Sustainable Urban Development

• Ecological footprint is a measure of the environmental impact of communities or individuals. It is defined as the total areas of productive land and water required to produce the resources a population consumes and absorb the waste it produces
• To live within the means of the planets resources, the world's ecological footprint would have to equal 1.7 hectares per person, in 2019 humanity was using resources 1.75 times faster than the ecosystems can regenerate
• London's ecological footprint covers an area almost twice the size of the UK
• Unsustainable Linear System

  • Inputs = food goods, non-renewable energy, people
  • Mega City
  • Outputs = waste (organic, inorganic), air pollution and noise pollution, goods, services, wealth
• Sustainable/Circular System

  • Inputs = local food and goods, renewable energy, people
  • Eco City = recycling of organic and inorganic waste
  • Reduced outputs
  • e.g. Copenhagen, Curitiba, Freiburg
• Idea of sustainable in the 1987 report 'Our Common Future' by UN World Commission on Environment and Development, stating sustainable development is 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'
• Sustainable City = A city which provides employment, a high standard of living, a clean, healthy environment and fair governance for al its residents
• Liveability = The characteristics of a city which improve the quality of life for the people living there
• The circular nature of the sustainable city system shows how some of the outputs are recycled, which reduces both the demand for new input resources and pollution and waste levels.
• The range of indicators used to measure urban sustainability needs to incorporate social, economic, environmental and political elements
• Pillars for Achieving Urban Sustainability

  • Social development
  • Economic development
  • Environmental management
  • Urban governance
• Social Development

  • Adequate provision of schools and health services
  • Availability of food supplies
  • Green housing and buildings
  • Clean water and sanitation
• Economic Development

  • Decent employment opportunities
  • Production and distribution of renewable energy
  • Investment in green technology
• Environmental Management

  • Waste and recycling management
  • Energy efficient
  • Water management
  • Air quality conservation
  • Forest and soil management
• Urban Governance

  • Adoption of green urban planning and design strategies
  • Strategies to reduce inequalities
  • Strengthening of civil and political rights
  • Support of local, regional and global links
• Urban Resilience = the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, business and systems within a city to survive, adapt and grow, no matter what stresses and shocks they experience
• Main obstacle to cities becoming more sustainable tend to be financial ones. Rapidly growing urban populations and limited budgets often choose short term 'cheaper' solutions over long term planning
• Key Features of a Sustainable City

  • Resources and services in the city are accessible to all
  • Public transport is safe and reliable
  • Areas of open space are safe, accessible and enjoyable
  • Waste is seen as a resource, used whenever possible
  • Access to affordable housing
• Strategies for developing more sustainable cities:

  • Investment in infrastructure and services = Curitiba has an integrated bus system provides a service comparable to a subway that costs 200 times less
  • Green investment in LICs can help them go from high-carbon energy use to zero-carbon development
  • Investment in the production and use of renewable areas
  • Provision of more green areas
  • Investment in more sustainable and affordable housing
  • Local curreny
• Copenhagen was awarded the title of the European Green Capital in 2019
• Copenhagen aims to be green and carbon neutral by 2025 by:

  • Adding 100 new wind turbines
  • Reducing heat and commercial electricity consumption by 20%
  • Encouraging 75% of journeys to be by bike, foot or public transport
  • Installing 60,000m^2 of solar panels
• Social Development in Copenhagen

  • Only 2 per cent of employees work over 40 hours a week, this allows more time for family, friends, hobbies and recreational activities, lowering stress
  • 249 miles of cycle lanes means more than half of the commuters travel by bike, reducing sick days by a million
• Economic Development in Copenhagen

  • Economic and financial centre of Denmark, home to a number of international companies and successful business clusters
  • Highest wages in the world and low unemployment rates
  • Danes have an entrepreneurial spirit, holding onto independent shops and cafes
• Environmental Management in Copenhagen

  • Habour bisecting the city transformed from industrial into cultural and residential, used to be 100 overflow channels carrying pollutants, but now you can swim there
  • Has a driverless metro and regional trains and buses
  • In 2001, offshore wind farm built off the coast and produces 4% of city's energy
  • Copenhagen's Finger Plan 2007 includes protection of the greenbelt
• Urban Governance in Copenhagen

  • Denmark has one of the highest taxation levels in the world, but this provides generous state welfare
  • Citizen's Dialogue Project is publicly financed and involves direct public participation in planning
  • Very high income equality and gender equality - fair and egalitarian society