This innovative volume systematically brings together two strands of applied research that, to date, have been carried out separately - 'smart growth' research and climate change adaptability research. By providing theory, models, and case studies from North America, Oceania and Europe, the book creates synergies between the two strands, reconciles differences, and provides insights for decision-makers at national and local levels. The contributors to the volume draw on modeling tools complementary to both camps as they explore the issues surrounding: water and energy use, health, transportation, urbanization and regional development. Examples from around the world illustrate the relationships between regional land use, infrastructure development, quality of life and climate change. The contributors take special care to develop theory and models in real-world contexts as they emphasize both the science of climate change and its land use management, policy and investment implications. In addition, they pay special attention to bridging the gaps that may exist among science and engineering, stakeholder interests, and policy implementation. Students, scholars and practitioners in the areas of geography, planning, land use, civil and environmental engineering, environmental economics, and policy will find the approaches and strategies in this volume of great interest.

The ease of use of the programs in the application to ever more complex cases of disease and pestilence. The lack of need on the part of the student or modelers of mathematics beyond algebra and the lack of need of any prior computer programming experience. The surprising insights that can be gained from initially simple systems models.

This book addresses key topics in the current deliberations and debates on low carbon cities that are underway globally. Contributions by experts from around the world focus on the key factors required for creating low carbon cities. These include appropriate infrastructure, ensuring co-benefits of climate actions, making best use of knowledge and information, proper accounting of emissions, and social factors such as behavioral change. Readers will gain a better understanding of these drivers and explore potential transformation pathways for cities. Particular emphasis is given to the current situation of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the urban level, stressing the complexity of measuring GHG emissions from cities. Chapters also shed new light on the long-term transformation pathways towards low carbon. This book discusses key challenges and opportunities in all these domains to aid in creating low carbon cities, making it of value to policy makers, researchers in academia and consultants working on climate change and energy issues. "The low carbon cities agenda is of bold ambition and demands rapid societal transformation. This book provides invaluable information and analysis on how the goals of this agenda can be achieved and what will be the significant obstacles in the way. The content in the book goes below the surface to reveal on-the-ground economic, engineering and equity issues that are at the heart of the Paris Climate Agreement and the ensuing policy debates. In this way, Creating Low Carbon Cities serves as a critical scholarly benchmark and as a toolkit for further action." William Solecki, Professor, Institute for Sustainable Cities, City University of New York "Creating Low Carbon Cities provides a refreshingly critical approach to low-carbon urban development, what has been achieved so far and the challenges ahead. It will be an important data-driven resource for local leaders, sustainability practitioners and urban planners." Ms. Monika Zimmermann, Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability

Economies are open systems embedded in an ecosystem with which they exchange matter and energy. Interactions among these systems are vital for each system's performance and are constrained by the laws of physics. This volume pays tribute to economy--environment interactions simultaneously from an economic, ecological and physical perspective. Integrating Economics, Ecology and Thermodynamics provides a first step in identifying and combining the principles of economics, ecology and thermodynamics on a fundamental level. Part I lays out the general context for the approach chosen. Part II familiarizes readers with core concepts of, and methods used in, the three disciplines of economics, ecology and thermodynamics. Part III assesses ways in which these disciplines can be integrated to provide an improved understanding of economy--environment interactions. Part IV illustrates the integration of the three disciplines with a dynamic model of a human community interacting with its environment. In Part V the volume closes with a brief summary and a set of conclusions on the relevance of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to economy--environment interactions.

The effects of disturbed ecosystems, from devastating algal blooms to the loss of whale populations, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the oceans¿ biodiversity. Conservation of marine systems requires knowledge from many different fields in order to understand the complex interactions that threaten those systems. Dynamic Modeling for Marine Conservation provides a method of learning how these systems function, determining how natural and human actions have put them in peril and how we can best influence the marine world in order to maintain biodiversity. The difficulties of research and experimentation in the oceans make computer modeling particularly helpful for marine conservation. Modeling also enables scientists to communicate their findings with managers and others concerned with putting their ideas into practice. The book will demonstrate dynamic modeling through the use of the STELLA modeling program and case studies from marine conservation. After a section devoted to the concepts and tools needed to model marine systems, each chapter introduces background information about a key topic in marine conservation, presents an appropriate model, and discusses the results and implications. Contributors bring a wide range of expertise and experience to a selection of models relevant to real-world conservation problems. All models and a run-time version of the STELLA software are included with the book on a CD-ROM, which is compatible with both Macintosh and Window platforms.

