1. Sustainable Cities
Chapter 22

2. Bus Rapid Transit System in Curitiba, Brazil

3. What Are the Major Population Trends in Urban Areas?
Objective 1
What Are the Major Population Trends in Urban Areas?

4. Half of the World’s People Live in Urban Areas
Urbanization – the creation and growth of urban areas
Urban growth – the rate of increase of urban populations
Occurs in 2 ways
Natural increase (more births than deaths)
Immigration from rural areas
Pushed from rural areas to urban areas
Pulled to urban areas from rural areas

5. Four major trends
Proportion of global population living in urban areas is increasing
Number and size of urban areas is mushrooming
Megacities or megalopolises million or more people
Urban growth slower in developed countries
Poverty is becoming increasingly urbanized; mostly in developing countries

6. Satellite Image of Major Urban Areas Throughout the World

7. Typical Daily Traffic Jam of People, Carts, & Other Vehicles in Delhi, India

8. Major Urban Areas in the United States Revealed by Satellite Images at Night

9. Urban Sprawl Gobbles Up the Countryside
Urban sprawl – the growth of low-density development on the edges of cities and towns
It is eliminating surrounding agricultural and wild lands
Contributing factors to urban sprawl in the U.S.
1st = Ample land
2nd = Federal government loans
3rd = Low-cost gasoline; highways
4th = Tax laws encouraged home ownership
5th = State and local zoning laws
6th = Multiple political jurisdictions: poor urban planning

10. Urban Sprawl in and around the U. S
Urban Sprawl in and around the U.S. City of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1973 to 2000

12. U.S. Megalopolis of Bowash
What are two ways in which this development might be harming the ecosystems along the Atlantic Coast?

13. What Are the Major Urban Resource and Environmental Problems?
Objective 2
What Are the Major Urban Resource and Environmental Problems?

14. Urbanization Has Economical Advantages
Centers of:
Economic development
Innovation
Education
Technological advances
Jobs
Environmental advantages
Recycling is more economically feasible
Funding for programs is higher in urban areas
More walking, mass transportation, and bicycling

15. Urbanization Has Disadvantages
Huge ecological footprints
Urban areas only occupy 2% of the earth’s land area
Consume 75% of earth’s resources
Produce 75% of all carbon dioxide emissions
Lack vegetation
Most trees, shrubs, or other plants are destroyed to make way for parking lots and housing developments
Water problems
As cities grow, water demand increases
Reservoirs and canals must be built and deeper wells must be drilled

16. Urban Areas Rarely Are Sustainable Systems

17. Noise Levels of Some Common Sounds

18. Life Is a Desperate Struggle for the Urban Poor in Developing Countries
Slums – areas dominated by tenements(apartments) and rooming houses where several people might live in a single room
Squatter settlements – people take over unoccupied land without the owners’ permission, simply because it is their only option for survival.
Shantytowns – Located on the outskirts of cities. Shacks made from corrugated(wavy/uneven) metal, plastic sheets, scrap wood, and other scavenged building materials.

19. Extreme Poverty Forces Hundreds of Millions to Live in Slums

20. How Does Transportation Affect Urban Environmental Impacts?
Objective 3
How Does Transportation Affect Urban Environmental Impacts?

21. Cities Can Grow Outward or Upward
Compact cities (Grow Upward – very little land)
Hong Kong, China
Tokyo, Japan
Mass transit
Dispersed cities (Grow Outward – lots of land)
U.S. and Canada
Car-centered cities

22. Hong Kong, China upward growth

23. Motor Vehicles Have Advantages & Disadvantages
Mobility and convenience
Jobs in
Production and repair of vehicles
Supplying fuel
Building roads
Status symbol
Power
Sex Appeal
Social Status

