Methodology for Assessing the Sustainability of Metro Systems Based on Emergy Analysis

The sustainability of a metro system is important not only to itself but also to local socioeconomic development. However, very few methodologies can be found for assessing the sustainability of metro systems, especially on the basis of emergy analysis. Demonstrating many advantages in sustainability assessment, emergy analysis has been utilized in assessing the sustainability of many objects including regions, industries, products, and projects. A methodology for assessing the sustainability of metro systems on the basis of emergy analysis is thus proposed in this paper. The proposed methodology aggregates three emergy indexes, namely, emergy yield ratio (EYR), environmental loading ratio (ELR), and the ratio of waste to total yield (RWY). Each of them has a specific sustainability meaning, whereas the proposed metro’s emergy sustainability index (MESI) is equal to the ratio of EYR divided by the product of ELR and RWY. Then, the first stage of Nanjing Metro’s Line one is studied as a case. It is believe...

[1]  Silvia Bargigli,et al.  An emergy evaluation of complexity, information and technology, towards maximum power and zero emissions , 2007 .

[2]  Li Chen,et al.  Emergy analysis of cassava chips-suitable feedstock for fuel ethanol in China , 2010 .

[3]  Meleckidzedeck Khayesi,et al.  Using the sustainability footprint model to assess development impacts of transportation systems , 2009 .

[4]  H. Odum,et al.  Self-Organization, Transformity, and Information , 1988, Science.

[5]  S. Bastianoni,et al.  Sustainability of bioethanol production from wheat with recycled residues as evaluated by Emergy assessment , 2009 .

[6]  Paolo Vassallo,et al.  An emergy approach for the assessment of sustainability of small marinas , 2008 .

[7]  Suresh Jain,et al.  Impact of increasing mass transit share on energy use and emissions from transport sector for National Capital Territory of Delhi , 2011 .

[8]  Saurabh Gupta,et al.  An overview of sustainability assessment methodologies , 2009 .

[9]  R. Daniel Jonsson,et al.  Analysing sustainability in a land-use and transport system , 2008 .

[10]  Enrique Ortega,et al.  Sustainability assessment of large-scale ethanol production from sugarcane , 2010 .

[11]  M. Ferreyra.  EMERGY PERSPECTIVES ON THE ARGENTINE ECONOMY AND FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS OF THE ROLLING PAMPAS DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY , 2001 .

[12]  Huapu Lu,et al.  Urban transport and sustainable transport strategies: A case study of Karachi, Pakistan , 2007 .

[13]  Enrique Ortega,et al.  Convergence of ecological footprint and emergy analysis as a sustainability indicator of countries: Peru as case study , 2010 .

[14]  Sue McNeil,et al.  Rating Sustainability: Transportation Investments in Urban Corridors as a Case Study , 2010 .

[15]  Dae Hyun Koo.  Development of sustainability assessment model for underground infrastructure , 2007 .

[16]  Xiaohong Zhang,et al.  A sustainability analysis of a municipal sewage treatment ecosystem based on emergy , 2010 .

[17]  Guangqing Chi,et al.  Sustainable Transport Planning: Estimating the Ecological Footprint of Vehicle Travel in Future Years , 2005 .

[18]  Riccardo Basosi,et al.  A thermodynamic, environmental and material flow analysis of the Italian highway and railway transport systems , 2008 .

[19]  Becky P.Y. Loo,et al.  Are There Useful Yardsticks of Population Size and Income Level for Building Metro Systems? Some Worldwide Evidence , 2010 .

[20]  S. Ulgiati,et al.  Emergy-based indices and ratios to evaluate the sustainable use of resources , 1995 .

[21]  Angela Hull,et al.  Policy integration: What will it take to achieve more sustainable transport solutions in cities , 2008 .

[22]  Lei Zhang,et al.  Measuring the sustainability of policy scenarios: Emergy-based strategic environmental assessment of the Chinese paper industry , 2010 .

[23]  Robert Joumard,et al.  Transport project assessment methodology within the framework of sustainable development , 2010 .

[24]  Jackie Walters,et al.  Overview of public transport policy developments in South Africa , 2007 .

[25]  Cecília M.V.B. Almeida,et al.  Comparing emergy accounting with well-known sustainability metrics: The case of Southern Cone Common Market, Mercosur , 2010 .

