6.3 - Sustainable Urban Development MORE ON ISSUES NOT SOLUTIONS

2 NAMED EXAMPLES: waste disposal

Curitiba

• 70% of waste is recycled

• Green exchange programme - residents exchange recyclable waste for food or bus passes

Cairo - Zabbaleen

• community that collects waste door to door, make profit by feeding it to pigs which they sell and selling recyclables like bottles

• informal economy

why is waste management often more successful in MICs and LICs

poverty forces people to value waste more, sorting and selling as much as they can

EXAMPLE: urban air pollution PROBLEMS

Mexico city

• population boom + rising income → more people more cars + congestion

• †surrounded by mountains → harder for wind to disperse pollutants

• high altitude → intense sunlight → photochemical smog

EXAMPLES: urban air pollution SOLUTIONS

Bham, London, Bristol - Clean Air Zones in city centres

Mexico City

• Hoy No Circula programme - cars can only drive on certain days based on licence plate numbers

• Regular vehicle emissions checks

• Green roofs on gov buildings

• PROGRESS SEEN IN THE PAST 15 YEARS

EXAMPLE - Sustainable management of housing

Wapping Wharf in Bristol - brownfield site → mixed use building, using SUDS and floating reed beds

define sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

difficulties in measuring sustainability

• no universal indicators

• based on long term impact, difficult to measure at present

• dependent on wide array of factors

• greenwashing

priorities of residents

affordable housing

secure neighbourhoods

green space

reliable transport

clean air

OVERALL: QUALITY OF LIFE

priorities of landowners

planning restrictions

rising land value

good infrastructure

opportunity for profit

priorities of business owners

footfall and accessibility

labour costs

place identity

How did the Medellin cable car promote sustainability

connected favelas with town

• accessibility for jobs, services

• accessibility promotes investment

• low carbon footprint

project accompanied with investment in local libraries, sports, kindergartens

increased community buy in by involving them via workshops

why is Bristol UK’s most sustainable city (transport, waste)

• Metrobus - runs on biogas, frequent

• plenty of bike lanes - large number of regular cyclists

• park and ride

• 50% household waste is recycled

• 5 different recycling bins

• reuse shops - repurpose unwanted items

pros and cons of recycling

pros

• maintains stock of nonrenewable resources

• reduces greenhouse gas emissions

• reduced amount of energy to recycle rather than exploiting resource

cons

• requires energy for transport

• can be labour intensive and costly

pros and cons of composting

pros

• produces fertiliser

• reduces use of chemical fertilisers

cons

• requires effort and space

• takes time

pros and cons of incineration

pros

• reduces waste volume

• heat produced can be used in place of burning fossil fuels

• produces ash for construction

cons

• expensive infrastructure and running

• greenhouse gases

• toxic chemicals produced

pros and cons of landfill

pros

• cheap and easy - v limited labour

• can create land (e.g. Hong Kong)

cons

• leachate can pollute water resources

• odour and vermin that can become vectors

• produces methane

• takes up land

peripheral penalty

low income residents pushed to affordable outskirts must face severe commute increases

Bristol One City Climate Strategy - transport

• installing EV and Hydrogen car infrastructure

• reallocation of road space away from motor vehicles

• 
  

Bristol One City Climate Strategy - solid waste disposal

• Pay as you Throw scheme (PAYT) rather than flat property tax rate

• tax high carbon product, dividend for low carbon products

Bristol One City Climate Strategy - housing

grant support for retrofitting low income households/small businesses

green jobs from retrofit programme

Bristol One City Climate Strategy - air and water pollution

heat decarbonisation - 18% more efficient than fossil fuels