Publications
Selected publications, books, scientific reports, doctoral theses and editorial activities emerging from the UrbanLab’s interdisciplinary research programme.
Featured Publications
A selection of recent and foundational contributions across the Lab’s research programme.
2026
Journal Article
Who is your Neighbour? Energy Consumption Relations in Suburban and Urban Areas: Evidence from Central Europe
Pramit Verma; Justyna M. Chodkowska-Miszczuk; Agata Lewandowska; Daniela Perrotti
Environmental Modeling & Assessment
A spatial analysis of electricity-consumption patterns and their environmental, demographic and infrastructural predictors across Poland.
2026
Journal Article
Resource-sensitive and community-inclusive urban archetypes to enhance the applicability of urban metabolism frameworks by design practitioners
Daniel Otero Peña; Daniela Perrotti
Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability
A catalogue of nine urban archetypes translates urban-metabolism evidence into spatial design tools for resource-sensitive and community-inclusive public spaces.
Open Access
2026
Journal Article
Situating the contribution of nature-based solutions in informal settlements within the context of urban metabolism: Lessons from selected informal settlements in Ghana
Dorothy Julian Nalumu; Daniela Perrotti; Elisabetta Rosa; Owusu Amponsah; Stephen Appiah Takyi
Local Environment
Evidence from Accra and Kumasi shows how nature-based solutions contribute differently to resource access, risk reduction and wellbeing across informal-settlement contexts.
Open Access
2026
Journal Article
Design insights for resource-efficient and community-inclusive urban spaces: Learning from the metabolism of alternative resource governance systems in Brussels
Daniel Otero Peña; Daniela Perrotti; Pierre Vanderstraeten
Cities
A spatial and qualitative study of alternative resource-governance systems in Brussels, translated into design insights for inclusive and resource-efficient urban spaces.
2025
Journal Article
Metabolism of Interconnected Cities: A Review of the Literature and Analytical Framework
Pramit Verma; Daniela Perrotti; Georg Schiller
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
A systematic review develops a regional and relational framework for analysing material and energy interdependencies among interconnected cities.
2025
Journal Article
Linking Systems to Agencies in Urban Metabolism Studies: A Conceptual Framework and Computational Analysis of Research Literature
Nicola Bertoldi; Daniela Perrotti
Ecological Economics
A conceptual and computational analysis clarifies how systems-oriented urban-metabolism research can incorporate agency and actors.
Open Access
Editorial Activities
Editorial leadership and scholarly service supporting interdisciplinary research exchange and scientific publishing.
2025–present
Urban Metabolism in Transition: Integrating Space, Function, Services and Practices for the Next Generation of Metabolic Studies
Daniela Perrotti serves as Lead Guest Editor of a Resources, Conservation and Recycling special issue integrating spatial, functional, service-based and practice-oriented approaches to urban metabolism.
Special Issue
Resources, Conservation and Recycling — Elsevier
2023–present
Scientific Reports Editorial Board — Sustainability
Daniela Perrotti has served on the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports in the Sustainability section since 2023.
Editorial Board Membership
Scientific Reports — Nature Portfolio
Books and Scientific Reports
Peer-reviewed research monographs and major scientific reports authored or edited by members of the Lab.
2021
Edited Book
Environmental Sustainability and Economy
Pardeep Singh; Pramit Verma; Daniela Perrotti; K. K. Srivastava
Elsevier
ISBN 978-0-12-822188-4
An edited research monograph examines environmental sustainability across economic systems, resource management and circular-economy transitions.
2024
Research Report
Co-habitat: Towards an Animal-Inclusive Design in the Brussels-Capital Region
Björn Bracke; Koenraad Danneels; Marlène Boura; Anna Larissa Bonifacio; Nathan Van Loon; Manu Vanderveken; Guy Heutz; Damien Claeys; Hans Leinfelder; Bruno Notteboom; Daniela Perrotti
KU Leuven / University of Louvain
170 pages; ISBN 978-94-9278-027-0
A 170-page cartographic and design investigation into non-human agency and animal-inclusive urbanism in the Brussels-Capital Region.
2026
International Climate Assessment Report
C3S–WMO European State of the Climate 2025
C3S/ECMWF and WMO
Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organization
The European State of the Climate 2025 provides a comprehensive assessment of climate conditions, major events and long-term indicators across Europe.
Open Access
Doctoral Theses
Completed doctoral research supervised within the UrbanLab and its associated institutional collaborations.
Defended 28 August 2025
Doctoral Thesis
The Spatial Dimension of Urban Metabolism: Resource Flows, Public Space, and Vulnerable Communities
Daniel Otero Peña
University of Louvain
Daniel Otero Peña’s doctoral thesis develops spatially explicit urban-metabolism tools for resource-sensitive and community-inclusive planning and design.
