Urban Metabolism and Resources: Morocco, Rehamna and Ben Guerir
Morocco and Ben Guerir (red)
Context
There is today a critical and growing urgency to understand the resource intensity of our societies and economies in ways that highlight routes to sustainability. In addition, the rapid urbanization of much of the world, and especially in Africa, demands an integrated understanding of the relation between the extraction, production, distribution and consumption of resources on one hand, and the increase in urban population, the expansion of existing cities and the establishment of new urban settlements on the other. This project applies the methods of urban metabolism to understanding the relationship between resource consumption intensity and urbanization in Morocco. The work of is being pursued at three scales: UM6P within its urban setting; Ben Guerir within its regional setting; and the Marrakech-Safi region within Morocco itself.
purpose
The purpose of this project is to develop an understanding of the material and energy needs of Moroccan institutions and human settlements. The focus of the effort is a detailed analysis of the resource intensity of Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, (UM6P) the city of Ben Guerir and its surrounding region, and the nation of Morocco. From this analysis we are creating a map of technology and policy options with maximal potential to decouple material and energy intensity from the growth. Finally, in collaboration with our UM6P colleagues, we are developing specific technology and policy recommendations for sustainability using the university as a Living Laboratory, and its Green Energy and Green Building parks as a test bed for alternative technology and protocol deployment on campus and across Ben Guerir.
Analyze Africa, Financial Times Report (2016)
Goal
The ultimate goal of this project is o offer to the nation of Morocco a comprehensive pathway for long term urban sustainability based on a coupled consideration of resource consumption and urbanization projections. In addition, this goal includes the derivation of pathways for urban sustainability and campus sustainability based on a comprehensive assessment of the material and energy metabolism of the city of Ben Guerir and UM6P, respectively.