This paper considers the limits and potential of ‘urban metabolism’ to conceptualize city processes. Three ‘ecologies’ of urban metabolism have emerged. Each privileges a particular dimension of urban space, shaped by epistemology, politics, and model-making. Marxist ecologies theorize urban metabolism as hybridized socionatures that (re)produce uneven outcomes; industrial ecology, as stocks and flows of materials and energy; and urban ecology, as complex socio-ecological systems.We demarcate these scholarly islands through bibliometric analysis and literature review, and draw on cross-domain mapping theory to unveil how the metaphor has become stagnant in each. To reinvigorate this research, the paper proposes the development of political–industrial ecology, using urban metabolism as a boundary metaphor.
CSS Publication Number:
CSS15-23
Abstract:
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Research Areas:
Keyword:
boundary object
industrial ecology
interdisciplinary research
metaphor
political ecology
urban ecology
urban metabolism
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Progress in Human Geography
Date Published:
December, 2015
Persistent URL:
10.1177/0309132514558442
Full Citation:
Newell, J.P. and J. Cousins. (2015) “The boundaries of urban metabolism: Towards a political-industrial ecology.” Progress in Human Geography, 39(6):702-728.