17THMILLER/SPOOLMAN

LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 22Cities and Sustainability

Half of the World’s People Live in Urban Areas (1)

• Urbanization• Creation and growth of urban and suburban areas• Percentage of people who live in such areas

• Urban growth • Rate of increase of urban populations• Immigration from rural areas• Pushed from rural areas to urban areas• Pulled to urban areas from rural areas

Half of the World’s People Live in Urban Areas (2)

• Push factors• Poverty• Lack of land to grow food• Declining labor market in agriculture• War, famine, conflicts

• Pull factors• Jobs, food, housing• Education• Health care

Half of the World’s People Live in Urban Areas (3)

• Four major trends1. Proportion of global population living in urban areas

is increasing2. Number and size of urban areas is mushrooming• Megacities, hypercities

3. Urban growth slower in developed countries4. Poverty is becoming increasingly urbanized; mostly

in less-developed countries

Urban Shanghai, Suburban Southern California, and Rural Malawi

Fig. 22-2, p. 588

Urban Population Growth

Fig. 22-3, p. 588

Global Outlook: Satellite Image of Major Urban Areas Throughout the World

Fig. 22-4, p. 589

Typical Daily Traffic Jam of People, Carts, and Other Vehicles in Delhi, India

Fig. 22-5, p. 589

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

Fig. 22-6, p. 590

Urban Sprawl Gobbles Up the Countryside (1)

• Urban sprawl • Low-density development at edges of cities/towns

• Contributing factors to urban sprawl in the U.S.1.Ample land2.Low-cost gasoline; highways3.Tax laws encouraged home ownership4.State and local zoning laws5.Multiple political jurisdictions: poor urban planning

Urban Sprawl Gobbles Up the Countryside (2)

• Megalopolis• Bowash – Boston to Washington 800 mile urban area

• Caused many environmental and economic problems

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

Fig. 22-7, p. 591

Urbanization Has Advantages (1)

• Centers of:• Economic development• Innovation• Education• Technological advances• Jobs• Industry, commerce, transportation

Urbanization Has Advantages (2)

• Urban residents tend to have• Longer lives• Lower infant mortality• Better medical care• Better social services• More recycling programs

• Concentrating people in cities can help preserve biodiversity in rural areas

Urbanization Has Disadvantages (1)

• Huge ecological footprints• Lack vegetation• Water problems• Concentrate pollution and health problems• Excessive noise• Altered climate and experience light pollution

Life Is a Desperate Struggle for the Urban Poor in Less-Developed Countries

• Slums

• Squatter settlements/shantytowns

• Terrible living conditions• Lack basic water and sanitation• High levels of pollution

• What can governments do to help?

Global Outlook: Extreme Poverty in Rio de Janeiro Slum

Fig. 22-11, p. 596

Photochemical Smog in Mexico City

Fig. 22-12, p. 597

Cities Can Grow Outward or Upward

• Compact cities• Hong Kong, China• Tokyo, Japan• Mass transit

• Dispersed cities• U.S. and Canada• Car-centered cities

Motor Vehicles Have Advantages and Disadvantages (1)

• Advantages• Mobility and convenience• Jobs in • Production and repair of vehicles• Supplying fuel• Building roads

• Status symbol

Motor Vehicles Have Advantages and Disadvantages (2)

• Disadvantages• Accidents: 1.2 million per year, 15 million injured• Kill 50 million animals per year• Largest source of outdoor air pollution• Helped create urban sprawl• Traffic congestion

Los Angeles Freeways

Fig. 22-13, p. 599

Reducing Automobile Use Is Not Easy, but It Can Be Done (1)

• Full-cost pricing: high gasoline taxes• Educate consumers first• Use funds for mass transit• Opposition from car owners and industry• Lack of good public transit is a problem

• Rapid mass transit• Difficult to pass in the United States• Strong public opposition• Dispersed nature of the U.S.

Reducing Automobile Use Is Not Easy, but It Can Be Done (2)

• Raise parking fees

• Tolls on roads, tunnels, and bridges into major cities

• Charge a fee to drive into a major city

• Car-sharing

Case Study: Zipcars

• Car-sharing network

• Rent by the hour

• Saves money for many people

Some Cities Are Promoting Alternatives to Car Ownership

• Bicycles

• Heavy-rail systems

• Light-rail systems

• Buses

• Rapid-rail system between urban areas

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

Fig. 22-18, p. 602

Conventional Land-Use Planning

• Land-use planning • Encourages future population growth• Encourages economic development • Revenues: property taxes

• 90% of local government revenue in the U.S.• Environmental and social consequences

• Zoning• Problems and potential benefits• Mixed-use zoning

Smart Growth Works (1)

• Smart growth • Reduces dependence

on cars• Controls and directs

sprawl• Cuts wasteful resource • Uses zoning laws to

channel growth

Case Study: Smart Growth in Portland, Oregon

• Since 1975• Population grew 50%• Urban area expanded 2%• Efficient light-rail and bus system• Abundant green space and parks• Clustered, mixed-use neighborhoods• Air pollution reduced 86%

• Greenest city in the United States

Preserving and Using Open Space

• Urban growth boundary• U.S. states: Washington, Oregon, and Tennessee

• Municipal parks• U.S. cities: New York City and San Francisco

• Greenbelts – area surrounding cities• Canadian cities: Vancouver and Toronto• Western European cities

Central Park, New York City, USA

Fig. 22-20, p. 605

New Urbanism Is Growing

• Conventional housing development

• Cluster development

• New urbanism, old villageism• Walkability• Mixed-use and diversity• Quality urban design• Environmental sustainability• Smart transportation

Fig. 22-21a, p. 606

Undeveloped land Creek

Marsh

Fig. 22-21b, p. 606

Typical housing development

Fig. 22-21c, p. 606

Cluster

Cluster housing development

Creek

Cluster

Pond

Case Study: New Urban Village of Vauban

• Suburb of Freiburg, Germany

• Car use heavily discouraged with high parking fees = $40,000 for a parking space

• All homes within walking distance of• Trains and other public transit• Stores, banks, restaurants, schools

• Much use of renewable energy

The Ecocity Concept: Cities for People Not Cars

• Ecocities or green cities• Build and redesign for people• Use renewable energy resources • Recycle and purify water• Use energy and matter resources efficiently• Prevent pollution and reduce waste• Recycle, reuse and compost municipal waste• Protect and support biodiversity• Urban gardens; farmers markets• Zoning and other tools for sustainability

Science Focus: Urban Indoor Farming

• Rooftop greenhouses• Sun Works: designs energy-efficient greenhouses

• Hydroponic gardens

• Skyscraper farms

• Ecological advantages and disadvantages

Case Study: A Living Building

• Living Building• Designed to fit in with local climate, vegetation, other

characteristics• Energy met solely by renewable resources• Capture, treat, reuse all water• Highly energy efficient• Esthetically pleasing

Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, New York

Fig. 22-22, p. 609