3

• Conurbation - An extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of one or more cities
• Urban Sprawl

  The spread of low-density urban or suburban development outward from an urban centre

  The physical spread of development at a rate greater than the rate of population growthper capita land consumption

  Environmentally harmful and economically inefficient

  Driven by the desire for more space, lower density living, cleaner air, more green space, decentralized employment opportunities

  Automobiles and highways, telecommunications

  Greater
• What is wrong with sprawl?

  Transportation, pollution, health, loss of farmland, habitats, ecosystems, local tax dollars
• Creating Livable Cities

  Neighbourhood, city, regional
• Zoning Bi-Laws

  Single use or mixed use

  Encouraging more mixed development

  Tries to maintain the existing “character” of neighbourhoods

  Prevents the juxtaposition of incompatible land uses

  Green space is a requirement

  Personal property rights issues vs. the collective good

  NIMBY: Not In My Backyard syndrome
• Proposal to build on the greenbelt - Ontario is proposing to remove land from the protected greenbelt in order to build at least 50k new homes while adding new land to it elsewhere
• Intensification of Development

  Build Up, Not Out

  Mixed land uses

  More highrises

  Subdividing plots of land
• Transportation Issues

  Car dependence vs. public transit, walking, cycling

  Commute times

  Traffic congestionuParking issues

  Air pollution

  Health effects: physical and psychological
• Noise Pollution

  Urban noise affects one’s quality of life

  The level of noise in many cities can also cause serious and long-term harm to health

  Makes hearing, concentrating, and working more difficult

  Disturbs sleep (insufficient or poor quality sleeps results in stress, fatigue, and changes in body’s chemical balances)

  Interferes with cognitive functions, including attention, concentration, memory, reading ability, and sound discrimination (the long-term consequences of these effects on children ‘s development are particularly significant)
• Light Pollution 


  Nocturnal wildlife

  Alters feeding, migration and reproduction patterns

  Migrating birds crash into buildings

  Human HealthuInsomnia, migraine

  Waste of energy
• Urban Air Pollution

  Car exhaust

  Photochemical smog

  The energy demand of office towers and other structures
• Biophilia hypothesis: the idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life
• Attention Restoration Theory (ART): (Kaplan, 1989, 1995) suggests that mental fatigue and concentration can be improved by time spent in, or looking at nature
• Resource Sinks: ecological footprint is larger than their land area, but cities are more environmentally sustainable than a dispersed population
• Economy of proximity: it is simpler and cheaper to deliver goods and services to people who are clustered together, and it generates fewer environmental impacts as well
• Efficiency: help minimize per capita consumption by maximizing the efficiency of resource use and delivery of goods and services: electricity, water, sewage, medical services, education, cultural resources