Defended 26 February 2025
Doctoral Thesis
UMaNS: Urban Metabolism for Advanced Nature-Based Solutions
Ursula-Crisy Cardenas-Mamani
University of Louvain
Ursula-Crisy Cardenas-Mamani’s doctoral research integrates urban metabolism, ecosystem services and dynamic modelling for nature-based solutions.
F.R.S.-FNRS
Completed in 2022
Doctoral Thesis
An Urban Metabolism Approach to Understand the Infrastructural Dynamics of the UK Urban Domestic Heat Supply
Christina Sarah Bristow
University of Reading
Christina Sarah Bristow’s doctoral thesis develops a typology of UK cities based on the infrastructural dynamics of domestic heat supply, connecting building stocks, energy demand and low-carbon transition pathways.
UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Training Partnership
Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Selected journal articles spanning urban infrastructure, material and resource flows, ecosystem services, spatial analysis, artificial intelligence, governance and design.
2026
Journal Article
Design insights for resource-efficient and community-inclusive urban spaces: Learning from the metabolism of alternative resource governance systems in Brussels
Daniel Otero Peña; Daniela Perrotti; Pierre Vanderstraeten
Cities
173, 106930
2026
Journal Article
Who is your Neighbour? Energy Consumption Relations in Suburban and Urban Areas: Evidence from Central Europe
Pramit Verma; Justyna M. Chodkowska-Miszczuk; Agata Lewandowska; Daniela Perrotti
Environmental Modeling & Assessment
2026
Journal Article
Situating the contribution of nature-based solutions in informal settlements within the context of urban metabolism: Lessons from selected informal settlements in Ghana
Dorothy Julian Nalumu; Daniela Perrotti; Elisabetta Rosa; Owusu Amponsah; Stephen Appiah Takyi
Local Environment
1–29
Open Access
2026
Journal Article
Resource-sensitive and community-inclusive urban archetypes to enhance the applicability of urban metabolism frameworks by design practitioners
Daniel Otero Peña; Daniela Perrotti
Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability
6(2), 025003
Open Access
2025
Journal Article
Metabolism of Interconnected Cities: A Review of the Literature and Analytical Framework
Pramit Verma; Daniela Perrotti; Georg Schiller
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
217, 108194
2025
Journal Article
Characterizing Informality in Urban Resource Management: Towards an Integrated Framework of Urban Metabolism and Informal Flows
Yasmina Choueiri; Daniela Perrotti; Alejandra Acevedo-De-los-Ríos
Land Use Policy
151, 107472
Open Access
2025
Journal Article
A Data Framework for Assessing Nature-Based Solutions’ Contribution to the Urban Metabolism of Informal Settlements
Dorothy Julian Nalumu; Daniela Perrotti; Elisabetta Rosa
Sustainability Science
20(5), 1935–1963
2025
Journal Article
Linking Systems to Agencies in Urban Metabolism Studies: A Conceptual Framework and Computational Analysis of Research Literature
Nicola Bertoldi; Daniela Perrotti
Ecological Economics
227, 108397
Open Access
2025
Journal Article
Mapping Agency in Urban Metabolism Research: A Systematic Characterisation of Urban-Level Resource-Use Assessment Models Based on Levels of Engagement with Agents
Ehsan Ahmadian; Daniela Perrotti
Ecological Modelling
506, 111140
2025
Journal Article
Metabolic Thinking in Planning and Designing Urban Landscapes: Practitioners’ Perspectives on Agency
Sareh Moosavi; Daniela Perrotti; André Stephan
European Planning Studies
33, 1443–1466
Open Access
2025
Review and Critical Intervention
Natura Naturae: Unsettling Ecologies or Why the Urban Should Remain a Contested Field
Daniela Perrotti
Dialogues in Urban Research
3(2), 206–208
2025
Conference Paper
Urban Biowaste-Based Building Materials for a Growing City: The Case of Brussels Capital Region
Giulia Scialpi; Daniela Perrotti
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
1554, 012013
Open Access
2025
Journal Article
The Application of a Data Framework to Assess the Contribution of Nature-Based Solutions to Urban Metabolism in Informal Settlements of Kumasi, Ghana
Dorothy Julian Nalumu; Daniela Perrotti; Elisabetta Rosa; Owusu Amponsah; Stephen Appiah Takyi
SN Social Sciences
5(5), Article 34
2024
Journal Article
Sustainability Transitions Require an Understanding of Smaller Cities
Eugene Mohareb; Daniela Perrotti
Journal of Industrial Ecology
28(1), 6–16
Open Access
2024
Conference Paper
A Review of the Contribution of Nature-Based Solutions to the Urban Metabolism of Informal Settlements
Dorothy Julian Nalumu; Daniela Perrotti
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
1363, 012083
Open Access
2024
Journal Article
An Integrated Urban Metabolism and Ecosystem Service Assessment: The Case Study of Lima, Peru
Ursula Cárdenas-Mamani; Daniela Perrotti
Journal of Industrial Ecology
28, 1567–1581
2023
