Sustainable development, a new way of urbanization

“Erosion occurs when the soil lacks protective vegetative cover”. (Pimentel, Kounang, 1998) “Soil erosion reduces the productivity of the land by loss of water, soil, organic matter, nutrients, biota, and depth of soil.” (Pimentel, Kounang, 1998) With no conservation methods in place in certain places like: no contour farming, no cover crop, no terraces, no water ways, and tillage on steep hills is asking for a loss of productivity from the land. The effects on the land that non-conservation methods have is horrible. “Its effects are pervasive, and its damages are long lasting. (Pimentel and others 1995a)” (Pimentel, Kounang, 1998) Soil loss is a bigger factor then most people think. For an example an comparison of how much soil is actually lost in certain environments: “On sloping agricultural land under tropical rainfall, as much as 400t/ha/yr of soil is lost (Pimentel unpublished report,1990).”(Pimentel, Kounang, 1998) “Under arid conditions with relatively strong winds, as much as 5600t/ha/yr of soil has been reported lost (Gupta and Raina 1996).” (Pimentel, Kounang, 1998) Soil loss is a huge factor when conservation practices are not put into place. “According to some investigators, approximately 75 billion tons a fertile soil are lost annually from the world’s agricultural systems (Myers 1993).” (Pimentel, Kounang, 1998) Soil loss is a huge factor and many different things can be done to help slow it,

The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is still that given in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), i.e. sustainable development is ‘a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainable development is therefore about creating a better life for all people in ways that will be as viable in the future as they are at present. In other words, sustainable development is based on principles of sound husbandry of the world’s resources, and on equity in the way those resources are used and in the way in which the benefits obtained from them are distributed (Making Tourism More Sustainable, 2005).

First of all, farmers or gardeners acknowledge erosion and take into consideration of how to deal with it. When farmers or gardeners plough their plants, the topsoil can easily be eroded with wind or run-offs. This can create problems for local streams or for the soil. People learned to use other plants like bushes to counter wind erosion, also know as “windbreak”.

A: Some methods to prevent soil erosion are, planting vegetation because it lessens the impact of rainfall to soil. Another method is to build retaining walls because The retaining wall will act as a shield for the soil and prevent soil erosion from occurring. Yet another method that I have seen used regularly is tarpping and sand bagging. This is where you take large plastic sheets, or tarps and lay them down on the area in which you wish to prevent erosion. Then the sand bags are placed along the edges to keep the tarp from blowing away. These methods do not completely stop erosion all together, but they do lessen the time it would originally take without any protection.

Sustainable development is defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (IISD, par. 1 ).

The ideas continued to develop and by the 1970s there was a realization that “progress” had provided an excuse for “the reign of the free market, for colonial exploitation of non-Western societies, and for ravaging the biosphere”. (Du Pisani, 2007) In 1983 the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) addressed these issues and four years later they released The Brundtland Report. It centres around the interests and needs of humankind and argues for global equity for future generations by encouraging economic growth in poorer nations. It also argues that social equity, economic growth and environmental maintenance are all possible and core elements of the practice of SD. It also offers a definition of SD that has achieved widespread recognition.

Desertification is the spread of the desert where a forest or other vegetation used to be. It became very well known in the early 1930’s. There are hundreds of factors that contribute to the causes of Desertification. One of the main causes, although nature also plays a big part, is the human race. Some of the wildlife in the area where the Desertification is taking place can cause the death of a thousands of animals. There is a type of plant that the people of all nations are planting when they plant crops to help with something known as Erosion. All these topics and ways to help stop Desertification will be answered in this paper.

Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it does not compromise the ability of future generations. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it does not cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.

Sustainable development is the key to a brighter future with less waste production. Sustainable development involves three major sectors, social, economical and environmental. When considering these aspects separate, we can see that solution to a problem creating another. For example when creating affordable housing outside of city away from workplaces, it results in increased traffic and pollution that comes with it. Environmentalists win it seriously affects the economy and with that businesses related to that industry. From this we can see that everything is connected in one way or the other.

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.

Erosion removes the surface soils, containing most of the organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants. Thus it affects the productivity of plants. The remaining, the subsoil, tends to be less fertile, less absorbent and less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients. There are over 17,000 soil types recognized worldwide. They vary widely in structure, erodibility, fertility, and ability to produce crops. A generalized soil profile for a humid, temperate climate is showed. When the natural vegetation is cleared for agriculture, soils become exposed to erosion and loss of soil fertility. The removal of the above-ground natural

I was introduced to the term ‘Sustainable Development’ at an early age. Nevertheless, it was only after experiencing, first-hand, the devastating effects of the Chennai floods of 2015, did I discern its true meaning and its momentousness. Intensified by climate change, the traditional monsoon rains wreaked havoc, and coupled with the obstruction of natural waterways, thanks to unregulated urbanization, caused the complete inundation of a major industrial hub(Chennai). Mired in poverty, a substantial percentage of the population lost its belongings to the turbulent waters and had a hard time recovering from the disaster. Clearly, there is a problem with this sort of mindless development, whose sole purpose is economic growth. Developing and

Soil erosions are very common on farms as they are a result of poor farming methods. Farmers are instructed to use chemicals for a speedier plant growth for agricultural businesses which often result in a lack of care for the crops. Considering that after applying these harmful chemicals, not many plants will have a sustainable life and will start to weaken and eventually die back into the earth. This will leave the land flat and the soil can easily wash away, either due to precipitation or several watering methods, like, using a sprinkler to water the plants. Not just the soil but, the strength to grow plants will also decrease due to the poisonous chemicals used, like, pesticides, which keep away unwanted bugs and fertilizers, that grow

Sustainable development takes into consideration the restricted resources and urban growth boundary along with the greatly increased human life span, which is one of the main reasons sustainable development is so important. However, although environmental sustainability is important, it isn’t the only element which is crucial to account for, as economic and social sustainability also fit within the parameters of sustainable development and

The concept of sustainable development has become a major topic among intellectuals from various fields. Sustainable development has gone through various changes in its definitions and at present does not have a commonly accepted definition. The origination of the concept of sustainable development is debatable. In 1974 at a conference on Science and Technology for Human Development by the World Council of Churches the concept of a “sustainable society” is believed to have been first noted. This early concept focused on equitable distribution of scarce resources and the need for democratic decision making. In 1980 the currently used term of sustainable development emerged in the