1. GEOG 101: Day 20
Sustainable Cities

2. Housekeeping Items
Committee of the Whole City Council Meeting at 4:30 today in Shaw Auditorium, Convention Centre. Colliery Dam park is on the agenda.
The ‘save Colliery Dam’  group is also organizing a rally at the Vancouver Island Conference Center this Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 4:00 pm.  They are hoping 1,000 people will show up. News Flash! It could be today – check their Facebook page.
This weekend there is a Urban Design charrette on the future of Harewood: Friday p.m. and Saturday 9-4 p.m. To pre-register, call (250) or Chris Sholberg Once registered, you will learn the venue.

3. Housekeeping Items Any questions about the assignments?
We will be discussing urban sustainability today and will also have a guest speaker in the second half on the subject of “greenwash.”
We will be on a very tight schedule, so we may not get time before the end of the semester for people to share a little bit about what they learned from their life cycle analysis; we’ll see.

4. 20-4

5. Upon successfully completing this chapter, you will be able to
Describe the scale of urbanization
Assess urban and suburban sprawl
Outline city and regional planning and land use strategies
Evaluate transportation options
Describe the role of urban parks
Analyze environmental impacts and advantages of urban centers
Assess the pursuit of sustainable cities

6. Central Case: Planning For Long-Term Urban Sustainability On Vancouver
2003: citiesPLUS team from Vancouver area won the Grand Prize for their 100-year sustainability plan
Initiated the Sustainable Cities PLUS Network to transform cities
New urban developments incorporate principles of sustainability in Vancouver

7. Our Urbanizing World
20-7

8. Our urbanizing world
Urbanization = the movement of people from rural to urban areas
The greatest change of human society since its transition to a sedentary agricultural lifestyle
Cities offer many features that are beneficial to the environment

9. Industrialization has driven the move to urban centres
Urban populations are growing for two reasons
Human population is growing overall
More people are moving from farms to cities
In Canada, the establishment of transportation was a central factor in urban development
Worldwide, urban population is growing
80% of Canada’s populations is considered urban
28% of urban population lives in suburbs – areas that are peripheral to – and strongly “influenced” by – cities or towns
20-9

11. Today’s urban centers are unprecedented in scale and rate of growth
Mega-cities: 20 cities are home to more than 10 million residents
Tokyo, Japan, is home to 36.5 million people
Mexico City and New York City, each hold 19 million
Metropolitan areas: The majority of urban dwellers live in smaller cities
Cities in the developing world are growing at rates of 3% to 5% per year and even higher

12. Defining Homelessness
weighing the issues
Defining Homelessness
Definitions of homelessness vary dramatically. Are you homeless if your lack of shelter is “voluntary”? What if you are unable to maintain a job and home because of mental illness or an addiction? Are you homeless if you live in wholly inadequate housing? (What if the “housing” is a cardboard box or a shipping crate?) Are you homeless if you are a transient worker, sleeping each night, for example, at the construction site where you will work the next day?

13. Defining Homelessness (cont’d)
weighing the issues
Defining Homelessness (cont’d)
Can you think of some ways in which environmental change could cause homelessness, perhaps on a temporary basis? How do environmental change and environmental hazards make life difficult for homeless people? Try to think beyond the borders of the familiar, and consider what life is like for homeless people in the developing world. Are there homeless people in the town or city where you are living? If you think not, look again. Many homeless people are “invisible,” either because they prefer to keep a low profile or because we choose not to see them.

14. Various factors influence the geography of urban areas
Climate, topography, and the configuration of waterways help determine if a small settlement becomes a large city
Many well-located cities have acted as linchpins in trading networks
Draw in resources from outlying rural areas
Globalization has contributed to decentralized population centres in developed nations

15. People have moved to suburbs
1960s: Affluent city dwellers moved to cleaner, less-crowded suburbs
Suburbs had advantages of space and privacy
More space, better economic conditions, cheaper real estate, less crime, and better schools
But natural space decreased with increasing suburbs
People had to drive everywhere, increasing traffic congestion

16. Sprawl
20-16

17. Sprawl
The term sprawl has been laden with meanings and connotes different things to different people
To some – esthetically ugly, environmentally harmful, and economically inefficient
To others – collective outgrowth of reasonable individual desires and decisions
Sprawl = the spread of low-density urban or suburban development outward from an urban center

18. Today’s urban areas spread outward
Urban and suburban areas have grown spatially
Suburban growth entails allotting more space per person than does city dwelling
Many researchers define sprawl as – the physical spread of development at a rate greater than the rate of population growth
20-18

19. Today’s urban areas spread outward (cont’d)
Sprawl varies from one area to another
Temperature climate, decentralized employment, early public transport infrastructure, unincorporated land in urban fringe
Several types of standard development approaches can result in sprawl
Uncentred commercial strip development
Low-density single-use development
Scattered, or leap-frog, development
Sparse street network
20-19

