1. Chapter 23
Sustainable Cities

2. Chapter Overview Questions
How is the world’s population distributed between rural and urban areas, and what factors determine how urban areas develop?
What are the major resource and environmental problems of urban areas?
How do transportation systems shape urban areas and growth, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of transportation?

3. Chapter Overview Questions (cont’d)
What methods are used for planning and controlling urban growth?
How can cities be made more sustainable and more desirable places to live?

4. Updates Online
The latest references for topics covered in this section can be found at the book companion website. Log in to the book’s e-resources page at to access InfoTrac articles.
InfoTrac: The Battle over Sprawl. Patrick Tucker. The Futurist, July-August 2006 v40 i4 p6(2).
InfoTrac: Confronting a Pattern of Warped Growth. Lisa Prevost. The New York Times, July 16, 2006 p11(L).
InfoTrac: Battle for Biloxi. Jim Lewis. The New York Times Magazine, May 21, 2006 p100(L)
InfoTrac: Can traffic congestion be cured? Anthony Downs. Washington Post, June 30, 2006.
Science Daily: Solo Living Is A Potential Environmental Time Bomb
National Geographic: Urban Sprawl
The Brookings Institution: Concentrated Poverty in New Orleans and Other American Cities

5. Video: The Working Poor
This video clip is available in CNN Today Videos for Environmental Science, 2004, Volume VII. Instructors, contact your local sales representative to order this volume, while supplies last.

6. Core Case Study: The Ecocity Concept in Curitiba, Brazil
70% of Curitiba’s 2 million people use the bus system.
Only high-rise apartments are allowed near bus routes and devote the bottom 2 floors to stores.
Bike paths run through the city.
Cars are banned from 49 blocks of the city’s downtown.

7. Core Case Study: The Ecocity Concept in Curitiba, Brazil
This bus system moves large numbers of passengers based on its infrastructure:
Express lanes for buses only.
Double and triple length buses.
Extra-wide doors for easy boarding.
Figure 23-1

8. City center Route Express Interdistrict Direct Feeder Workers
Figure 23.1
Solutions: bus system in Curitiba, Brazil. This system moves large numbers of passengers around rapidly because each of the five major spokes has two express lanes used only by buses. Double- and triple-length bus sections are hooked together as needed to carry up to 300 passengers. Boarding is speeded up by the use of extra-wide doors and raised tubes that allow passengers to pay before getting on the bus (top left).
Route
Express
Interdistrict
Direct
Feeder
Workers
Fig. 23-1, p. 548

9. URBANIZATION AND URBAN GROWTH
People move to cities because “push” factors force them out of rural areas and “pull” factors give them the hope of finding jobs and a better life in the city.
Urban populations are growing rapidly and many cities in developing countries have become centers of poverty.

10. Major Urban Areas of the World
Satellite images of the earth at night showing city lights. Currently, 49% of the world’s population live in urban areas (2% of earth’s land area).
Figure 23-2

11. Karachi 10.4 million 16.2 million Beijing 10.8 million 11.7 million
Dhaka million million
Karachi million million
Beijing million million
Los Angeles million million
Tokyo million million
New York million million
Cairo million million
Mumbai (Bombay) million million
Calcutta million million
Osaka million million
Mexico City million million
Sao Paulo million million
Manila million million
Lagos million million
Jakarta million million
Delhi million million
Key
Shanghai million million
Figure 23.2
Global outlook: major urban areas throughout the world revealed in satellite images of the earth at night showing city lights. Currently, the 47.5% of the world’s people living in urban areas occupy about 2% of the earth’s land area. Note that most of the world’s urban areas are found along the coasts of continents, and most of Africa and much of the interior of South America, Asia, and Australia are dark at night. This figure also shows the populations of the world’s 18 megacities (each with 10 million or more people) in 2006 and their projected populations in All but three are located in developing countries. QUESTION: In order, what were the world’s five most populous cities in 2006 and the five most populous ones projected for 2015? (Data from National Geophysics Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and United Nations)
Buenos Aires million million
2004 (estimated)
2015 (projected)
Fig. 23-2, p. 550