[26]  Mark T. Brown,et al.  Predicting national sustainability: The convergence of energetic, economic and environmental realities , 2009 .

[27]  F. Agostinho,et al.  Sustainability of nations by indices: Comparative study between environmental sustainability index, ecological footprint and the emergy performance indices , 2008 .

[28]  Nataša Bojković,et al.  One solution for cross-country transport-sustainability evaluation using a modified ELECTRE method , 2010 .

[29]  David Pitfield,et al.  ELASTIC – A methodological framework for identifying and selecting sustainable transport indicators , 2010 .

[30]  Matti Siemiatycki,et al.  Message in a Metro: Building Urban Rail Infrastructure and Image in Delhi, India , 2006 .

[31]  Mark T. Brown,et al.  Monitoring patterns of sustainability in natural and man-made ecosystems , 1998 .

[32]  B. Bakshi,et al.  Promise and problems of emergy analysis , 2004 .

[33]  Hong Kam Lo,et al.  The impact of public transport policy on the viability and sustainability of mass railway transit : The Hong Kong experience , 2008 .

[34]  A. Teytelboym,et al.  Part II: Policy instruments for sustainable road transport , 2010 .

[35]  Bin Chen,et al.  Urban ecosystem health assessment based on emergy and set pair analysis—A comparative study of typical Chinese cities , 2009 .

[36]  Li He,et al.  Study of the human evacuation simulation of metro fire safety analysis in China , 2008 .

[37]  Mohamed El-Gafy,et al.  Environmental Impact Assessment for Transportation Projects: Case Study Using Remote-Sensing Technology, Geographic Information Systems, and Spatial Modeling , 2011 .

[38]  Simone Bastianoni,et al.  Emergy analysis of building manufacturing, maintenance and use: Em-building indices to evaluate housing sustainability , 2007 .

[39]  Geoff Gardner,et al.  Mass rapid transit systems for cities in the developing world , 2003 .

[40]  B. Bakshi,et al.  Emergy analysis using US economic input–output models with applications to life cycles of gasoline and corn ethanol , 2010 .

[41]  F. Cherubini,et al.  Environmental driving forces of urban growth and development: An emergy-based assessment of the city of Rome, Italy , 2009 .

[42]  Sergio Ulgiati,et al.  Emergy Analysis and Environmental Accounting , 2004 .

[43]  B. Flyvbjerg,et al.  Megaprojects and Risk: An Anatomy of Ambition , 2003 .

[44]  Cecília M.V.B. Almeida,et al.  Identifying improvements in water management of bus-washing stations in Brazil , 2010 .

[45]  Enrique Ortega,et al.  Assessing the sustainability of Brazilian oleaginous crops – possible raw material to produce biodiesel , 2010 .

[46]  Bonnie J. Johnson,et al.  Promoting Sustainability through Transportation Infrastructure? Innovation and Inertia in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area , 2010 .

[47]  A. D. La Rosa,et al.  Emergy evaluation of Sicilian red orange production. A comparison between organic and conventional farming , 2008 .

[48]  Angela Hull,et al.  Developing a set of decision-support tools for sustainable urban transport in the UK , 2008 .

[49]  Xiao Feng,et al.  Distribution of emergy indices and its application , 2007 .

[50]  Linlin Wu,et al.  Optimization of Regional Traffic Structure from the Perspective of Sustainable Development , 2009 .

[51]  Guoqian Chen,et al.  Emergy as embodied energy based assessment for local sustainability of a constructed wetland in Beijing , 2009 .

[52]  G. Fernández-Sánchez,et al.  A methodology to identify sustainability indicators in construction project management—Application to infrastructure projects in Spain , 2010 .

[53]  Sergio Ulgiati,et al.  Quantifying the environmental support for dilution and abatement of process emissions The case of electricity production , 2002 .

[54]  Romain Robbes,et al.  The Small Project Observatory: Visualizing software ecosystems , 2010, Sci. Comput. Program..

[55]  Howard T. Odum,et al.  Environmental Accounting: Emergy and Environmental Decision Making , 1995 .

[56]  Jenn-Jiang Hwang.  Sustainable transport strategy for promoting zero-emission electric scooters in Taiwan , 2010 .

[57]  Weiding Long,et al.  A key review on emergy analysis and assessment of biomass resources for a sustainable future. , 2010 .