Insights into the Dynamics of a Carbon-Based Metropolis

摘要

This paper offers insights into the dynamics of carbon emissions inmetropolitan regions. These emerge from a system dynamics study of urban landatmosphericinteractions. It provides contextual background, outlines modelingmethodology, extracts insights and traces out policy implications. Section One considersissues of climate change, urbanization worldwide, urban CO2 emissions, and urban landuse/transportation feedback dynamics. Section Two identifies our study area, specifiesour modeling tool, defines its dynamic organizing principle, describes its several sectorsand outlines the scenarios used to explore system behavior. Section Three considers howcities emit CO2, demonstrates the emissions-mitigating effects of dampening urbanfeedback dynamics, compares feedback-dampening policies to technologicalimprovements to combustion efficiencies, and finds comparability. Section Four assertsthat, with the emergence of global-scale inter-metropolitan competition, today’schallenge is to secure local inter-jurisdictional cooperation in pursuit of regionalobjectives among which climate protection with its numerous local and regional benefitsmust be especially important.