Since materials and energy come from long distances around the world to support urban areas, it is critical for cities to recognize how activities and consumption within their boundaries affect places and people outside their boundaries. In short, urban sustainability will require a reconceptualization of the boundaries of responsibility for urban residents, urban leadership, and urban activities. Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text. The main five responses to urban sustainability challenges are regional planning efforts, urban growth boundaries, farmland protection policies, greenbelts, and redevelopment of brownfields. A comprehensive strategy in the form of a roadmap, which incorporates these principles while focusing on the interactions among urban and global systems, can provide a framework for all stakeholders engaged in metropolitan areas, including local and regional governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations, to enable meaningful pathways to urban sustainability. Free and expert-verified textbook solutions. Some promising models exist, such as MITs Urban Metabolism framework, that warrant further development (Ferro and Fernndez, 2013). There are different kinds of waste emitted in urban areas. Create and find flashcards in record time. Understanding indicators and making use of them to improve urban sustainability could benefit from the adoption of a DPSIR framework, as discussed by Ferro and Fernndez (2013). Name three countries with poor air quality. Health impacts, such as asthma and lung disease. Low density (suburban sprawl) is correlated with high car use. Ultimately, the goal of urban sustainability is to promote and enable the long-term well-being of people and the planet, yet doing so requires recognition of the biophysical constraints on all human and natural systems, as well as the acknowledgment that urban sustainability is multiscale and multidimensional, both encompassing and transcending urban jurisdictions. Urban sustainability is a large and multifaceted topic. Taking the challenges forward. Durable sustainability policies that transcend single leaders, no matter how influential, will also be necessary to foster reliable governance and interconnectedness over the long term for cities. UCLA will unveil plans on Nov. 15 designed to turn Los Angeles into a global model for urban sustainability. Ultimately, the laws of thermodynamics limit the amount of useful recycling. Sustainable urban development has its own challenges ranging from urban growth to environmental problems caused by climate change. How can air and water quality be a challenge to urban sustainability? View our suggested citation for this chapter. limate, precipitation, soil and sediments, vegetation, and human activities are all factors of declining water quality. urban sustainability in the long run. 1 Planetary boundaries define, as it were, the boundaries of the planetary playing field for humanity if we want to be sure of avoiding major human-induced environmental change on a global scale (Rockstrm et al., 2009). Overpopulation occurs when people exceed the resources provided by a location. outside of major urban areas with separate designations for residential, commercial, entertainment, and other services, usually only accessible by car. 4, Example of a greenbelt in Tehran, Iran. Principle 2: Human and natural systems are tightly intertwined and come together in cities. Urban sustainability goals often require behavior change, and the exact strategies for facilitating that change, whether through regulation or economic policies, require careful thought. Can a city planner prepare for everything that might go wrong, but still manage to plan cities sustainably? Assessing a citys environmental impacts at varying scales is extremely difficult. 2. Sign up for email notifications and we'll let you know about new publications in your areas of interest when they're released. Some of the major advantages of cities as identified by Rees (1996) include (1) lower costs per capita of providing piped treated water, sewer systems, waste collection, and most other forms of infrastructure and public amenities; (2) greater possibilities for, and a greater range of options for, material recycling, reuse, remanufacturing, and the specialized skills and enterprises needed to make these things happen; (3) high population density, which reduces the per capita demand for occupied land; (4) great potential through economies of scale, co-generation, and the use of waste process heat from industry or power plants, to reduce the per capita use of fossil fuel for space heating; and (5) great potential for reducing (mostly fossil) energy consumption by motor vehicles through walking. Waste management systems have the task of managing current and projected waste processing. Development, i.e., the meeting of peoples needs, requires use of resources and implies generation of wastes. Not a MyNAP member yet? This is a challenge because it promotes deregulated unsustainable urban development, conversion of rural and farmland, and car dependency. A large suburban development is built out in the countryside. For instance, domestic waste is household trash, usually generate from packaged goods. Over the long term and at global scales, economic growth and development will be constrained by finite resources and the biophysical limits of the planet to provide the resources required for development, industrialization, and urbanization. Urban sustainability has been defined in various ways with different criteria and emphases, but its goal should be to promote and enable the long-term well-being of people and the planet, through efficient use of natural resources and production of wastes within a city region while simultaneously improving its livability, through social amenities, economic opportunity, and health, so that it can better fit within the capacities of local, regional, and global ecosystems, as discussed by Newman (1999). One is that the ecological footprint is dominated by energy as over 50 percent of the footprint of most high- and middle-income nations is due to the amount of land necessary to sequester greenhouse gases (GHGs). The implementation of long-term institutional governance measures will further support urban sustainability strategies and initiatives. What are two environmental challenges to urban sustainability? Proper disposal, recycling, and waste management are critical for cities. Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features? True or false? Goals relating to local or global ecological sustainability can be incorporated into the norms, codes, and regulations that influence the built environment. Poor waste management likewise can harm the well-being of residents through improper waste disposal. Much of the current information on urban areas is about stocks or snapshots of current conditions of a single place or location. There is the issue, however, that economic and energy savings from these activities may suffer from Jevons Paradox in that money and energy saved in the ways mentioned above will be spent elsewhere, offsetting local efficiencies (Brown et al., 2011; Hall and Klitgaard, 2011). Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name. As networks grow between extended urban regions and within cities, issues of severe economic, political, and class inequalities become central to urban sustainability. Firstly, we focused on the type of the policy instrument, the challenge it wants to address, as well as its time horizon. It is crucial for city leaders to be aware of such perceptions, both true and artificial, and the many opportunities that may arise in directly addressing public concerns, as well as the risks and consequences of not doing so. See also Holmes and Pincetl (2012). Poor neighborhoods have felt the brunt of dumping, toxic waste, lack of services, and limited housing choices (Collin and Collin, 1997; Commission for Racial Justice, 1987). Urban sustainability challenges 5. A description of each of these phases is given below. Long-term policies and institutionalized activities that can promote greater equity can contribute to the future of sustainable cities. Factories and power plants, forestry and agriculture, mining and municipal wastewater treatment plants. Copyright 2023 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. ), as discussed in Chapter 2. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Create beautiful notes faster than ever before. Health equity is a crosscutting issue, and emerging research theme, in urban sustainability studies. This type of information is critically important to develop new analyses to characterize and monitor urban sustainability, especially given the links between urban places with global hinterlands. Only about 2 hectares (4.94 acres) of such ecosystems are available, however, for each person on Earth (with no heed to the independent requirements of other consumer species). In a kickoff event at UCLA's Royce Hall (see event video), Chancellor Gene Block will describe the ambitious project . Cities that want to manage the amount of resources they're consuming must also manage population increases. Part of the solution lies in how cities are planned, governed, and provide services to their citizens. Big Idea 2: IMP - How are the attitudes, values, and balance of power of a population reflected in the built landscape? These win-win efficiencies will often take advantage of economies of scale and adhere to basic ideas of robust urbanism, such as proximity and access (to minimize the time and costs of obtaining resources), density and form (to optimize the use of land, buildings, and infrastructure), and connectedness (to increase opportunities for efficient and diverse interactions). The metric most often used is the total area of productive landscape and waterscape required to support that population (Rees, 1996; Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). StudySmarter is commited to creating, free, high quality explainations, opening education to all. However, some cities are making a much more concerted effort to understand the full range of the negative environmental impacts they produce, and working toward reducing those impacts even when impacts are external to the city itself. Poor resource management can not only affect residents in cities but also people living in other parts of the world. However, air quality and water resources can be protected through proper quality management and government policy. Classifying these indicators as characterizing a driver, a pressure, the state, the impact, or a response may allow for a detailed approach to be used even in the absence of a comprehensive theory of the phenomena to be analyzed. More regulation and penalties can assist with waste management, but many countries, both developed and developing, struggle with this. In this step it is critical to engage community members and other stakeholders in identifying local constraints and opportunities that promote or deter sustainable solutions at different urban development stages. of the users don't pass the Challenges to Urban Sustainability quiz! As discussed by Bai (2007), although there are factors beyond local control, the main obstacles to bringing the global concerns onto the local level are the reflection of contradictory perceptions, concerns, interests, and priorities, rather than the scale of the issue. when people exceed the resources provided by a location. 