Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research

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...

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Main Authors: Willa Paterson, Richard Rushforth, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Megan Konar, Ikechukwu C. Ahams, Jorge Gironás, Ana Mijic, Alfonso Mejia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2015-06-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/7/8461
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spelling doaj-cdf763bdf0884e489fefff2330f122502020-11-24T23:07:09ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502015-06-01778461849010.3390/su7078461su7078461Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future ResearchWilla Paterson0Richard Rushforth1Benjamin L. Ruddell2Megan Konar3Ikechukwu C. Ahams4Jorge Gironás5Ana Mijic6Alfonso Mejia7Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USAFulton School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USAFulton School of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USADepartamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 7820436, ChileImperial College London, SW7 2AZ London, UKDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USACities 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.http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/7/8461water footprintvirtual waterurban metabolismcitieslife cycle assessmentenvironmentally extended input–outputembedded resource accountingwater scarcity
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Willa Paterson
Richard Rushforth
Benjamin L. Ruddell
Megan Konar
Ikechukwu C. Ahams
Jorge Gironás
Ana Mijic
Alfonso Mejia
spellingShingle Willa Paterson
Richard Rushforth
Benjamin L. Ruddell
Megan Konar
Ikechukwu C. Ahams
Jorge Gironás
Ana Mijic
Alfonso Mejia
Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research
Sustainability
water footprint
virtual water
urban metabolism
cities
life cycle assessment
environmentally extended input–output
embedded resource accounting
water scarcity
author_facet Willa Paterson
Richard Rushforth
Benjamin L. Ruddell
Megan Konar
Ikechukwu C. Ahams
Jorge Gironás
Ana Mijic
Alfonso Mejia
author_sort Willa Paterson
title Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research
title_short Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research
title_full Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research
title_fullStr Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research
title_full_unstemmed Water Footprint of Cities: A Review and Suggestions for Future Research
title_sort water footprint of cities: a review and suggestions for future research
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2015-06-01
description 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.
topic water footprint
virtual water
urban metabolism
cities
life cycle assessment
environmentally extended input–output
embedded resource accounting
water scarcity
url http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/7/8461
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