CUE - Sustainable Urban Development

Dimensions of sustainability, sustainable urban design, opportunities and challenges, liveability

Define ecological footprint:

The total area of productive land and water necessary to produce the resources for a population and absorb to waste products, measured in global hectares.

(Only 3 countries have a footprint of over 1 bn ha - China, the USA and India)

Define sustainable development:

Meeting the needs of the current population without compromising the ability of future populations to do the same.

Define urban resilience:

The capacity of people, businesses, systems and a city to survive, adapt and grow regardless of acute shocks and chronic stresses.

Define liveability:

The characteristics of city which improve the quality of life of those who live there.

Describe some factors of sustainable cities:

• Environmental sensitivity

• Well designed and built spaces that are inclusive for everyone

• A strong community

• Well-run, well-served and well-connected

Describe the change in ecological footprint in relation to income in London:

• High income boroughs tend to have a greater ecological footprint. An anomaly is Hillingdon

• Low income boroughs tend to have a lower ecological footprint. An an anomaly is Croydon

• Central e.g. City of London boroughs tend to have a higher footprint than places further out e.g. Havering

Describe some factors that affect liveability:

• Crime rates

• Job opportunities

• Open/green spaces

• Access to education

• Cultural + entertainment opportunities

• Social equality

This can be affected by who is judging the liveability of a place since they have different needs and preferences. E.g. older people won’t worry so much about nighlife.

Describe how the Covid-19 pandemic affected global liveability:

Areas badly affected by the pandemic became less liveable. Australian cities e.g. Melbourne rose in the rankings due to the country’s swift way of dealing with the virus.

Give some rankings of cities based on liveability:

• Vienna tends to rank highly

• HICs tend to be more liveable e.g. Geneva

• Damascus, the capital of Syria, ranked the lowest in 2021

• The northern hemisphere tends to be more liveable. An anomaly is Australia and New Zealand

Describe some challenges in sustainable urban development:

• It requires significant investment and political power

• There needs to be a public interest

• Some cities have poor infrastructure e.g. roads to narrow for bike lanes

• Politicians tend to have a short-term view

Describe some opportunities in sustainable urban development:

• Understanding of the importance of sustainability has grown recently

• Govts. are increasingly willing

• Many young people are more aware and willing to engage in activism

• People in cities are more densely concentrated so provision of services is easier

• Sustainable policies have wide-ranging benefits beyond environmental ones

Describe the Egan wheel of sustainable communities:

A wheel that splits the dimensions of sustainability into:

• Well run - people included in planning and sense of civic pride

• Well connected - transport facilities are high quality

• Well served - high quality services e.g advice, food and healthcare

• Environmentally sensitive - seeking to mitigate climate change and protect the environment

• Fair for everyone - equality for all groups of people

• Thriving - local economic opportunities and local spending

• Well designed and built - a sense of place and pleasant design of high quality

• Active, inclusive and safe - Community spirit, events and low levels of crime

Describe an example of investment in infrastructure aimed at improving sustainability:

• An integrated bus system under Curitiba’s 1970 master plan, with bus lanes that cost 0.5% of a subway system

• It has reduced CO2 emissions significantly

Describe an example of retrofitting buildings aimed at improving sustainability:

• In Freiburg, there are solar investment subsidies

• Plus energy buildings produce more energy than they consume

• Low-energy construction standards have been introduced to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030

Describe an example of investment in waste management aimed at improving sustainability:

• In Curitiba, residents of favelas can sell their rubbish back to the city

• They receive food + bus tokens as well as football tickets

Describe an example of investment in sustainable housing aimed at improving sustainability:

• Low carbon developments include the BEDZED project and Greenwich Millennium Village

• Recycled and local materials were used

• A mixture of tenancies

Describe how local currencies can make communities more sustainable:

• Local currencies e.g the Bristol Pound keeps money within the area

• For every local pound spent, £1.73 is generated via the multiplier effect

• For every £1 spent in a chain shop, only 35p is re-spent locally

Define active planning:

Including everyone in city planning in order to meet everyone’s needs.

Define disaster/risk reduction schemes:

Schemes such as tidal barriers + early warning systems that mitigate the impacts of natural hazards to make the community more secure.

Describe some sustainability issues in Mumbai:

• The AQI can reach 300 - 100 is the safe limit

• 95% of their power comes from coal

• Less than 50% of sewage is treated before being released into the Arabian Sea

• 41 tonnes of plastic waste are generated daily

• 80% of all waste goes to landfill

Describe how poor governance affects Mumbai’s sustainability:

• Mumbai First says poor governance is due to populism, criminal involvement and lack of citizen participation

• Local authorities have little autonomy

• This makes it difficult to progress sustainable, community-oriented and forward-gazing policies and schemes

Describe how climate change is affecting Mumbai’s sustainability and liveability:

• By 2050, 1000 buildings and 24 km of road will be affected

• Cyclones have increased in frequency by 52% over the last 40 years

• Extreme rains have happened 3x more often than in the 1950s

• The World Bank says that India will be the first country to have a heatwave that goes beyond what human life can withstand

• ¼ of residents walk to work

Describe how Earth5R is improving Mumbai’s sustainability:

Operating a Mithi River cleanup, with solar-powered technology collecting waste and sorting it. Plastic is then sent to be recycled, and biowaste can be used to make biogas or compost.  

They are also teaching locals to sort waste, which they then pay them for. Recycled plastic is given to residents to upcycle and sell, this is especially benefitting women. 

Describe the Neemans x Beach Please cleanup:

A one-time event with 275 volunteers, cleaning 6000kg of waste.

Give an example of a start-up improving Mumbai’s sustainability:

They are a start-up helping to reduce single-use plastic in Mumbai. They work with locals and businesses, especially hotels.