Deriving the Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity of Ontario Cities and Rural Areas

Background: This original research article presents the first city-scaled accounts of ecological footprint and biocapacity applied to all 577 census subdivisions in Ontario, Canada. These new data relates local consumption of materials and energy, and the production of emissions, to the area of ecosystems used within and outside the same local jurisdictions to support this metabolism. This information can inform many stakeholders understanding of sustainable prosperity in cities and rural areas, which are challenged by complex geographies of supply chains, waste streams, and the jurisdictions in which policies are made or applied. Methods: Local accounts of ecological footprint were generated by integrating census data with provincial-scaled accounts of investment and consumption of goods and services by households and governments, and coefficients relating economic outputs to areas of ecosystems providing economic inputs. Biocapacity was generated by relating land cover and land use data at 15 m of resolution to its potential to support a footprint component. Results: Ecological footprint varies tremendously between and among cities and rural areas in Ontario, from 12 to 0.12 global hectares (gha) per capita (gha/capita). Differences relate to population, household income, commuting durations and modal split, housing types, and average household size. Biocapacity ranged from 10,039 to 0.11 gha/capita within local boundaries. Conclusions: These new and publicly available data can inform opportunities to conserve or enhance biocapacity, and to understand the potential and limitations of local efforts to affect ecological footprints. These are discussed and contextualized within an ecological economics framework of sustainability.