Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book connects sustainability and the role of nature and ecosystem services in a healthy urban setting. It looks at climate change and carbon emissions in cities, and particularly advances an understanding of the relationship between urban areas, energy, and carbon. The book also examines the relationship between city size and CO₂ emissions for US metropolitan areas using a production accounting allocation of emissions. It also introduces a new urban sustainability assessment model: "The Sustainable Infrastructure, Land-use, Environment and Transport model" (SILENT). The book presents a framework for quantifying the burdens of ground transportation in urban settings that incorporates travel time, vehicle fuel, and pavement maintenance costs. It also presents a global analysis of urban water supply vulnerability in 71 surface-water supplied cities, with populations exceeding 750,000 and lacking source water diversity.