In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis placed on local and regional integration in major planning projects and infrastructure development including roads, rail and waterways. This emphasis is not only on integrating various projects, but also integrating them with related issues such as housing, industry, environment and water. In other words, land-use planning and infrastructure management have become more spatially-oriented. This book brings together experts in the fields of spatial planning, land-use and infrastructure management to explore the emerging agenda of spatially-oriented integrated evaluation. It weaves together the latest theories, case studies, methods, policy and practice to examine and assess the values, impacts, benefits and the overall success in integrated land-use management. In doing so, the book clarifies the nature and roles of evaluation and puts forward guidance for future policy and practice.

Many biologists and ecologists have developed models that find widespread use in theoretical investigations and in applications to organism behavior, disease control, population and metapopulation theory, ecosystem dynamics, and environmental management. This book captures and extends the process of model development by concentrating on the dynamic aspects of these processes and by providing the tools such that virtually anyone with basic knowledge in the Life Sciences can develop meaningful dynamic models. Examples of the systems modeled in the book range from models of cell development, the beating heart, the growth and spread of insects, spatial competition and extinction, to the spread and control of epidemics, including the conditions for the development of chaos. Key features: - easy-to-learn and easy-to-use software - examples from many subdisciplines of biology, covering models of cells, organisms, populations, and metapopulations - no prior computer or programming experience required Key benefits: - learn how to develop modeling skills and system thinking on your own rather than use models developed by others - be able to easily run models under alternative assumptions and investigate the implications of these assumptions for the dynamics of the biological system being modeled - develop skills to assess the dynamics of biological systems

Industrial ecology provides a rigorous and comprehensive description of human production and consumption processes in the larger context of environmental and socioeconomic change. This volume offers methodologies for such descriptions, with contributions covering both basic and advanced analytical concepts and tools to explore the dynamics of industrial ecosystems, concentrating specifically on regions and networks.Each of the book's three parts contains an introduction by a leader in the field, as well as chapters ranging from conceptual models to case study applications. The first part offers an introduction to the main themes and issues surrounding regional and networked industrial ecosystems. The subsequent two parts broaden and deepen the discussion with emphasis on the regional and network characters relevant for analysis and management. The scale of issues ranges from buildings to regions to entire nations, with methods that range from input-output analysis to computer-assisted simulation games. Researchers in the fields of industrial ecology, ecological economics, environmental and energy policy, environmental engineering, and resource and environmental economics will find this comprehensive book of great interest.

In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis placed on local and regional integration in major planning projects and infrastructure development including roads, rail and waterways. This emphasis is not only on integrating various projects, but also integrating them with related issues such as housing, industry, environment and water. In other words, land-use planning and infrastructure management have become more spatially-oriented. This book brings together experts in the fields of spatial planning, land-use and infrastructure management to explore the emerging agenda of spatially-oriented integrated evaluation. It weaves together the latest theories, case studies, methods, policy and practice to examine and assess the values, impacts, benefits and the overall success in integrated land-use management. In doing so, the book clarifies the nature and roles of evaluation and puts forward guidance for future policy and practice.

