CGP Sustainable Urban Development

• Cities impact on the environment at a local scale, for example by increasing air pollution, water pollution, flood risk and by generating large amounts of waste
• Urbanisation also causes loss of open space in and around cities, resulting in loss of habitats and biodiversity
• At a global scale, cities increase demand for resources such as food, water and energy. Cities are home to around half the world's population, but account for about three-quarters of resource use. This is putting pressure on finite resources, leading to food, water and energy insecurity
• Cities are also responsible for about 60% of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change
• Ecological footprint


  The amount of land that is needed to produce everything an individual consumes, eg food, water and fuel, and to absorb their waste
• Factors that influence a city's ecological footprint

  • Wealth (eg consumption and waste production is higher in cities in richer countries)
  • Size of city (eg compact cities are easier to travel around on foot or by bike, so they produce less pollution)
  • Quality of public transport (efficient public transport systems decrease car use, and therefore reduce pollution)
• Sustainable city


  A city that meets the needs of people today without preventing future generations from meeting their needs
• Dimensions of sustainability in a city

  • Natural (how the environment, resources and waste are managed)
  • Physical (how well a city is able to support the people living there)
  • Social (how people live together, their quality of life, and the availability of basic services)
  • Economic (maintaining economic growth without causing long-term negative effects)
• Sustainability can affect the liveability of a city-this is a measure of how good living conditions in an area are
• Liveability depends on many factors, including job opportunities, crime rates, open space and access to education. Different factors matter more to different people, so everyone's view of what makes a city liveable will be different
• Opportunities for sustainable urban development

  • People are more densely concentrated in cities than in rural areas, so the provision of services such as clean water and public transport is easier and cheaper
  • Understanding of the importance of urban sustainability has increased, which has encouraged research and investment into how urban areas can be made more suitable
  • Governments may invest more in urban sustainability initiatives than rural ones, because they benefit more people
• Challenges to increasing urban sustainability

  • Requires significant investment, which many cities can't afford
  • Many cities are growing, so public services need to expand rapidly to meet the needs of a larger population
  • Some people are unwilling to change their habits, eg driving less or using less water
  • Some cities don't have appropriate infrastructure, eg roads may be too narrow to build cycle lanes
  • In the developing world, urbanisation is happening at a faster rate than in the developed world, and growth is often unplanned, which makes it harder to increase urban sustainability
• Strategies for increasing urban sustainability

  • Reducing the number of cars on the road (eg constructing new cycle lanes, introducing park and ride schemes, improving public transport provision)
  • Increasing the amount of green space (eg parks, river clean-ups, wetland restoration, tree planting)
  • Improving urban waste disposal (eg expanding recycling facilities, converting to incineration with energy recovery, encouraging composting)
  • Increasing renewable energy use (eg wind, solar, tidal power)
  • Reducing water use (eg installing water meters and water-efficient fittings, reducing water pressure)
  • Making buildings more energy efficient (eg improving insulation, installing solar panels, using energy-efficient light bulbs)