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Urban communities are key unit in advancing low-carbon city. The perspective of carbon metabolism in urban communities can help in exploring the characteristics of metabolic behavior and structure, interactions among urban environment, communities and households, and thus unveiling the intrinsic drivers of carbon emissions. A conceptual model of communal carbon metabolism was developed to trace the metabolic behaviors in urban communities and applied to a typical community in Beijing. Results show that the communal metabolic system was mainly dominated by the carbon supply of household-induced energy from urban environment. Sectors of energy and household were the most active participators of the well-structured metabolic system, which should implement low-carbon strategies to mitigate local emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]