IGERT:
Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
Anu Ramaswami, Program Director
College of Engineering
John Brett, Health & Behavioral Sciences
Debbi Main, Family Medicine
Brian Muller, College of Architecture & Planning
Paul Teske, School of Public Affairs
University of Colorado Denver
Quick View of Sustainability:
The Three E’s
Economic
Equity
(Social)
Environment
The sweet
spot in the
middle
represents
sustainable
alternative
futures
Why Urban Sustainability?
• The U.S. Census Bureau predicts a world population
of approx. 9 billion by the year 2050
• Urban Areas will see most of this growth
• For the first time in the history of humankind, more
people will be living in urban areas than in rural
Can we achieve urban
sustainability?
Issues in Energy
• Inefficient Use of Energy
Economic
Impact
• Pollution from Energy Conversion
– Air pollution, Smog
– Mercury
– Greenhouse Gas Emissions/Climate
– Renewable Alternatives
Environment
Economic
Impact, Jobs
• Vulnerability to Foreign Oil
Social Impact,
Equity
US Energy Picture
• Consumption will continue to ‘grow’ (~1.1% annually
projected over next 30 yrs)
• Current annual primary energy consumption = 100
quadrillion BTU (Quad = 1015)
Energy Security: US Oil Imports
implications and projections
55% of petroleum used in the US is imported, that number is predicted to
increase to 68% by 2025 without major changes in US petroleum consumption
Is our oil supply vulnerable?
Environment - The Princeton Wedge:
Routes to Carbon Stabilization at 500 ppm
Oil and Energy Security
By 2030, the gap is likely to be 6,000 nuclear reactors wide and growing at 500 nuclear reactors a year. [This shows the
magnitude of the gap, and is not a suggestion of a solution]
Behavior Module
Efficiency
Transport mode shifts
Pricing & taxes
City design & lifestyle
Other petroleum fuels, gas, GTL
Policy Module
Planning Mod
Other fuels, coal to oil, biofuels
Deprivation and war
Technology
Module
Figure from Bruce Robinson,
Sustainable Transport
Coalition, Perth, AU
Sustainability Challenge
• No single path, no silver bullet
• Context and region is important
– E.g., water needs for biofuels
• Unintended consequences
– Food versus fuel debate, Pb vs GHG
• Scale-up issues important
– Battery use if all cars are electric
• Public Engagement Needed
– Efficiency, Conservation, Wind Sites, CCS,
Water Reuse
Systems Tools Needed
• Life Cycle Assessment
– Environmental Impact over life cycle
• Material Flow Analysis
– Critical materials shortage globally
• Carbon Accounting
– Good accounting principles, benchmarking
• Decision Support Tools
– Trade-off between money, pollutants, etc.
• Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
– Values explicit, policy applications
• Public Engagement and Communication
Example:
Role of LCA
Water scarcity in 2030 based on the
Falkenmark Indicator
Global Withdrawal-to-Availability Vulnerability
Example:
Decision-Support for Cities
•
•
•
•
LCA-MFA
Benchmarking
Decision-Support
Communication/Engagement
Per Capita emissions = 25.3 mtCO2e / person
Buildings/Facilities Energy Use (Blues) = 52%;
Transportation Tail Pipe Emissions (Red) = 30%;
Embodied Energy of Key Urban Materials (Grey) =18%
Cement
2%
Food
10%
Fuel Processing
7%
Commercial /
Industrial Bldgs
34%
Air Travel
6%
Transit 1%
Commercial
Trucks
4%
Trucks and
SUVs
12% Cars
7%
Residential
Bldgs
14%
City Govt
Bldgs
3%
Using LCA and MFA
for Visualizing and
Benchmarking a
City’s Carbon
Footprint:
Ramaswami et al.,
ES&T, 2008
Benchmarking: Comparison w/
National, State and Other City Data
Direct energy use plus
airline travel and key urban
materials
Direct energy use (no airline
travel, no fuel refining, no
production of concrete, food
and food packaging)
Denver
Per Capita
GHG Emissions
(mtCO2e/person)
National, State &
other Cities
Per Capita
GHG Emissions
(mtCO2e/person)
Denver:
National; State:
25.3
25; 25.5
Denver:
Other Colorado cities
18.9
18.4 – 19.6
Denver’s Climate Action Planning
“2011 Business As Usual”:
15.4 million mtCO2e
15
Denver 1990:
11.8 million
mtCO2e
25
Greenprint 2011:
13.7 million mtCO2e
Kyoto =
11.0
10
million
tonnes
GHG Per Capita
Emissions
Greenprint Goal:
22.7 mtCO2e
per person
20
1990
5
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Total GHG Emissions
(million mtCO 2e)
GHG Emissions per Capita
(mtCO 2e/person)
30
Public Engagement and Communication
Participation Rates in Efficiency &
Conservation
• Free Items (CFL)
~50% (Seattle City Light)
• First Cost Items >$500
Typically <5%
•Mandated Efficiency
>95% (Berkeley, TOS)
Public Engagement and Communication
Acceptance of Technology Implementation
Water INDIRECT Reuse stalled
by Toilet-to-Tap Campaign
Cross Disciplinary IGERT
Curriculum
• Core Sequence of Four Courses (Certificate TBD)
–
–
–
–
Sustainable Urban Infrastructure & Development [AR]
Defining and Measuring Sustainability [ENGR, HBS]
Planning & Policy for Sustainability [CAP, SPA]
Sustainable Infrastructure Design [ENGR, CAP]
• Discipline-Specific Requirements for MS and PhD
• Field Work / International Experience
IGERT Fieldwork Partners
• City & County of Denver
• Indian Institute of Technology – Madras,
Chennai, India
• Parallel Sustainable Infrastructure
Assessments in Denver and Chennai