Urban Metabolism Assessment in Malaysian Urbanised Cities

• Published in: Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Main Author: Akmal N.N.; Rahim I.M.A.; Paul C.; Nordin N.H.; Shafie F.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85180602862&partnerID=40&md5=c4032a8937b6b6f3ba7b133f594a7347

Introduction: Urbanised cities are experiencing rapid and unpredictable growth, leading to changes in urban metabolism, particularly in economic aspects that significantly impact consumption patterns and behaviours. This study focuses on urban metabolism assessment in four selected urbanised cities: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka, and Johor Bahru. Methods: The study employed Material Flow Analysis (MFA) to examine material and energy waste from water, electricity, and food consumption within the studied cities. Additionally, the carbon footprint was estimated by considering activity data (AD) and emission factors (EF) to quantify CO2 emissions resulting from water, electricity and food consumption in each city. Results: The study’s results indicate differences in food, water, and electricity consumption quantities, as well as the resultant waste generation amounts. This highlights the notable environmental implications of these trends within the cities under examination. Factors such as socio-economic status, urban infrastructure, lifestyle choices, local policies, availability of resources, and awareness of sustainable practices may play a significant role in shaping consumption and waste generation patterns. This study could help in obtaining a good mitigation measure to reduce the carbon footprint impact on the environment such as implementing a low carbon lifestyle and a low carbon city. By understanding the carbon emission profile, it helps in developing strategies for further enhancement on the economic and environmental values. Conclusion: Low carbon urban planning and other city decision-making processes, are viewed as crucial feedback for enhancing the material flows sustainability, efficient performance in energy usage and to reduce the dependency on non-renewable sources. © 2023 UPM Press. All rights reserved.