20. Sprawl has several causes
Human population growth
Per capita land consumption – each person takes up more land
Highways, automobiles, technologies, telecommunications and the internet
People like having space and privacy
Social perception

21. What is wrong with sprawl?
Transportation: people are forced to drive cars
Pressure to own cars and drive greater distances
Increases dependence on nonrenewable petroleum
Lack of mass transit options
More traffic accidents
Pollution from sprawl’s effects on transportation
Carbon dioxide, nitrogen- and sulfur-containing air pollutants
Motor oil and road salt from roads and parking lots

22. What is wrong with sprawl (cont’d)?
Health: promotes physical inactivity because driving cars replaces walking
Increases obesity and high blood pressure
Land use: less land is left as forests, fields, farmland, or ranchland
Loss of ecosystem services, recreation, aesthetic beauty, wildlife habitat
Economics: drains tax dollars from communities
For roads, water and sewer systems, electricity, police and fire services, schools in new developments

23. weighing the issues Sprawl near you
Is there sprawl in the area where you live?
Are you bothered by it, or not?
Has development in your area had any of the impacts described above?
Do you think your city or town should use its resources to encourage outward growth, or should densification be encouraged?

24. Creating Liveable Cities
20-24

25. City and regional planning are means for creating liveable urban areas
Planning = the professional pursuit that attempts to design cities so as to maximize their efficiency, functionality, and beauty
development options
transportation needs
public parks
Regional planning = deals with same issues as city planning, but with broader geographic scales that must coordinate with multiple municipal governments 25

26. Zoning is a key tool for planning
Zoning = practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use
Zoning gives planners a means of guiding what gets built where
Opponents say that zoning’s government restriction violates individual freedoms
Proponents say government can set limits for the good of the community
[Zoning is often misused] 26

27. Zoning and Development
weighing the issues
Zoning and Development
Imagine you own a 5-ha parcel of land that you want to sell for housing development – but the local zoning board rezones the land so as to prohibit the development. How would you respond?
Now imagine that you live next to someone else’s undeveloped 5-ha parcel. You enjoy the privacy it provides – but the local zoning board rezones the land so that it can be developed into a dense housing subdivision. How would you respond?
What factors do you think members of a zoning board should take into consideration when deciding how to zone or rezone land in a community?

28. Urban growth boundaries and greenbelts are now widely used
Concentrate development
Prevents sprawl
Preserve working farms, orchards, ranches, and forests
May reduce infrastructure costs
Increases housing prices within their boundaries
Greenbelt = a land use or zoning designation that is intended to contain urban development while protecting natural or agricultural lands 28

29. “Smart growth” aims to counter sprawl
Smart growth = urban growth boundaries and other land use policies to control growth
Proponents promote:
Healthy neighborhoods and communities
Jobs and economic development
Transportation options
Environmental quality
Building “up, not out”
Focusing development in existing areas
Favoring multistory shop-houses and high-rises 29

30. “Smart growth” aims to counter sprawl (cont’d)
Principles of “Smart Growth”
Mixed land uses
Compact building design
Range of housing opportunities and choices
Walkable neighborhoods
Distinctive, attractive neighborhoods
Preserve open space
Develop existing communities
A variety of transportation choices
Predictable development decisions
Community collaboration in development decisions

31. “New urbanism” and “liveable cities” are now in vogue
New urbanism = neighborhoods are designed on a walkable scale
Homes, businesses, and schools are close together
Functional neighborhoods in which most of a family’s needs can be met without the use of a car
Aims is to accommodate diversity
McKenzie Towne in
Calgary 31

32. Transportation options are vital to liveable cities
A key in improvement of quality of urban life
Options include:
Public buses
Trains and subways
Light rail = smaller rail systems powered by electricity
Cheaper, more energy efficient, and cleaner
Traffic congestion is eased 32

33. 33

34. Transportation options are vital to liveable cities (cont’d)
Establishing mass transit is not always easy
Governments can encourage mass transit
Raise fuel taxes
Tax inefficient modes of transport
Reward carpoolers
Encourage bicycle use and bus ridership
Charge trucks for road damage
Stimulate investment in renewed urban centers

35. Parks and open spaces are key elements of liveable cities
City dwellers want to escape from noise, commotion, and stress of urban life
Natural lands, public parks, and open space provide greenery, scenic beauty, freedom, and recreation
Protecting natural lands becomes more important with increased urbanization
Because urban dwellers become more isolated and disconnected with nature

36. City parks were widely established at the turn of the last century
Esthetic interests of the educated elite
Recreational interests of the broader citizenry
Ecological interests of urban wildlands
Biophilia – natural affinity for contact with other organism