12. Case Study: Urbanization in the U.S.
8 of 10 Americans live in Urban areas.
About 48% of Americans live in consolidated metropolitan areas (bottom map).
Figure 23-4

13. Urban Sprawl
When land is available and affordable, urban areas tend to sprawl outward because:
Federal government loan guarantees stimulated the development of suburbs.
Low-cost gasoline and government funding of highways encourages automobile use.
Tax-laws encourage home ownership.
Most zoning laws separate residential and commercial use of land.
Many urban areas lack proper planning.

14. Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl in and around Las Vegas, Nevada between 1973 and 2000.
Figure 23-5

15. Urban Sprawl
As they grow and sprawl outward, urban areas merge to form megalopolis.
Bowash runs from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.
Figure 23-7

16. Natural Capital Degradation
Urban Sprawl
Land and Biodiversity
Human Health and Aesthetics
Water
Energy, Air, and Climate
Economic Effects
Increased runoff
Loss of cropland
Contaminated drinking water and air
Increased surface water & groundwater pollution
Increased energy use & waste
Higher taxes
Loss of forests and grasslands
Increased air pollution
Decline of downtown business districts
Increased use of surface water and groundwater
Loss of wetlands
Figure 23.6
Natural capital degradation: some undesirable impacts of urban sprawl or car-dependent development. QUESTION: Which five of these effects do you think are the most harmful?
Weight gain
Increased greenhouse gas emissions
Loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats
Noise pollution
Decreased storage of surface water and groundwater
Increased unemployment in central city
Sky illumination at night
Enhanced global warming
Increased wildlife roadkill
Increased flooding
Warmer microclimate (urban heat island effect)
Increased soil erosion
Traffic congestion
Decreased natural sewage treatment
Loss of tax base in central city
Fig. 23-6, p. 553

17. URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Urban areas can offer more job opportunities and better education and health, and can help protect biodiversity by concentrating people.

18. URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Cities are rarely self-sustaining, can threaten biodiversity, lack trees, concentrate pollutants and noise, spread infectious diseases, and are centers of poverty crime, and terrorism.
Figure 23-3

19. URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Urban areas rarely are sustainable systems.
Figure 23-8

20. Inputs Outputs Energy Solid wastes Noise Food Waste heat Water Wealth
Raw materials
Air pollutants
Manufactured goods
Ideas
Water pollutants
Money
Manufactured goods
Information
Figure 23.8
Natural capital degradation: urban areas rarely are sustainable systems. The typical city depends on large nonurban areas for huge inputs of matter and energy resources and for large outputs of waste matter and heat. According to an analysis by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, an area 58 times as large as that of London, England, is needed to supply its residents with resources. They estimate that meeting the needs of all the world’s people at the same rate of resource use as that of London would take at least three more earths.
Greenhouse gases
Fig. 23-8, p. 554

21. URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Noise levels of some common sounds. Prolonged exposure to lower noise levels and occasional loud sounds can greatly increase internal stress.
Figure 23-9

22. Permanent damage begins after 8-hour exposure
Noise Levels (in dbA)
Normal breathing
Quiet rural area
Rainfall
Vacuum cleaner
Lawn mower
Rock music
Earphones at loud level
Boom cars
Figure 23.9
Noise levels (in decibel-A sound pressure units) of some common sounds. You are being exposed to a sound level high enough to cause permanent hearing damage if you need to raise your voice to be heard above the racket, if a noise causes your ears to ring, or if nearby speech seems muffled. Prolonged exposure to lower noise levels and occasional loud sounds may not damage your hearing but can greatly increase internal stress.
Whisper
Quiet room
Normal conversation
Average factory
Chain saw
Thunder-clap (nearby)
Air raid siren
Military rifle
Fig. 23-9, p. 555

23. URBAN RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Extreme poverty forces hundreds of millions of people to live in slums and shantytowns where adequate water supplies, sewage disposal, and other services do not exist.
Figure 23-10

24. How Would You Vote?
To conduct an instant in-class survey using a classroom response system, access “JoinIn Clicker Content” from the PowerLecture main menu for Living in the Environment.
Should squatters around cities of developing countries be given title to land they live on?
a. No. No one has the right to steal and pollute public or private lands.
b. Yes. The poor need homes.

25. TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Land availability determines whether a city must grow vertically or spread out horizontally and whether it relies mostly on mass transit or the automobile.
If Americans doubled their use of mass transit from 5% to 10%, this would reduce U.S. dependence on oil by 40%.

26. TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Motor vehicles provide personal benefits and promote economic growth, but also kill and injure many people, pollute the air, promote urban sprawl, and result in traffic jams.
Although it would not be politically popular, we could reduce reliance on automobiles by having users pay for their harmful effects.

27. Solutions: Redesigning Urban Transport
Alternatives include walking, bicycling, and taking subways, trains, and buses.

28. How Would You Vote?
To conduct an instant in-class survey using a classroom response system, access “JoinIn Clicker Content” from the PowerLecture main menu for Living in the Environment.
Should half the U.S. gasoline tax be used to develop mass transit, bike lanes, and other alternatives to the car?
a. No. Money needed to repair roads and bridges should not be spent on bike paths and other projects that few people would use.
b. Yes. Encouraging alternatives to personal vehicles will decrease pollution and save energy.

29. Little protection in an accident Affordable
Trade-Offs
Bicycles
Advantages
Disadvantages
Little protection in an accident
Affordable
Produce no pollution
Do not protect riders from bad weather
Quiet
Require little parking space
Not practical for trips longer than 8 kilometers (5 miles)
Easy to maneuver in traffic
Figure 23.11
Trade-offs: advantages and disadvantages of bicycles. QUESTION: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important?
Take few resources to make
Can be tiring (except for electric bicycles)
Very energy efficient
Lack of secure bike parking
Provide exercise
Fig , p. 560

30. More energy efficient than cars Expensive to build and maintain
Trade-Offs
Mass Transit Rail
Advantages
Disadvantages
More energy efficient than cars
Expensive to build and maintain
Produces less air pollution than cars
Cost-effective only along a densely populated narrow corridor
Requires less land than roads and parking areas for cars
Figure 23.12
Trade-offs: advantages and disadvantages of mass transit rail systems in urban areas. QUESTION: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important?
Commits riders to transportation schedules
Causes fewer injuries and deaths than cars
Can cause noise and vibration for nearby residents
Reduces car congestion in cities
Fig , p. 560

31. More flexible than rail system
Trade-Offs
Buses
Advantages
Disadvantages
More flexible than rail system
Can lose money because they need low fares to attract riders
Can be rerouted as needed
Often get caught in traffic unless operating in express lanes
Cost less to develop and maintain than heavy-rail system
Figure 23.13
Trade-offs: advantages and disadvantages of bus systems in urban areas. QUESTION: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important?
Commits riders to transportation schedules
Can greatly reduce car use and pollution
Noisy
Fig , p. 561

32. Can reduce travel by car or plane Expensive to run and maintain
Trade-Offs
Rapid Rail
Advantages
Disadvantages
Can reduce travel by car or plane
Expensive to run and maintain
Ideal for trips of 200–1,000 kilometers (120–620 miles)
Must operate along heavily used routes to be profitable
Figure 23.14
Trade-offs: advantages and disadvantages of rapid-rail systems between urban areas. QUESTION: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important?
Much more energy efficient per rider over the same distance than a car or plane
Causes noise and vibration for nearby residents
Fig , p. 561

33. Solutions: Redesigning Urban Transport
Potential routes for high-speed bullet trains in the U.S and parts of Canada.
Figure 23-15

34. Case Study: Destroying a Great Mass Transit System in the U.S.
In the early 1900s, the U.S. had one of the world’s best street car systems.
It was bought and destroyed by companies to sell cars and buses.
At the same time, National City Lines worked to convert electric-powered commuter locomotives to diesel-powered ones.