2 Urban Sustainability Indicators and Metrics, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States. The main five responses to urban sustainability challenges are regional planning efforts, urban growth boundaries, farmland protection policies, and greenbelts. The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to influence Europe's transition towards more environmentally sustainable urbanisation patterns for years to come. Urban governments are tasked with the responsibility of managing not only water resources but also sanitation, waste, food, and air quality. The roadmap is organized in three phases: (1) creating the basis for a sustainability roadmap, (2) design and implementation, and (3) outcomes and reassessment. The first is to consider the environmental impacts of urban-based production and consumption on the needs of all people, not just those within their jurisdiction. Urban governments are tasked with the responsibility of managing not only water resources but also sanitation, waste, food, and air quality. Fill in the blank. Daly (2002) proposed three criteria that must be met for a resouce or process to be considered sustainable: Fiala (2008) pointed to two issues that can be raised regarding the ecological footprint method. These tools should provide a set of indicators whose political relevance refers both to its usefulness for securing the fulfillment of the vision established for the urban system and for providing a basis for national and international comparisons, and the metrics and indicators should be policy relevant and actionable. Once established, urban metabolism models supported by adequate tools and metrics enable a research stream to explore the optimization of resource productivity and the degree of circularity of resource streams that may be helpful in identifying critical processes for the sustainability of the urban system and opportunities for improvement. Getting an accurate picture of the environmental impacts of all human activity, including that of people working in the private sector, is almost impossible. (2012) argued that the laws of thermodynamics and biophysical constraints place limitations on what is possible for all systems, including human systems such as cities. What are some anthropogenic causes of air pollution? In other words, the challenges are also the reasons for cities to invest in sustainable urban development. AQI ranged 51-100 means the air quality is considered good. How can sanitation be a challenge to urban sustainability? For instance, with warmer recorded temperatures, glaciers melt faster. Institutional scale plays an important role in how global issues can be addressed. This means the air quality is at the level of concern of ____. For a nonrenewable resourcefossil fuel, high-grade mineral ores, fossil groundwaterthe sustainable rate of use can be no greater than the rate at which a renewable resource, used sustainably, can be substituted for it. The majority of natural resources in the world are consumed in cities. Proper disposal, recycling, and waste management are critical for cities. The results imply that poor air quality had substantial effects on infant health at concentrations near the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencymandated air quality standard and that roughly 1,300 fewer infants died in 1972 than would have in the absence of the Act. Register for a free account to start saving and receiving special member only perks. Moreover, because most cities are geographically separated from their resource base, it is difficult to assess the threat of resource depletion or decline. Restrictive housing covenants, exclusionary zoning, financing, and racism have placed minorities and low-income people in disadvantaged positions to seek housing and neighborhoods that promote health, economic prosperity, and human well-being (Denton, 2006; Rabin, 1989; Ritzdorf, 1997; Sampson, 2012; Tilley, 2006). tourism, etc. Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying. Urban areas and the activities within them use resources and produce byproducts such as waste and pollution that drive many types of global change, such as resource depletion, land-use change, loss of biodiversity, and high levels of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. It is also important to limit the use of resources that are harmful to the environment. The scientific study of environmental thresholds, their understanding, modeling, and prediction should also be integrated into early warning systems to enable policy makers to understand the challenges and impacts and respond effectively (Srebotnjak et al., 2010). The concept of planetary boundaries has been developed to outline a safe operating space for humanity that carries a low likelihood of harming the life support systems on Earth to such an extent that they no longer are able to support economic growth and human development . Urban sustainability is the goal of using resources to plan and develop cities to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of a city to ensure the quality of life of current and future residents. Making cities more resilient against these environmental threats is one of the biggest challenges faced by city authorities and requires urgent attention. Urban sprawl reduces available water catchment areas, agricultural lands and increases demand for energy. Decision making at such a complex