Metabolism of the Anthroposphere - Analysis, Evaluation, Design 2e

An overview of the cultural evolution of material flows and stocks with an emphasis on the design of metabolic processes in urban systems. Over the last several thousand years of human life on Earth, agricultural settlements became urban cores, and these regional settlements became tightly connected through infrastructures transporting people, materials, and information.This global network of urban systems, including ecosystems, is the anthroposphere; the physical flows and stocks of matter and energy within it form its metabolism.This book offers an overview of the metabolism of the anthroposphere, with an emphasis on the design of metabolic systems.It takes a cultural historical perspective, supported with methodology from the natural sciences and engineering.The book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the fields of regional development, environmental protection, and material management.It will also be a resource for undergraduate and graduate students in industrial