ABSTRACT
Designing, evaluating, and governing cities to create sustainable, livable spaces and also achieve water security and resilience is a major global challenge. This chapter outlines how the concept of urban metabolism has been used to define “urban entities,” quantify all natural and anthropogenic flows, and evaluate the holistic performance of the city for its impact on water. The chapter draws on extensive research and addresses “what is urban metabolism?” and “how can this be applied to quantify the water performance of cities?” It articulates how this is different from other approaches, and how its use can inform ad improve assessment, design, and outcomes for cities – from sites and precincts to entire regions. Drawing on this work and case study applications, governance implications are identified. This includes significant implications for urban water analysis methods, data systems and water (and urban) data management, water monitoring, benchmarking, and reporting.