and multiscale dimension requires prioritization of the key urban issues and an assessment of the co-net benefits associated with any action in one of these dimensions. In an era that is characterized by global flows of commodities, capital, information, and people, the resources to support urban areas extend the impacts of urban activities along environmental, economic, and social dimensions at national and international levels, and become truly global; crossing these boundaries is a prerequisite for sustainable governance. These same patterns of inequality also exist between regions and states with poor but resource-rich areas bearing the cost of the resource curse (see also Box 3-3). Healthy people, healthy biophysical environments, and healthy human-environment interactions are synergistic relationships that underpin the sustainability of cities (Liu et al., 2007). Poor resource management can not only affect residents in cities but also people living in other parts of the world. Ultimately, all the resources that form the base on which urban populations subsist come from someplace on the planet, most often outside the cities themselves, and often outside of the countries where the cities exist. Principle 4: Cities are highly interconnected. For instance, greater regional planning efforts are necessary as cities grow and change over time. There is the matter of urban growth that, if unregulated, can come in the form of suburban sprawl. UA is thus integral to the prospect of Urban Sustainability as SDG 11 ("Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable") of the U.N.'s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In each parameter of sustainability, disruptions can only be withstood to a certain level without possible irreversible consequences. What sources of urbanization can create water pollution? The development of analysis to improve the sustainability of urbanization patterns, processes, and trends has been hindered by the lack of consistent data to enable the comparison of the evolution of different urban systems, their dynamics, and benchmarks. Resources Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. The second is an understanding of the finite nature of many natural resources (or the ecosystems from which they are drawn) and of the capacities of natural systems in the wider regional, national, and international context to absorb or break down wastes. Everything you need for your studies in one place. Each of these urban sustainability challenges comes with its own host of issues. When poorly managed, urbanization can be detrimental to sustainable development. It focuses on real world examples within two key themes - smart cities and transportation - as a way to look at the challenges and practical responses related to urban sustainability. Each city's challenges are unique; however, many have implemented one or more of the following in their efforts to develop their own integrated solutions: The key here is to be able to provide information on processes across multiple scales, from individuals and households to blocks and neighborhoods to cities and regions. Here we use the concept of ecological footprint, which has been proposed as an analytic tool to estimate the load imposed on the ecosphere by any specified human population (Berkowitz and Rees, 2003). As one example, McGranahan and Satterthwaite (2003) suggested that adding concern for ecological sustainability onto existing development policies means setting limits on the rights of city enterprises or consumers to use scarce resources (wherever they come from) and to generate nonbiodegradable wastes. You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available. In discussing sustainability from a global perspective, Burger et al. Local decision making must have a larger scope than the confines of the city or region. Energy use is of particular concern for cities, as it can be both costly and wasteful. Thus, some strategies to manage communal resources, such as community-based, bottom-up approaches examined by Ostrom (2009a), may be more difficult to obtain in urban settings. Any urban sustainability strategy is rooted in place and based on a sense of place, as identified by citizens, private entities, and public authorities. This course is an introduction to various innovators and initiatives at the bleeding edge of urban sustainability and connected technology. A Review of Policy Responses on Urban Mobility" Sustainability 13, no. The continuous reassessment of the impact of the strategy implemented requires the use of metrics, and a DPSIR framework will be particularly useful to assess the progress of urban sustainability. 2 - River in the Amazon Rainforest; environmental challenges to water sustainability depend on location and water management. Turbidity is a measure of how ___ the water is. doi: 10.17226/23551. Further, sprawling urban development and high car dependency are linked with greater energy use and waste. Cities are not islands. How can urban growth boundaries respond to, How can farmland protection policies respond to, How can the redevelopment of brownfields respond to. . Upload unlimited documents and save them online. Name some illnesses that poor water quality can lead to. This requirement applies to governance vertically at all levels of administration, from local to federal and international, and horizontally among various urban sectors and spaces. For instance, industrial pollution, which can threaten air and water quality, must be mitigated. According to the definition by Gurr and King (1987), the first relates to vertical autonomy, which is a function of the citys relationship with senior-level government. This lens is needed to undergird and encourage collaborations across many organizations that will enable meaningful pathways to urban sustainability. Nie wieder prokastinieren mit unseren Lernerinnerungen. As such, there are many important opportunities for further research. Without paying heed to finite resources, urban sustainability may be increasingly difficult to attain depending on the availability and cost of key natural resources and energy as the 21st century progresses (Day et al., 2014, 2016; McDonnell and MacGregor-Fors, 2016; Ramaswami et al., 2016). How many goods are imported into and exported from a city is not known in practically any U.S. city. The highest AQI range (at the level of concern of hazardous) means that air quality is extremely poor and poses dangerous health risks to all. The ecological footprint of cities is measured by the number of people in a city and how much they're consuming. Meeting the challenges of planetary stewardship demands new governance solutions and systems that respond to the realities of interconnectedness. There is a need to go beyond conventional modes of data observation and collection and utilize information contributed by users (e.g., through social media) and in combination with Earth observation systems. For the APHG Exam, remember these six main challenges! Finally, the greater challenge of overpopulation from urban growth must be addressed and responded to through sustainable urban development. Providing the data necessary to analyze urban systems requires the integration of different economic, environmental, and social tools. This kind of waste is produced by factories or power plants. How can climate change be a challenge to urban sustainability? Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. City leaders must move quickly to plan for growth and provide the basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing their expanding populations need. This definition includes: Localized environmental health problems such as inadequate household water and sanitation and indoor air pollution. Another kind of waste produced by businesses is industrial waste, which can include anything from gravel and scrap metal to toxic chemicals. Urban sustainability therefore requires horizontal and vertical integration across multiple levels of governance, guided by four principles: the planet has biophysical limits, human and natural systems are tightly intertwined and come together in cities, urban inequality undermines sustainability efforts, and cities are highly interconnected. Fig. This paper focuses on adaptive actions in response to WEF challenges as well as the environmental implications of these responses in Harare, Zimbabwe. Urban sustainability refers to the ability of a city or urban area to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Particulate matter, lead, ground level ozone, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Developing new signals of urban performance is a crucial step to help cities maintain Earths natural capital in the long term (Alberti, 1996). A multiscale governance system that explicitly addresses interconnected resource chains and interconnected places is necessary in order to transition toward urban sustainability (Box 3-4). What pollutants occur due to agricultural practices? A suburban development is built across from a dense, urban neighborhood. Because urban systems connect distant places through the flows of people, economic goods and services, and resources, urban sustainability cannot be focused solely on cities themselves, but must also encompass places and land from which these resources originate (Seto et al., 2012). How can regional planning efforts respond tourban sustainability challenges? Improper waste disposal can lead to air, water, and soil pollution and contamination. High amounts of nutrients that lead to an algal bloom and prevents oxygen and light from entering the water. Intensive urban growth can lead to greater poverty, with local governments unable to provide services for all people. Three elements are part of this framework: A DPSIR framework is intended to respond to these challenges and to help developing urban sustainability policies and enact long-term institutional governance to enable progress toward urban sustainability. European cities have been at the forefront of the crisis from the very beginning, not only bearing the worst impacts but also becoming key actors in advocating for a green and just recovery. The following discussion of research and development needs highlights just a few ways that science can contribute to urban sustainability. Currently, many cities have sustainability strategies that do not explicitly account for the indirect, distant, or long-lived impacts of environmental consumption throughout the supply and product chains. Activities that provide co-benefits that are small in magnitude, despite being efficient and co-occurring, should be eschewed unless they come at relatively small costs to the system. Understanding these interconnections within system boundaries, from urban to global, is essential to promote sustainability. Specific strategies can then be developed to achieve the goals and targets identified. Proper land-use designation and infrastructure planning can remedy the effects of urban growth. True or false? What are some effects of air pollution on society. Environmental disasters are more likely to occur with greater intensity; buildings, streets, and facilities are more likely to be damaged or destroyed.

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