Journal Article
High-Resolution Mapping of Material Stocks in Belgian Road Infrastructure: Material Efficiency Patterns, Material Recycling Potentials, and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions-Reduction Opportunities
Zhaoxing Wang; Dominik Wiedenhofer; André Stephan; Daniela Perrotti; Wim Van den Bergh; Zhi Cao
Environmental Science & Technology
57, 12674–12688
2024
Conference Paper
Role of Urban Metabolism Assessments in Addressing Food Security through Urban Agriculture in Informal Settlements: A Critical Review
Alejandra Acevedo-De-los-Ríos; Daniela Perrotti
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
1363, 012080
Open Access
2023
Conference Paper
Adaptability of Buildings: To What Extent Do Design-Support Models Consider Context-Related Factors? A Literature Review
Giulia Scialpi; Joost Declercq; K. Gawlik; Daniela Perrotti
Journal of Physics: Conference Series
2600, 192009
Open Access
2024
Journal Article
Circular Economy in the Valorisation of Food and Other Biowaste: Case Studies in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Belgian Construction Sector
Giulia Scialpi; Daniela Perrotti
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
31, 17914–17931
2023
Journal Article
Leveraging the No Net Land Take Policy through Ecological Connectivity Analysis: The Role of Industrial Platforms in Flanders, Belgium
Dorothy Julian Nalumu; Daniel Otero Peña; Daniela Perrotti
Sustainability
15, 16103
Open Access
2022
Journal Article
Advancing Urban Metabolism Studies through GIS Data: Resource Flows, Open-Space Networks, and Vulnerable Communities in Mexico City
Daniel Otero Peña; Daniela Perrotti; Eugene Mohareb
Journal of Industrial Ecology
26(4), 1333–1349
Open Access
2022
Conference Paper
An Urban Hospital Based on the Principles of Circular Economy: The Case of Joseph Bracops Hospital
Giulia Scialpi; Joost Declercq; L. Grisay; Daniela Perrotti
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
1078, 012011
Open Access
2022
Journal Article
The Use of Urban Biowaste and Excavated Soil in the Construction Sector: A Literature Review
Giulia Scialpi; Daniela Perrotti
Waste Management & Research
40, 262–273
Open Access
2022
Journal Article
The Place of Space in Urban Metabolism Research: Towards a Spatial Turn? A Review and Future Agenda
Jean-Baptiste Bahers; Aristide Athanassiadis; Daniela Perrotti; Stephan Kampelmann
Landscape and Urban Planning
221, 104376
Open Access
2022
Journal Article
Toward an Agentic Understanding of the Urban Metabolism: A Landscape Theory Perspective
Daniela Perrotti
Urban Geography
43, 1–11
2022
Journal Article
Understanding the Contribution of Ecosystem Services to Urban Metabolism Assessments: An Integrated Framework
Ursula Cárdenas-Mamani; Daniela Perrotti
Ecological Indicators
136, 108593
Open Access
2021
Journal Article
Exploring the Performances of Urban Local Symbiosis Strategy in Algiers, between a Potential of Energy Use Optimization and CO2 Emission Mitigation
Mazia Chaker; Ewa Berezowska-Azzag; Daniela Perrotti
Journal of Cleaner Production
292, 125850
2020
Journal Article
Can Water Systems Foster Commoning Practices? Analysing Leverages for Self-Organization in Urban Water Commons as Social–Ecological Systems
Daniela Perrotti; Katherine Hyde; Daniel Otero Peña
Sustainability Science
15, 781–795
Open Access
2020
Journal Article
Learning to Chill: The Role of Design Schools and Professional Training to Improve Urban Climate and Urban Metabolism
M. Taleghani; A. Montazami; Daniela Perrotti
Energies
13(9), 2243
2020
Journal Article
Can Urban Metabolism Models Advance Green Infrastructure Planning? Insights from Ecosystem Services Research
Daniela Perrotti; Sven Stremke
Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science
47, 678–694
2019
Journal Article
Evaluating Urban Metabolism Assessment Methods and Knowledge Transfer between Scientists and Practitioners: A Combined Framework for Supporting Practice-Relevant Research
Daniela Perrotti
Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science
46, 1458–1479
2019
Journal Article
Incorporating Metabolic Thinking into Regional Planning: The Case of the Sierra Calderona Strategic Plan
J. Galan; Daniela Perrotti
Urban Planning
4, 152–171
Open Access
2019
Referee Report
Referee Report: Reconnecting with Nature: Developing Urban Spaces in the Age of Climate Change
Daniela Perrotti
Emerald Open Research
1:2
2017
Journal Article
Enhanced Performance of the Eurostat Method for Comprehensive Assessment of Urban Metabolism: A Material Flow Analysis of Amsterdam
Ilse M. Voskamp; Sven Stremke; Marc Spiller; Daniela Perrotti; Jan Peter van der Hoek; Huub H. M. Rijnaarts
Journal of Industrial Ecology
21, 887–902
Selected Contributions to Peer-Reviewed Books
Selected chapters connecting urban metabolism with infrastructure, landscape, resilience, circularity, governance and spatial practice.