35. URBAN LAND-USE PLANNING AND CONTROL
Most land-use planning in the U.S leads to poorly controlled urban sprawl and fund this often environmentally destructive process with property taxes.
Smart growth can help control growth patterns discourage urban sprawl, reduce car dependence, and protect ecologically sensitive areas.

36. Limits and Regulations Limit building permits Urban growth boundaries
Solutions
Smart Growth Tools
Limits and Regulations
Limit building permits
Urban growth boundaries
Greenbelts around cities
Public review of new development
Protection
Preserve existing open space
Buy new open space
Buy development rights that prohibit certain types of development on land parcels
Taxes
Tax land, not buildings
Tax land on value of actual use (such as forest and agriculture) instead of highest value as developed land
Zoning
Encourage mixed use
Concentrate development along mass transportation routes
Promote high-density cluster housing developments
Tax Breaks
For owners agreeing legally to not allow certain types of development (conservation easements)
For cleaning up and developing abandoned urban sites (brownfields)
Figure 23.16
Solutions: smart growth or new urbanism tools used to prevent and control urban growth and sprawl. QUESTIONS: Which five of these tools do you think are the most important ways to prevent or control urban sprawl? Which, if any, of these tools are being used in your community?
Planning
Ecological land-use planning
Environmental impact analysis
Integrated regional planning
State and national planning
Revitalization & New Growth
Revitalize existing towns & cities
Build well-planned new towns and villages within cities
Fig , p. 563

37. Case Study: Land-Use Planning in Oregon
Oregon has a comprehensive land-use planning process:
Permanently zone all rural land as forest, agriculture, or urban land.
Draw an urban growth line around each community.
Place control over land-use planning in State hands.

38. MAKING URBAN AREAS MORE SUSTAINABLE AND DESIREABLE PLACES TO LIVE
There is a growing movement to create mixed-use villages and neighborhoods within urban areas where people can live, work and shop close to their homes.

39. Cluster Development
High density housing units are concentrated on one portion of a parcel with the rest of the land used for commonly shared open space.
Figure 23-17

40. Creek Undeveloped land Marsh Fig. 23-17a, p. 565 Figure 23.17
Conventional and cluster housing developments as they might appear if constructed on the same land area. With cluster development, houses, town houses, condominiums, and two- to six-story apartments are built on part of the tract. The rest, typically 30–50% of the area, is left as open space, parks, and cycling and walking paths.
Fig a, p. 565

41. Typical housing development
Figure 23.17
Conventional and cluster housing developments as they might appear if constructed on the same land area. With cluster development, houses, town houses, condominiums, and two- to six-story apartments are built on part of the tract. The rest, typically 30–50% of the area, is left as open space, parks, and cycling and walking paths.
Fig b, p. 565

42. Cluster housing development Creek
Pond
Figure 23.17
Conventional and cluster housing developments as they might appear if constructed on the same land area. With cluster development, houses, town houses, condominiums, and two- to six-story apartments are built on part of the tract. The rest, typically 30–50% of the area, is left as open space, parks, and cycling and walking paths.
Fig c, p. 565

43. The Ecocity Concept
An ecocity allows people to walk, bike, or take mass transit for most of their travel, and it recycles and reuses most of its wastes, grows much of its own food, and protects biodiversity by preserving surrounding land.

44. The Ecocity Concept Principles of sustainability:
Build cities for people not cars.
Use renewable energy resources.
Use solar-power living machines and wetlands for waste water treatment.
Depend largely on recycled water.
Use energy and matter efficiently.
Prevent pollution and reduce waste.
Reuse and recycle at least 60% of municipal solid waste.

45. The Ecocity Concept
Protect biodiversity by preserving, protecting, and restoring surrounding natural areas.
Promote urban gardens and farmers markets.
Build communities that promote cultural and economic diversity.
Use zoning and other tools to keep the human population and environmentally sustainable levels.