DOI: 10.1177/095624789200400212 ISSN:

Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out

William E. Rees
  • Urban Studies
  • Environmental Science (miscellaneous)

Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out uses the concepts of human carrying capacity and natural capital to develop a framework to evaluate each city's "ecological footprint". It also argues that prevailing economic assumptions regarding urbanization and the sustainability of cities must be revised in light of global ecological change.