Climate change tends to increase the frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters, which puts many people at risk. Economic, social and environmental impacts further increase vulnerability to disasters and tend to set back development, destroy livelihoods, and increase disparity nationally and worldwide. This book addresses the differential vulnerability of people and places, introducing concepts and methods for analysis and illustrating the impact on local, regional, national, and global scales. The chapters in the first section set the stage by focusing on the relationship between climate change and disasters and by broadly exploring their economic and social aftermaths. Further chapters explore particular impacts of climate change, including the social, political and even military conflicts that may arise over scarce natural resources, as well as the effects on biodiversity and thus the natural environment. Chapters in the last section discuss responses to climate change in terms of information sharing and preparedness, adaptation and mitigation - particularly the relevance of improving the role of markets, through investment and insurance, to face these challenges. Researchers and policymakers involved in the study of climate change and disaster prevention will find this comprehensive volume of great interest.

This book explores the dynamic processes in economic systems, concentrating on the extraction and use of the natural resources required to meet economic needs. Sections cover methods for dynamic modeling in economics, microeconomic models of firms, modeling optimal use of both nonrenewable and renewable resources, and chaos in economic models. This book does not require a substantial background in mathematics or computer science.

The book uses STELLA software to develop simulation models, thus allowing readers to convert their understanding of a phenomenon to a computer model, and then run it to yield the inevitable dynamic consequences built into the structure. Part I provides an introduction to modeling dynamic systems, while Part II offers general modeling methods. Parts III through VIII then apply these methods to model real-world phenomena from chemistry, genetics, ecology, economics, and engineering. Dynamic Modeling includes STELLA run-time software for both Windows and Mac systems, as well as computer files of sample models used in the book. A clear, approachable introduction to the modeling process, of interest in any field where real problems can be illuminated by computer simulation.

Integrated assessments of the impacts of, and adaptation to, climate change and variability at urban and regional scales are presented in this comprehensive volume. Six thematically distinct yet methodologically related projects illustrate 'horizontal' integration, which focuses on impacts and responses across different sectors, and 'vertical' integration, which traces changes from the climate system through to the economy and society. Areas of application include water resource allocation, wildfire management, agriculture, public health and urban infrastructure in the United States. In its development of methodologies and their applications to individual regions, this book presents a rich set of insights and a set of guides for investment and policymaking. Each of the six studies focuses on a finer geographic scale than is customary in integrated assessment research. They introduce innovations for impact analysis and contribute to the knowledge of localized experiences of climate change - how it affects a variety of sectors, how different stakeholders perceive its implications and adapt to it, and how decision support systems can promote dialogues between researchers, stakeholders and policymakers. The contributors' conclusions will be of great interest to urban and regional planners, environmental scientists and engineers, physical and human geographers, ecologists, environmental and natural resource economists, public administrators, public service providers and utility managers, among others.

The ease of use of the programs in the application to ever more complex cases of disease and pestilence. The lack of need on the part of the student or modelers of mathematics beyond algebra and the lack of need of any prior computer programming experience. The surprising insights that can be gained from initially simple systems models.

Industrial ecology provides a consistent material and energetic description of human production and consumption processes in the larger context of environmental and socioeconomic change. The contributors to this book offer methodologies for such descriptions, focusing on the dynamics associated with stocks of materials and capital, flows of raw materials, intermediate products, desired outputs and wastes, as well as the associated changes in behaviors of producers, consumers and institutions. The book begins by presenting analogies and analytical concepts pertinent to understanding the dynamics of industrial ecosystems, and offers a reflection on the use of those analogies and concepts, their limitations and potential extensions. Part II focuses on stocks and flows dynamics at the firm and industry level. Part III turns to the use of agent-based modeling and organization behavior theory to better understand and represent the dynamics within firms and the larger institutional environment within which they choose to use materials, energy and technology. Connections are made throughout between those dynamics and the associated changes in environmental quality. The concluding chapter addresses how to change a firm's environmental performance from within. Researchers and students in the fields of industrial ecology; resource and environmental economics; ecological economics; environmental, energy, and climate change policy; environmental engineering; and energy economics will find this comprehensive volume highly informative.

The effects of disturbed ecosystems, from devastating algal blooms to the loss of whale populations, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the oceans'biodiversity. This book provides methods for learning how ocean systems function, how natural and human actions put them in peril, and how we can influence the marine world in order to maintain biodiversity. The difficulties of research in the oceans make computer modeling particularly helpful for marine conservation. The authors demonstrate dynamic modeling through the use of the STELLA modeling program and case studies from marine conservation.

