept Urban Planning & Policy, 412 South Peoria St,UIC CUPPAH 258, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

[2] Univ Illinois, Inst Environm Sci & Policy, Dept Math Stat & Comp Sci, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

[3] Univ Illinois, Off Sustainabil Div Environm & Occupat Hlth Sci, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

[4] Univ Illinois, Dept Civil & Mat Engn, Inst Environm Sci & Policy, Chicago, IL 60607 USA

关键词: Urban system;    Urban metabolism;    Sustainability assessment;    Campus metabolism;    Fisher information;    Data envelopment analysis;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.205

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

This study aims to identify and implement appropriate techniques for a sustainability assessment, which corresponds to the optimal balance between efficiency and resilience. Strategies are discussed to fill two important gaps: (1) applicable methods for identifying and analyzing multiple variables for a metabolic assessment of urban systems over time; and (2) empirical data that can characterize multiple subcomponents (e.g., environmental, financial, and institutional) of an urban system, especially at a refined geographic scale where data challenges are significant. With a specific focus on data integration, two methods, Fisher Information (FI) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), were chosen for this study. Data analyses were implemented in an urban university, which provides valuable opportunities for enhancing our understanding of this type of urban system and enabling data-driven studies of neighborhood sustainability. Based on the strengths and weakness of FI and DEA identified in the empirical study, it is concluded that these two methods can be valuable yet complementary for an integrated system analysis. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free