Resilient Cities : Los Angeles

The journal article is titled Adaptation: How can cities be “climate proofed”. The author poses a rhetoric question to his audience which entails the American population as well as the global population. The title puts to task the reader’s mind on what to expect in the article. He takes us back to July 1995 when the effects of climate change was felt in an American state of Chicago. The state was hit by a scorching heat wave which resulted in the death of seven hundred and thirty nine people. The residents who were affected comprised mostly the African-American population.

The West Coast City (City) was a huge and successful organization with a staff of 7,500 and an annual budget of approximately $800m. The City had own a great reputation with its well engineered and designed architectural skylines and a city that was made for the beauty and comfort of pedestrians as well as drivers and bicyclists. In fact, the City had become one of the top 10 places in the world that it was rated most desirable to live in.

The main objective of this book is to educate us on how we can make our cities more resilient to this ever growing threat. The book starts by giving us(the readers) a vision for a resilient city, but what the authors were really trying to convey is that they are trying to reduce oil dependency, which will save this resource. They say reduction of oil dependency is a necessity, they state that it will reduce impacts on the environment, and will reduce impact on human health which will lead to reduced impacts on human health and will lead to greater economic gain because they will depend on other sources of income rather than just oil. This will make the cities more economically stable because they can get their money elsewhere if the cities would stop depending on oil to bring in the cash flow.

Thank you for another week of interesting information. I do agree with your discussion regarding "climate change is likely to have very negative effects on air, drinking water, food, and shelter; also known as social and environmental determinants of health." In answering your question regarding the smog in Los Angeles, it is a worst now than the 1970's for sure. According to Karlamangla (2016), by 2050, the Los Angeles area is expected to warm by 5 degrees and higher temperatures will create more smog, leading to more asthma and cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks. Further, the changing climate will not only bring new diseases but also will threaten the water supply, worsen air quality and cardiovascular disease and cause deaths

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.

"Thrilled by his crashing boundaries Louie was untamable. As he grew into his uncommonly clever mind mere feats of daring were no longer satisfying. In Torrance a one boy insurgency was born."

Recently, the environment issues are becoming more and more serious. The increasing of greenhouse gas emission and pollutions lead to many environment problems related to climate change. The climate change impact our urban life in many aspects. As the biggest metropolitan area in US, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population about 19,831,858 by year 2012 (U.S. Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau, 2012) The population has been increased by 1.35% since 2010. The increase of population again increase the consuming of resources and increase the carbon dioxide of the statistical area which aggravate the global warming. At this moment, planners and government should take the impacts from climate change that will be critical concern to our area into consideration and applying a climate change management planning policies.

The city of Los Angeles was developed in harm’s way. “Market driven urbanization transgressed environmental common sense” (pg.9). Categorized hazardous areas, such as a floodplains and wildfire prone regions, were developed into suburban areas and industrial districts. As a result, Los Angeles has secured many disaster tragedies in its future, with “higher body counts and greater distress” (p.55).

Air pollution is really bad for the environment. Some companies operating in Southern California are spending millions of dollars to help reduce air pollution. According to a report by the American Lung Association. “Los Angeles, Riverside and Long Beach still remain the worst place

Milman, O., Luscombe, R., & Dart, T. (2017, June 12). The fight against climate change: Four cities leading the way in the Trump era. Retrieved April 13, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/12/climate-change-trump-new-york-city-san-francisco-houston-miami

Over the course of the semester, our class has learned about cities in the United States that have gone above and beyond to develop green government initiatives that benefit both communities and the environment. Although I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to find another city that even compared to those we have studied, I was wrong. The Portney (2005) reading identified Chicago, Illinois as a prime example of sustainable innovation, and as I worked through this project it became clear why. Chicago has identified the following areas as top priorities for their sustainable initiatives: Energy, transportation, economic development/job creation, water/wastewater, waste/recycling, parks/open space/water, and climate change

Being one of the biggest social issues in Los Angeles, Air pollution has two main reasons: vehicle traffic and population growth. Actually, it is in a such crucial level that scientists indicate that air pollution in Los Angeles may endanger peoples lives. Scientific researches show that the air pollution causes cancer and have an impact on pregnant woman. Advertisements shows us some solutions like making public transportation common and sustainable housing. With the growing population of Los Angeles, something has to be done . Otherwise it is going to be impossible to deal with the air pollution. Population growth in Los

Los Angeles County ranks among the 10% worst air quality polluters in the US. The hustle and bustle of public transportation and smog released by an over-populated commuter based region, have significantly lowered air quality standards. Henceforth, health concerns have risen for all Angelinos. Research has observed that there is a serious influx of pollutants in the air that could have damaging results both on adults and children alike. However, different forms of renewable energy over the years have facilitated an alternative to this issue. A movement away from an urban sprawl Los Angeles to new urbanism has allotted us better living and breathing conditions over the last several years.

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.

The increasing amount of green house gases (GHG) released in the atmosphere is causing significant changes in the environment leading to unpredictable weather patterns and warming of the climate system is putting a great pressure on city development and infrastructures. This essay outlines three problems caused by climate change in urban areas, and evaluates the effectiveness of some of the mitigation and adaptation strategies. This essay reasons that mitigation and adaptation strategies need to work in synergy in order to address the situation effectively.