An urban metabolism and ecological footprint assessment of Shah Alam, Malaysia

• Published in: Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Main Author: Bani Yami M.A.; Ahmad N.A.; Mohd Yatim S.R.; Shafie F.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2021
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85108943130&partnerID=40&md5=28b81015207962737de10d53358a1669

Introduction: Uncontrolled and unplanned urban development lead to various detrimental impacts; the situation has worsened in the 4th industrial revolution. This study aimed to assess urban metabolism and sustainability of the city of Shah Alam, Selangor using Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA). Methods: The MFA and EFA were used to assess the metabolic flow, ecological footprint and biocapacity of Shah Alam. The input and output data were obtained from various government departments and organizations. When there was no available local data, national data were downscaled to simulate the study area. Results: MFA estimated the average individual consumption of food in Shah Alam at 0.24 kg/cap/day which later generates waste of 0.65 kg/cap/day. For water consumption, Shah Alam residents used about 222 kg/cap/day and released 288 kg/cap/day of wastewater. Rapid urban development in Shah Alam has influenced electricity consumption and production of carbon dioxide with 0.383 koe/cap/day and 9.2 kg/cap/day respectively. EFA showed that Shah Alam encounters ecological deficit for food as the ecological footprint value is higher than biocapacity value with 44,041 gha and 5,167 gha respectively. As for carbon dioxide output, biocapacity value is higher than carbon footprint value with 2,763 gha and 1,435 gha respectively, which indicates that Shah Alam has the capability to sequester carbon dioxide with the remain ecological reserve of 1328 gha. Conclusion: Integration of different analysis on urban metabolism and sustainability can provide insights on the city performance and can be used to formulate strategies and policies to oversee the consumption and carbon footprint in the city of Shah Alam. © 2021 UPM Press. All rights reserved.