Urban metabolism encompasses all flows of energy and material resources of a city or ag- glomeration; urban form describes the way cities are built in spatial terms. Project SUME – Sustainable Urban Metabolism for Europe – analyses the relationship between urban form and urban metabolism in a long-term development perspective to 2050. It is about the contribution of urban development and reconstruction towards more resource-efficient cities. Today, with the majority of the global population living in urban areas, cities are a key contribu- tor to climate change – for better or worse. City activities are the main source of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. If global efforts to address climate change are to be successful, they will need to integrate city requirements and environmental management capacities (UNEP/UN Habitat 2009). The urban metabolism concept investigates the biophysical interaction between a society and its environment, by accounting for resource use (energy, materials, land, etc.) and outputs to the environment, and linking these with social, economic and technical parameters.