2024
Multispecies cohabitation analysis for animal-inclusive urban studies: An integrated framework and application in the Brussels Capital Region
Marlène Boura; Anna Larissa Bonifacio; Damien Claeys; Daniela Perrotti
CO-HABITAT Research Report — KU Leuven / University of Louvain
41–56; ISBN 978-94-9278-027-0
Open Access
2024
Theory, Practice and Politics: The Search for Other-than-Human Design Practices
Koenraad Danneels; Bruno Notteboom; Daniela Perrotti
CO-HABITAT Research Report — KU Leuven / University of Louvain
ISBN 978-94-9278-027-0
2023
Coproduire une dynamique socio-écologique
Daniela Perrotti; Yasmina Choueiri
Architectures Wallonie–Bruxelles Inventaires #4 2020–2023 — Vers une démarche architecturale régénérative, Éditions Cellule architecture de la Fédération Wallonie–Bruxelles
pp. 163–171
2023
From Concepts to Action: Urban Metabolism and Resilience Thinking
Giulia Scialpi; Daniela Perrotti
Resilient Communities: A Collection of Short Essays on the Adaptive Capacity of Cities, D Editore
2023
Urban Metabolism Research Can Leverage Resource-Sensitive Planning and Design of Open Spaces and Green Infrastructure
Daniela Perrotti; Sina Moosavi; Daniel Otero Peña
Europan France — Ré-imaginer des architectures en prenant soin des milieux habités, Europan C17A "Villes Vivantes"
pp. 121–128
2022
Studying the Metabolism of Resilient Communities: Urban Practices, Micronarratives, and Their Agency
Daniela Perrotti
Resilient Communities and the Peccioli Charter
51–58
2022
The Peccioli Charter: The New Constitution of the Nation of the Italian Resilient Communities
Maurizio Carta; José Antonio Lara-Hernandez; K. Accossato; M. Baggio; P. Boarin; L. Bravo; C. Brisotto; L. D’Acci; A. Melis; I. Paoletti; M. R. Perbellini; Daniela Perrotti; L. Trentin
Resilient Communities and the Peccioli Charter, Springer
pp. 269–275
2021
Challenges and Opportunities at the Crossroads of Environmental Sustainability and Economy Research
Daniela Perrotti; Pramit Verma; K. K. Srivastava; Pardeep Singh
Environmental Sustainability and Economy, Elsevier
pp. 300–316
2021
Urban Metabolism: Towards a Holistic Practice of Resilience
Daniela Perrotti
Catalogue of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition — Italian Pavilion, D Editore
2021
Landscape Structure and Ecological Connectivity across Sixteen Sub-Catchments in the Flemish Region
Daniela Perrotti; Daniel Otero Peña
Green With Grey: Deseal for Water, KU Leuven Press
2020
Urban Metabolism: Old Challenges, New Frontiers and the Research Agenda Ahead
Daniela Perrotti
Urban Ecology
Chapter 2, 17–32
2020
Landscape-Infrastructure: Formal-Informal Entanglements across Political Ecologies of Resource Use
Daniela Perrotti
Routledge — Informality through Sustainability: Urban Informality Now
pp. 210–225
2020
Measuring Reading’s Resource Consumption: An Application of Urban Metabolism
Eugene Mohareb; Daniela Perrotti
Reading 2050: A Smart and Sustainable City?, University of Reading Press
pp. 48–55
2019
Urban Metabolism Narratives in the Digital Turn: Becoming Real-World and Real-Time
Daniela Perrotti
Internationale Bauausstellung Heidelberg — IBA LAB “Digitale Stadt?”
pp. 46–53
2019
Green Infrastructure in the Space of Flows: An Urban Metabolism Approach to Bridge Environmental Performance and User’s Wellbeing
Daniela Perrotti; O. Iuorio
Planning Cities with Nature
265–277
Cities are not closed systems
Their metabolism extends across territories, infrastructures, ecosystems and communities. Understanding these relationships is essential to creating urban environments that are more resource-sensitive, socially just and ecologically resilient.