Mapping and weighing global e es ial in as uc u es
Implica ions o esou ce demand & social wellbeing
H. Habe l, A. Baumga , J. S eeck, F. K ausmann & D. Wiedenho e
h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
Eu opean Resea ch Council (ERC; MAT_STOCKS), g an
ag eemen No 741950), Eu opean Union’s Ho izon Eu ope
p og amme (Ci cEUla , g an ag eemen No 101056810)
.
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An h opocene & he ‚biophysical scale‘ o socie y
Global socie al s biosphe ic ma e ial s ocks in compa ison
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
Elhacham e al. 2020, Na u e 588; based on K ausmann e al.
2017, PNAS 114 and E b e al. 2018, Na u e 553
In as uc u es (buildings, anspo ,
e c.) accoun o ~98% o all socie al
s ocks („an h opogenic mass“).
Globally, hey ise almos 1:1 coupled
wi h GDP, i.e. inc eased by ac o 20-30
o e he las cen u y – in con as o
he mass o all li ing o ganisms, which
is sligh ly dec easing, due o human
ac i i ies.
This esea ch was unded in whole o in pa by he
Aus ian Science Fund (FWF) [10.55776/EFP5]
Socio-me abolic esea ch
S udying s ocks and lows o ma e ials and ene gy ha p o ide key se ices o socie y
S eeck e al. 2025. Res., Conse . Recycl 221, 108324, h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j. escon ec.2025.108324
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
S ocks and lows
o ma e ials and
ene gy p o ide
socie ies‘
ma e ial basis:
nou ishmen ,
shel e , mobili y,
educa ion,
heal hca e, e c.
They a e key o
sus ainabili y.
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•Se ices depend on speci ic s ock-
low ela ions
•Fo example, ca -based mobili y
se ices need oads, ca s and uel
(o elec ici y)
•S ocks need huge amoun s o
esou ces o be buil and
main ained (au oca aly ic)
•Speci ic s ock pa e ns (e.g. design
o se lemen s & in as uc u es)
os e o inhibi ce ain p ac ices
•Fo example, u ban sp awl is
linked wi h ca -dependen mobili y
•S ock pa e ns a e linked wi h
speci ic social p ac ices and lock-
ins
Mo i a ion: The S ock-Flow-Se ice nexus
Habe l e al. 2021. Ecological Economics, 182, 106949
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.106949
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
P ac ices o
e e yday li ing
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•Coun y-le el, global, 1900-2016
•16 p ocesses (each ma e ial balanced)
•23 aw ma e ials
•21 s ock-building ma e ial
•13 end-use p oduc g oups
•S ock- low and p ocess consis en
•Economy-wide
Wiedenho e e al. 2024. Jou nal o Indus ial
Ecology 24, 1464-1480
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/jiec.13575
The MISO-2 model
Quan i ying ma e ial s ocks globally
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
This esea ch was unded in whole o in pa by he
Aus ian Science Fund (FWF) [10.55776/EFP5]
•Coun y-le el, global, 1900-2016
•16 p ocesses (each ma e ial balanced)
•23 aw ma e ials
•21 s ock-building ma e ial
•13 end-use p oduc g oups
•S ock- low and p ocess consis en
•Economy-wide
Wiedenho e e al. 2024. Jou nal o Indus ial
Ecology 24, 1464-1480
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/jiec.13575
The MISO-2 model
Quan i ying ma e ial s ocks globally
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
7
Func ions o socioeconomic ma e ial s ocks
Le : in as uc u es (buildings, mobili y, e c.), Righ : ehicles, machine y & o he p oduc s)
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
Galb ai h e al. 2025. Ea h Sys em Dynamics, 16, 979–999, h ps://doi.o g/10.5194/esd-16-979-2025
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•Ea h Obse a ion da a om newes -gene a ion
sa elli es (Cope nicus) allow c ea ing maps a 10m
spa ial esolu ion
•C owd-sou ced da a om Open S ee Maps a e
used o map linea s uc u es, in pa icula
mobili y in as uc u es
•Ma e ial in ensi ies a e used o calcula e mass o
s uc u es based on in o on hei dimensions ( ype,
olume, leng h: kg ma e ials o a ious ypes pe m3
building olume o m2 oad su ace)
•Can be applied o quan i y and map ma e ial
s ocks o en i e coun ies and globally
Mapping ma e ial s ocks in buil
s uc u es
No el me hods help gene a ing high- esolu ion maps
Habe l e al., 2021. En i onmen al Science & Technology.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1021/acs.es .0c05642.
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
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•Ma e ial s ock maps
de i ed wi h nigh ime
ligh s achie e 0.5-1 km
esolu ion
•Dis inguishing impo an
ea u es ( ypes and spa ial
pa e ns o buil
s uc u es) impossible a
1km
•10 m esolu ion p o ides
ich and meaning ul
in o ma ion on unc ion
o s ocks
Why do we need high spa ial esolu ion?
Types o buil s uc u es can only be disce ned a high esolu ion
10 m 100 m 1,000 m
Habe l e al., 2021. En . Sci. Tech.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1021/acs.es .0c05642.
Maps o buil s uc u es (buildings & anspo a ion in as uc u es) a 10m esolu ion a e meanhwile a ailable o
se e al coun ies, e.g. Aus ia & Ge many (h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.1021/acs.es .0c05642), also in >30 ime se ies
(h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/jiec.13343), UK h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j. escon ec.2024.107630, con e minous USA
(h ps://doi.o g/10.1038/s41467-023-43755-5)
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
This esea ch was unded in whole o in pa by he
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•In as uc u es a e a key d i e o esou ce use. Thei buildup cu en ly equi es ~60% o all
ma e ial esou ces globally.
•Size and pa e ns o in as uc u es a e key de e minan s o dissipa i e use o esou ces (e.g.,
ene gy use) and he eby d i e GHG emissions and o he en i onmen al p essu es
•They play a c ucial ole o lock-in e ec s (e.g., s abiliza ion o esou ce-in ensi e li es yles)
•In as uc u es play a c ucial ole in p o iding socie ies wi h se ices o key impo ance o
human wellbeing
•Be e design o in as uc u es can help o imp o e well-being con ibu ions while educing
esou ce use and emisions
Conclusions
REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
Helmu Habe l
Ins i u e o Social Ecology
T +43 1 47654-73714
helmu .habe [email protected]
BOKU Uni e si y
Ins i u e o Social Ecology
Scho en eldgasse 29
1070 Vienna
boku.ac.a REMASS | Resilience and Malleabili y o Social Me abolism | doi: 10.55776/EFP5 | h ps:// emass.boku.ac.a /
