This research aims to determine the impact of the dynamics of urban systems on the consumption of renewable natural resources, more specifically, on fresh water resources and land use of a city. The study sets the limit of growth on a time scale, depending on the availability of the resource. The impact of the dynamics on the development in height and the agriculture as the full urban activity (for self-sufficiency) were also taken into account.
The dynamic between three groups who occupy the city (workers, farmers and residents) was modeled with STELLA 9.1 software and then, their influences on the development on each other and the evolution of the total population were evaluated. The impact of life quality factors were reflected in the evolution of the system. The density of urban activity has also been considered as a factor of influence on urban development.
To verify whether the developed model can be applied to the reality of urban systems, two scenarios were performed. At first, the model was transposed into a context of emergent city, with a small initial population and secondly, into a context of existing city, similar to the greater Montreal.
The main obtained results demonstrate that the urban population density is a restrictive factor for the growth of a city, in the same way as the availability of natural resources. On the other hand, the analysis of the results proves that on long term, the traditional agriculture (in fields), without import, does not allow a city to develop while the vertical agriculture (vertical farm) is desirable in an optics of food sovereignty. The results also demonstrate that the development in height has not the same impact on the groups and that the quality of life of the individuals is a further limit for the growth in the case of a city similar to Montreal.
The study reveals the importance to take into account the impact of the urban development on the quality of life of each group and on the verticalization of the space. Finally, the study shows an analysis about the concept of the sustainable cities and about the efficiency of resource managements, in a situation where these do not compromise the development of a city.
| Date | 29 May 2014 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Robert Hausler (Supervisor) |
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Blais, S. (Author),
Hausler (Supervisor),
29 May 2014Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Engineering