37. Smaller public spaces are also important
Playgrounds, community gardens
Greenways = strips of land that connect parks or neighborhoods
Protect water quality
Boost property values
Corridors for wildlife movement
Ecological restoration in cities

38. Urban Sustainability
20-38

39. Urban resource consumption brings a mix of environmental impacts
Resource sinks
Efficiency
More consumption

40. Urban resource consumption brings a mix of environmental impacts (cont’d)
Resource sinks = cities must import resources from long distances
We rely on large expanses of land elsewhere for resources
We need natural land for ecosystem services (air and water purification, nutrient cycling, water treatment)

41. Urban resource consumption brings a mix of environmental impacts (cont’d)
Efficiency - Maximize the efficiency of resource use and delivery of goods and services
The density of cities facilitates the provision of social services
Medical services
Education
Water
Sewer systems
Waste disposal
Public transportation

42. Urban resource consumption brings a mix of environmental impacts (cont’d)
More Consumption = heavy use of outside resources extends ecological footprints of cities to a level far beyond their actual sizes
Cities take up only 2% of the land surface, but consume more than 75% of the world’s resources
Urban dwellers have far larger ecological footprints that rural dwellers
But, urban residents tend to be wealthier, and wealth correlates with consumption

43. Urban intensification preserves land
Because people are packed densely in cities, more land outside cities is left undeveloped
If cities did not exist, we would have much less room for agriculture, wilderness, biodiversity, or privacy
Leaves unfragmented habitat for wildlife

44. Urban centres suffer and export pollution
Cities export wastes
Urban heat island effect = cities have ambient temperatures that are several degrees higher than the surrounding areas
Noise pollution = undesired ambient sound
Can induce stress and harm hearing
Light pollution = lights obscure the night sky, impairing the visibility of stars

45. Urban centers foster innovation and offer cultural resources
Cities promote a flourishing cultural life
Spark innovation and creativity
Promote education and scientific research
Are engines of technological and artistic inventiveness
Serve as markets for organic produce, recycling, and education
Urban-based programs (e.g. EcoSpark, Toronto Lichen Count)

46. Some seek sustainability for cities
Urban ecology = cities can be viewed as ecosystems
Maximize efficient use of resources
Recycle
Develop environmentally friendly technologies
Account fully for external costs
Offer tax incentives for sustainable practices
Use locally produced resources
Use organic waste and wastewater to restore soil
Encourage urban agriculture

47. Conclusion
As half the human population has moved to urban lifestyles, our environmental impact has changed
Resources must be delivered over long distances
Urban sustainability makes urban areas better places to live
Expanding transportation options to relieve congestion
Ensuring access to park lands and greenspaces prevents us from becoming isolated from nature
Continued experimentation in cities will help us

48. QUESTION: Review
_______ occurred as a result of deteriorating conditions in the inner cities
a) Movement to suburbs
b) Movement to rural areas
c) Development of inner cities
d) Decentralization of city management
Answer: a

49. QUESTION: Review “Sprawl” is defined as…?
a) Increased resource extraction from rural areas
b) Creating more livable cities
c) The spread of low-density development outward from an urban center
d) The spread of high-density development outward from an urban center
Answer: c

50. QUESTION: Review
Which of the following is NOT a cause of urban sprawl?
a) People like their privacy
b) Technology allows people to work from home
c) Technology frees businesses from having to be located in the city
d) All of the above are causes of sprawl
Answer: d

51. QUESTION: Review City planning tries to design cities so they….
a) Maximize their efficiency and beauty
b) Maximize their efficiency, even at the expense of their beauty
c) Maximize their beauty, even at the expense of their efficiency
d) Increase the tax base for needed infrastructure
Answer: a

52. QUESTION: Review Urban growth boundaries….
a) Encourage development in the suburbs
b) Can be implemented only in wealthier cities
c) Keeps growth within existing urbanized areas
d) Are no longer a viable option for U.S. cities
Answer: c

53. QUESTION: Review In “new urbanism,” cities are designed around…?
a) Mass transit
b) Cars and highways
c) Walking
d) All of the above
Answer: c

54. QUESTION: Review Which statement is false, regarding cities?
a) They must import resources from far away
b) They rely on large expanses of land for ecosystem services
c) People living in cities feel more connected to nature, particularly since TV
d) Cities tend to concentrate people, allowing for more efficient consumption of resources
Answer: c

55. QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data
What major conclusion can be drawn from this graph?
a) Urbanization will decrease in less developed regions
b) Urbanization will decrease in more developed regions
c) Urbanization will increase most rapidly in less developed regions
d) Urbanization will increase most rapidly in more developed regions
Answer: c

56. QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data
What result can be anticipated from the following type of development?
a) Urban sprawl will increase
b) Urban sprawl will decrease
c) People will leave this area and move back to the city
d) People will suffer stress from overcrowding
Answer: a