How can we build sustainable cities

What are cities

• urban area within a country

• has people who work and live there

• features—> Large population size, built-up areas, high population density, range of functions

Large population size

• have different guidelines to identify cities—> e.g minimum population size

High population density

• population density is a measurement of the number of people living in a unit area of land.

• cities typically have a high population density compared to other parts of the country.

• formula —> Population density= number of people living in an area/ land area

Built-up area

• cities are built up areas

• land surface is mostly covered by buildings

• extensive infrastructure—>system of buildings and equipment to provide basic services like water, electricity, sanitation, telecommunications and transport

Range of Functions

• administrative functions, commercial and educational activities

• manufacturing industries produce and sell a variety of products.

What is the relationship between cities and rural areas

• cities rely on rural areas for much of their food supply since cities have limited space for agricultural activites

• rural farmers grow crops and rear animals, later on using them for their own needs or selling them to cities for money which becomes their income

• rural inhabitants benefit from the cities amenities—> e.g going to cities for their healthcare services and advanced treatment/ buying goods that are only available in cities.

  Rural areas

• lower population size and density

• fewer functions

• less built-up

• connected to cities by movements of people, goods and services.

Rural urban migration

• migrants—> people who come from another country to settle down

• usually migrate from rural—> urban (rural being the ones that aren't cities and urban being the cities)

Pull factors

• good education system

• larger variety of jobs

• good paying jobs

Push factors

• poor climate

• lack of variety in jobs

• poor education system

• poor paying jobs

• political unrests, riots

How do cities affect their inhabitants and the environment.

Education and employment

• education allows people to gain skills and knowledge which can later be used when they gain employment where they are getting paid to work.

• They can use their wages gained from work to buy necessities like food to improve their well-being.

• Cities are centres of learning as they have a large population of children and young people of school-going age. Some adults also pursue life-long learning

• Cities are home to a variety if educational institutions, including vocational schools and universities that cater to different interests.

• businesses thrive in cities because of the developed infrastructure, availability of services and opportunities such as education.

• Businesses benefit from the concentration of educational institutions and hire directly from a pool of skilled employees.

• businesses offer work-study arrangements with educational institutions where students work in a company while receiving training which helps them train their employees.

Technological innovation

• refers to the use of scientific knowledge to create new products or services.

• many skilled people like designers, entrepreneurs and researched live in cities.

• funding from governments and investors are available for these people to try out new ideas.

E.g. Shading, Transport, vegetation, Building facade, water bodies and features to help with Singapore’s urban heat issue

What challenges do people in cities face?

Increased in environmental pollution

• Large amounts of fossil fuels are being burnt in cities every day due to the high concentration of people, businesses and transport networks

• causes environmental pollution where contaminants are produced and released into the physical environment which harms human health.

Water pollution

• water supplies are affected by improper management of household and industrial waste due to poor or leaked sewage systems.

• Hence water quality is reduced and threatens human health and aquatic life.

Air pollution

• Large use of coal in cities to generate electricity and high volume of vehicular traffic and emissions from factories

• prolonged exposure to air pollution leads to respiratory infection, lung cancer and even death

• poor health—> increased demand for healthcare services.

Competition for natural resources

• As cities grow with increasing number of people making their homes there, they require large amounts of natural resources to build infrastructure and supply materials for industrial use.

• high demand by cities for the limited natural resources.

Land resource

• Need for land to accommodate their large and growing populations for different purposes

• Parts of the city can be rebuilt to use land more intensively, such as by replacing low-lying buildings with taller ones.

• Competition for land can cause unhappiness when existing residents are relocated to make way for new buildings for other uses.

Water resource

• Need to ensure continual supply of clean water to meet the needs of people and businesses.

• Water catchment areas and groundwater are affected as more natural vegetation is converted to concrete surfaces