How Urban Environments Has Made More Sustainable And What More Needs Be Done For The Future?

Three quarters of emissions in 2004 were coming from road traffic (Woodcock, p.1930, 2009). Emissions used from transportation are forecasted to increase from the year 2007-2030 by about 80% according to studies done by James Woodcock who is currently studying climate change and health from car fuels (Woodcock, p.1930, 2009). This is due to the fact that the emissions from vehicles are increasing significantly and are higher than any other energy fragment (Woodcock, p.1930, 2009). The only way to lower this percentage is to decrease the number of individual automobiles on the road and increase the number of public transit systems, starting long distance walking to work or school, carpooling or even biking to destinations. These principles would

The world that we have grown up in is changing. By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban areas. This will

Urban sustainability is the idea that an urban area can be organised without excessive reliance on the surrounding countryside and be able to power itself with renewable sources of energy. The aim of this is to create the smallest possible environmental footprint and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land, compost used materials, recycle it or convert waste-to-energy, and to make the urban area overall contribution to climate change minimal. Therefore allowing the next generations and future generations to have the required resources without compromising them. However sustainably needs to focus also on other issues such as crime and economic factors.

How successful has the regeneration of urban areas been given the variety of ways it has been undertaken (40 marks)

New York City has unique benefits in that there are tremendous amounts of people who live within close proximity to each other. This has resulted in higher uses of mass transit systems (such as: subways and buses). On average, New York’s total environmental footprint is 7.1 metrics tons per person annually. This is much lower than national average of 24.5 metric tons. The city contributes 1% of the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere for the United States each year. (“Inventory Greenhouse of New York City,” 2007) (Jarvey, 2006)

Making a sustainble city of tommorrow requires extensive city planning. Urban cities in Canada are making strides to create large metropolitan areas more environmentally friendly by using the latest green technologies and strategies. With comittment and time, all Canadian cities can implemet methods that will create livable cities for future generations.

Bigio, G and Dahiya, B, (2004) “Urban Environment and Infrastructure towards Livable Cities.” The World Bank, USA.

Urban geography is a term that addresses the location of a city as well as that cities access to natural resources. Urban ecology, however, “analyzes how people spread out within an urban area” (12). According to the author the geographical location of a city is determined by geographical assets.” That is, the availability of water, ability to produce goods, and access to transportation routes (12).

As the world’s population continue to migrate and live in urban areas, planners, engineers, and politicians have an important responsibilities to ensure that they are livable and sustainable. But what defines an urban area, and what makes it so attractive? In my opinion, urban area are places that consists of a variety of land uses and buildings. Places where services and amenities are easily accessible to the general public, with an efficient multimodal (i.e. rail, vehicles, bikes, public transit, walking and etc.) established transportation network. As well, it should be a place where people can play, learn, work, and grow in a healthy, safe, and collaborative manner. Based on that definition, the novel, Parable of the Sower

Urban development is the social, cultural, economic and physical development of cities. The development of cities is the main topic of human geography. Urban development can be used in different ways by the researchers. It can cause the price of things to increase fast. Urban development occurs in major cities like New York City, Tokyo, Japan. Urban development started back in the earlier cities like Mesopotamia, Egypt. This spreads the culture that affect people which makes them want to go to the major cities. Over fifty percent of the earth’s population lives in urban areas. Studies show by 2045 that the number of people living in a urban area will increase.

Urbanized areas also modify microclimates and air quality by altering the nature of the land surface and generating heat (Oke, 1987). Although ecological impacts of urban development often seem to be local, urbanization also causes environmental changes at larger scales. Today's cities are sustained by a socioeconomic infrastructure that operates on global scales; the ecologically productive area required to support an urban area can be 100 to 300 times larger than the urban region (Rees & Wackernagel, 1994). A new cooperative relationship between science, business and policy is needed to gather all the information needed and to find a solution that benefits all of society. The study of urban ecology ultimately involves studying how to integrate this new interdisciplinary knowledge about urban ecosystems into policymaking processes--to improve interactions between policymakers and scientists so as to help society achieve more sustainable existence. Today, the scientific and political communities lack the effective two-way communication and trust that they need to address urban ecological problems. Although science can help society formulate a range of options to achieve societal goals, it cannot make value judgments. In addition, scientists often cannot deliver definitive answers to questions posed by policymakers. To be able to find solutions to the larger issues

A sustainable city is when harmony is reached between the environment, economy and society. Environmentally, sustainable cities are ecologically friendly by using alternative sources of energy such as solar or wind power. Economically, governments should share a similar decision-making process with institutions and with the public by having a common belief in what should be done by improving sustainability. Sorensen, Marcotullio, and Grant (2004), find that a good decision making process consists of planning and control at the municipal and national political levels which would allow local level functions to become reinforced. Socially, sustainable cities are classless, meaning that there are no social divisions which serve as limits; leading to a more equal society. One of the many ideas would be using mixed housing to remove the class divisions between people. Also, city streets would be walkable, with businesses and services located at close proximity to promote a healthier lifestyle and serve as an alternative to using cars for transportation. The writers differ in their analysis when examining the approaches to improving sustainability in cities. This section will analyze four important ideas on how cities can become more sustainable.

A modern city must take the initiative to not only look at the immediate problems, but also foresee any problems that lie ahead. Mega cities must maintain the social, geographical, and environmental aspects of a modern city. New York City is an ever-growing city that must adjust to the impending complications that lie ahead. New York City has taken many initiatives in the twenty-first century to try and improve the life of future New Yorkers. Mayor De Blasio has done a great job so far enacting policies to ensure that New York City continues to be a global model for modern life in an urban city. The conservation of the natural environment within an urban area can be an immediate challenge for any megacity, but it is very important for sustainability.

Urban sustainability is a very important topic that needs to be addressed and focused on so that cities and communities all over the world can change and reduce their harmful impact on the environment. In order to do so, communities must develop sustainably by focusing on how to manage resources in a way that guarantees welfare and promotes equity of current and future generations (Elmqvist, 2013). The impact of urbanization is only going to increase, so cities around the world need to find the means to do it in the most environmentally friendly and sustainable ways possible (Allen, 2009). Cities are a focus for sustainability because they are a hub of human activity and development, production, and consumption of goods (Elmqvist, 2013). Citizens and their governments need to embrace sustainability so they can secure the means of survival, improve the quality of the community, protect the environment, maintain healthy citizens, and to have pride in the legacy left for future generations (Roseland, 2012, p.3).

Urbanization, which is becoming a buzzword during the last few decades, is enlarging at a booming speed. It is predicted that 93 percents urban growth will occur to the year 2020, in the developing world (Elliot J.A, 1999). Generally speaking, more than half of the people around the world have been moved to cities, which led to a series of “matters” connected with people’s life that changed in a dramatical way. In this period, sustainable development, another buzzword during the past few years, came into people’s view and gradually became the mainstream of society development. Its definition is to make the development continue in a long term, which means allowing appropriate economic growth and industrialization without