24. Disadvantages Largest source of outdoor air pollution
Causes 30, ,000 premature deaths a year
Accidents: death and injury
In the US 40,000 people per year are killed and another 300,000 people are severely injured
Globally 50 million wild animals and pets are killed annually
Helped create urban sprawl
1/3rd of urban land is devoted to roads and parking lots
½ of the urban land in the US is devoted to roads & parking lots
Traffic congestion
US motorist spend an average of 2 years of their lives in traffic jams

25. Reducing Automobile Use Is Not Easy, but It Can Be Done
Full-cost pricing
Charge gasoline taxes to cover the harmful cost of driving
Difficult to pass in the United States
Strong public opposition
Mass transit: not an option in most cities
Dispersed nature of the U.S. (Outward not Upward)
What about a tax shift?
Reducing taxes on income, wages, and wealth to offset the increased taxes on gasoline

26. Raise fees on tolls, tunnels, and bridges that lead into major cities
Raise parking fees
Raise fees on tolls, tunnels, and bridges that lead into major cities
Road congestion fees - $49.00/day in London, England
Car-sharing
Members reserve a car in advance or call the network and are directed to the closest car
Then they are billed monthly for their car use

27. Write 1 advantage
& 1 disadvantage

28. Write 1 advantage
& 1 disadvantage

29. Potential Routes for High-Speed Bullet Trains in the U. S
Potential Routes for High-Speed Bullet Trains in the U.S. and Parts of Canada

30. Write 1 advantage
& 1 disadvantage

31. Write 1 advantage & 1 disadvantage

32. How Important Is Urban Land Use Planning?
Objective 4
How Important Is Urban Land Use Planning?

33. Conventional Land-Use Planning
Land-use planning – used to determine the best present and future use of each parcel of land
Encourages future population growth regardless of environmental and social consequences
Economic development
Revenues: property taxes
90% of revenue for local governments comes from property taxes
Environmental and social consequences
Zoning – various parcels of land are designated and protect areas from certain types of development
Mixed-use zoning
Allowing business to build in residential areas

34. Smart Growth Works
Smart growth - is one way to encourage more environmentally sustainable development by…
Reduces dependence on cars
Controls and directs sprawl
Cuts wasteful resource use
Example: Conserving resources by reinvesting in existing infrastructure

35. Pg 603 of text

36. Preserving and Using Open Space
Urban growth boundary – an urban growth line around each community and then allows no urban development outside those boundaries
Municipal parks – large urban parks like Central Park in New York City
Greenbelts – are an open area surrounding cities that are reserved for recreation, sustainable forestry, or other nondestructive uses

37. Central Park, New York City, USA

38. How Can Cities Become More Sustainable and Livable?
Objective 5
How Can Cities Become More Sustainable and Livable?

39. New Urbanism Is Growing
Conventional housing development has been to bulldoze a tract of woods or farmland and build rows of houses on standard-size lots and then name the street after the trees or wildlife they displaced.
(examples: Oak Lane, Fox Fields, or Cedar Drive)
Cluster development – high density housing units are built in a concentrated area and the rest of the land is used as a common area.
New urbanism a.k.a. old villageism
Walkability = everything located w/in a 10 minute walk
Mixed-use and diversity = a mix of shops, offices, and apartments
Quality urban design = emphasizing beauty and architectural aesthetics
Environmental sustainability = development with minimal environmental impact
Smart transportation = well designed systems to connect neighborhoods, towns and cities

40. Conventional and Cluster Housing Developments

41. Cities for People Not Cars
Ecocities = environmentally sustainable cities
Build and redesign for people not for cars
Use renewable energy resources
Recycle and purify water
Use energy and matter resources efficiently
Prevent pollution and reduce waste
Recycle, reuse and compost 60% of municipal waste
Protect and support biodiversity
Promote urban gardens and farmers markets
Zoning and other tools for sustainability

42. The Ecovillage Movement Is Growing
Small groups of people have come together to design and live in more sustainable villages and eco-hoods in rural, suburban, and urban areas.

43. List 5 tools used to promote smart growth.
Summary
List 5 tools used to promote smart growth.