Same time, same place: analyzing temporal and spatial trends in urban metabolism using proximate counties in the North Carolina Triangle

Urban ecosystems’ demands for energy and materials are rapidly growing, as is the burden of wastes produced in utilizing these resources. Current consumption patterns are considered unsustainable, as they degrade resource stocks and ecosystem services that support human populations. While an urban metabolism approach is useful in analyzing resource flow dynamics that affect sustainability, challenges regarding data resolution and temporal and spatial consistency have been persistent issues in both time-series and comparative cross-sectional analyses. We envisioned that addressing these issues would allow a deeper examination of changes in metabolic trends and more robust comparison between urban ecosystems. To minimize inconsistencies, we conducted a time-series and cross-sectional metabolism analysis of three proximate urban ecosystems over a common time period. Our study compared the metabolism of Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties in North Carolina, USA using the highest available data resolution from 1985 to 2005. We found that high resolution temporal data made it possible to identify specific metabolic trends and suggest connections to changes in infrastructure, policy, and weather patterns using additional data resources. Analyzing proximate urban ecosystems over a common time period allowed us to identify the metabolic effects of policy, weather patterns, infrastructure, and waste management programs. In evaluating these outcomes, we demonstrate how urban metabolism analyses could be a valuable tool for management and planning related to resource and energy flows.