Four different methods have been identified that integrate two different accounting methods. Three of these methods involve LCA. The likely reason for the proliferation of LCA in the hybrid methods is that this method can bring a much needed environmental impact understanding to other methods that lack this. Furthermore, the method itself is not necessarily independently applicable as an urban metabolism method, making it more widely used in combination with other methods.

When naming methods, a convention in this report is used to list the methods in order of their usage within a study (one method generally follows the other). Individual authors may use different terminology, as there is no established protocol.