possible to the other "natural" habi- 

 tats. Instead of plant and animal 

 groups, the urban-industrial habitat was 

 divided into "sectors" that produce and 

 consume a set of commodities different 

 from those that are important in natural 

 habitats. In the technical report 

 (Costanza et al. 1983) a model of the 

 urban-industrial habitat was developed, 

 divided into 13 major sectors. 



The urban-industrial habitat cov- 

 ered 102,000 ha (252,000 acres) in the 

 MDPR in 1978, or almost 3% of the total 

 land and water area (Table 5) . The 

 distribution of urban-industrial habitat 

 in the region is shown in Figure 40. 

 New Orleans is the major urban center in 

 the region, and industrial activity is 

 concentrated along the Mississippi River 

 corridor. 



Details of the urban-industrial 

 habitat are better known than most of 

 the non-human habitats (Costanza et al. 

 1983; Larson et al. 1980). The urban- 

 industrial system is distinct from the 

 other habitats in that its major direct 

 energy source is fossil fuel rather than 

 sunlight, and it exchanges materials 

 with other urban-industrial habitats at 

 much longer range than the other habi- 

 tats in the region. 



The three major "raw materials 

 processing" sectors in this habitat are 

 forestry and fisheries, oil and gas 

 extraction, and other mining (sulphur 

 and salt mining in the MDPR). These 

 three sectors process raw material in- 

 puts received directly from the local 

 environment, resulting in products for 

 use by other local sectors and for ex- 

 port. Oil and gas extraction is by far 

 the dominant raw material activity in 

 terms of dollar value, accounting for 

 more than $l/yr generated for each m 2 of 

 urban-industrial land in 1978 (Costanza 

 et al. 1983). Of the oil and gas pro- 

 duced, more than 70% is exported from 

 the region before further processing. 

 Oil and gas extraction activities will 

 eventually wane, however. The more 

 modest $.015/m 2 /yr generated by forestry 

 and fisheries production represents a 

 possibly sustainable value derived from 

 the annual production of the local eco- 

 logical systems (Bahr et al. 1982). 



The major goods producing sector of 

 the MDPR economy produces $.26/yr worth 

 of goods for each m 2 of urban-industrial 

 land. The construction sector produces 

 many of the capital goods and structures 

 used in the region and exports about 18% 

 of its total output. The petroleum re- 

 fining, chemicals, and allied products 

 sector is important in the MDPR, pro- 

 ducing at an intensity of $.69/m 2 /yr; 

 and most of its production (80%) is 

 exported to the national market. Other 

 manufacturing is important in the 

 region, but a net import of about 10% of 

 the total requirements for manufactured 

 goods is necessary to satisfy all local 

 users (Costanza et al. 1983). 



Six sectors represent the services 

 component of the economy, divided into 

 transportation and communication ser- 

 vices, utilities, wholesale and retail 

 trade, finance, insurance and real 

 estate services, and other services. 

 The services sectors represent an essen- 

 tial component in the local economy, 

 managing the flow of goods and informa- 

 tion. Together they contribute $1.67/m 2 / 

 yr to the MDPR economy. 



The households and local government 

 sectors complete the picture of the MDPR 

 urban-industrial habitat. Households 

 represent a major component in the 

 economy. They consume much of the local 

 production of the other sectors and 

 provide labor services that are a major 

 input to all the other sectors at an 

 average intensity of $2.14/m 2 /yr. About 

 10% of the required labor services must 

 be imported from outside the MDPR. In 

 contrast, about 90% of government ser- 

 vices are imported from outside the MDPR 

 (from State and Federal governments). 



Inputs to the urban-industrial 

 habitat include fossil fuel, direct 

 solar energy, wind, water, agricultural 

 products, and natural products (fish, 

 wildlife, and forest products) from the 

 other habitats in the MDPR. The habitat 

 produces waste water, elemental wastes, 

 heavy metals, organic carbon, hydro- 

 carbons, air pollutants, and solid 

 wastes that are absorbed by the region's 

 other habitats or exported. Summary 

 rates of resource use and waste pro- 

 duction by the MDPR urban- industrial 



85 