The book uses STELLA software to develop simulation models, thus allowing readers to convert their understanding of a phenomenon to a computer model, and then run it to yield the inevitable dynamic consequences built into the structure. Part I provides an introduction to modeling dynamic systems, while Part II offers general modeling methods. Parts III through VIII then apply these methods to model real-world phenomena from chemistry, genetics, ecology, economics, and engineering. A clear, approachable introduction to the modeling process, of interest in any field where real problems can be illuminated by computer simulation.

This book explores the dynamic processes in economic systems, concentrating on the extraction and use of the natural resources required to meet economic needs. Sections cover methods for dynamic modeling in economics, microeconomic models of firms, modeling optimal use of both nonrenewable and renewable resources, and chaos in economic models. This book does not require a substantial background in mathematics or computer science.

Economies are open systems embedded in an ecosystem with which they exchange matter and energy. Interactions among these systems are vital for each system's performance and are constrained by the laws of physics. This volume pays tribute to economy--environment interactions simultaneously from an economic, ecological and physical perspective. Integrating Economics, Ecology and Thermodynamics provides a first step in identifying and combining the principles of economics, ecology and thermodynamics on a fundamental level. Part I lays out the general context for the approach chosen. Part II familiarizes readers with core concepts of, and methods used in, the three disciplines of economics, ecology and thermodynamics. Part III assesses ways in which these disciplines can be integrated to provide an improved understanding of economy--environment interactions. Part IV illustrates the integration of the three disciplines with a dynamic model of a human community interacting with its environment. In Part V the volume closes with a brief summary and a set of conclusions on the relevance of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to economy--environment interactions.

Dynamic Modeling introduces an approach to modeling that makes it a more practical, intuitive endeavour. The book enables readers to convert their understanding of a phenomenon to a computer model, and then to run the model and let it yield the inevitable dynamic consequences built into the structure of the model. Part I provides an introduction to modeling dynamic systems, while Part II offers general methods for modeling. Parts III through to VIII then apply these methods to model real-world phenomena from chemistry, genetics, ecology, economics, and engineering. To develop and execute dynamic simulation models, Dynamic Modeling comes with STELLA II run- time software for Windows-based computers, as well as computer files of sample models used in the book. A clear, approachable introduction to the modeling process, of interest in any field where real problems can be illuminated by computer simulation.

This book addresses key topics in the current deliberations and debates on low carbon cities that are underway globally. Contributions by experts from around the world focus on the key factors required for creating low carbon cities. These include appropriate infrastructure, ensuring co-benefits of climate actions, making best use of knowledge and information, proper accounting of emissions, and social factors such as behavioral change. Readers will gain a better understanding of these drivers and explore potential transformation pathways for cities. Particular emphasis is given to the current situation of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the urban level, stressing the complexity of measuring GHG emissions from cities. Chapters also shed new light on the long-term transformation pathways towards low carbon. This book discusses key challenges and opportunities in all these domains to aid in creating low carbon cities, making it of value to policy makers, researchers in academia and consultants working on climate change and energy issues. "The low carbon cities agenda is of bold ambition and demands rapid societal transformation. This book provides invaluable information and analysis on how the goals of this agenda can be achieved and what will be the significant obstacles in the way. The content in the book goes below the surface to reveal on-the-ground economic, engineering and equity issues that are at the heart of the Paris Climate Agreement and the ensuing policy debates. In this way, Creating Low Carbon Cities serves as a critical scholarly benchmark and as a toolkit for further action." William Solecki, Professor, Institute for Sustainable Cities, City University of New York "Creating Low Carbon Cities provides a refreshingly critical approach to low-carbon urban development, what has been achieved so far and the challenges ahead. It will be an important data-driven resource for local leaders, sustainability practitioners and urban planners." Ms. Monika Zimmermann, Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability