posting
01-23-2007, 10:26 AM
WORLDWATCH: 2007 STATE OF THE WORLD OPTIMISM ABOUT CITIES
In 2005, about 3.2 billion people, or 49% of the world's total population of 6.46 billion, lived in cities. About 1 billion live in slums without adequate shelter or basic services. Urbanization in Europe and North America is relatively stable with 75% of the population already living in cities but Africa and Asia are rapidly urbanizing. It is expected that 88% of the human population growth from 2000-2030 will be urban dwellers in low-and medium-income countries in Africa and Asia and half of the city dwellers in those countries will live in slums.
The latest Worldwatch Institute's State of the World report focuses on urbanization. On the whole, most of the cities in the world are unsustainable but the high density offers the opportunity for economies of scale to provide services to the poor and protect natural resources. Among the signs of hope as outlined in the chapter by Kai Lee of Williams College in Massachusetts are:
Plans for a new developments for eco-cities. For example, construction is to begin this year on a new city, Dongtan in China, planned by the firm Arup, with windmills, green roofs, solar panels, 80% recycling of waste, and the only vehicles allowed powered by electricity or fuel cells. In theory, Dongtan will be nearly self-sufficient in food and water.
Development of institutional and/or business models allowing for development of less expensive, more flexible infrastructure and the delivery of water, sanitation and other services which are affordable and clean to low-income residents. For example, decentralizing of government, such as participatory budgeting, allows slum dwellers to help themselves in meeting their needs for nature's services.
Green architecture such as the circular metabolism used in the design of the 15-story IBM headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, one of the first green skyscrapers designed by Ken Yeang and built in 1992, which uses vertical landscaping to capture water which in turn helps to cool the building. (In July 2006, Business Week included it as one of the architectural 'Green Wonders of the World.') The eco-industrial park in Kalundborg, Denmark is another example where wastes from one industrial activity (oil refining) are burned to produce electricity in a power plant which in turn provides heat for commercial fish production. By-products of combustion are used for wallboard and concrete manufacturing.
Green infrastructure, such as natural areas and corridors, serving as both green space and functions such as flood control, cleaning waste water and recreational areas.
Developing countries leapfrogging over the industrialized countries rigid and expensive infrastructure. For example, many countries never laid down telephone lines and leapfrogged to wireless phone systems. Large-scale solar energy is being used in Rizhao, China. For a long time, some cities have had human garbage sorters redirecting a massive amount of what would have been waste.
Reduction in corruption. Singapore's conversion to modernity with its compact urban deisgn and mass transit is credited as due to "a competent, incorruptible government".Lee suggests that cities will always engage in trade and interaction with markets including outlying rural areas so that sustainable cities doesn't mean self-sufficient cities. Cities depend on many ecosystems and Lee writes that none of the cities discussed are sustainable yet because that dependence is not durable over the long run. However, he concludes on an optimistic note, "Creating urban habitats that deliver the bounty of nature in a sustainable fashion to the inhabitants of cities in all societies is an opportunity within our reach, as well as a cardinal test of our humanity."
Lee, Kai N. An Urbanizing World in Worldwatch Institute. 2007 State of the World: Our Urban Future. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall06/032923.htm (http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall06/032923.htm) and www.worldwatch.org (http://www.worldwatch.org/)
--source, THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER Vol. 12, No. 1, January 22, 2007
In 2005, about 3.2 billion people, or 49% of the world's total population of 6.46 billion, lived in cities. About 1 billion live in slums without adequate shelter or basic services. Urbanization in Europe and North America is relatively stable with 75% of the population already living in cities but Africa and Asia are rapidly urbanizing. It is expected that 88% of the human population growth from 2000-2030 will be urban dwellers in low-and medium-income countries in Africa and Asia and half of the city dwellers in those countries will live in slums.
The latest Worldwatch Institute's State of the World report focuses on urbanization. On the whole, most of the cities in the world are unsustainable but the high density offers the opportunity for economies of scale to provide services to the poor and protect natural resources. Among the signs of hope as outlined in the chapter by Kai Lee of Williams College in Massachusetts are:
Plans for a new developments for eco-cities. For example, construction is to begin this year on a new city, Dongtan in China, planned by the firm Arup, with windmills, green roofs, solar panels, 80% recycling of waste, and the only vehicles allowed powered by electricity or fuel cells. In theory, Dongtan will be nearly self-sufficient in food and water.
Development of institutional and/or business models allowing for development of less expensive, more flexible infrastructure and the delivery of water, sanitation and other services which are affordable and clean to low-income residents. For example, decentralizing of government, such as participatory budgeting, allows slum dwellers to help themselves in meeting their needs for nature's services.
Green architecture such as the circular metabolism used in the design of the 15-story IBM headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, one of the first green skyscrapers designed by Ken Yeang and built in 1992, which uses vertical landscaping to capture water which in turn helps to cool the building. (In July 2006, Business Week included it as one of the architectural 'Green Wonders of the World.') The eco-industrial park in Kalundborg, Denmark is another example where wastes from one industrial activity (oil refining) are burned to produce electricity in a power plant which in turn provides heat for commercial fish production. By-products of combustion are used for wallboard and concrete manufacturing.
Green infrastructure, such as natural areas and corridors, serving as both green space and functions such as flood control, cleaning waste water and recreational areas.
Developing countries leapfrogging over the industrialized countries rigid and expensive infrastructure. For example, many countries never laid down telephone lines and leapfrogged to wireless phone systems. Large-scale solar energy is being used in Rizhao, China. For a long time, some cities have had human garbage sorters redirecting a massive amount of what would have been waste.
Reduction in corruption. Singapore's conversion to modernity with its compact urban deisgn and mass transit is credited as due to "a competent, incorruptible government".Lee suggests that cities will always engage in trade and interaction with markets including outlying rural areas so that sustainable cities doesn't mean self-sufficient cities. Cities depend on many ecosystems and Lee writes that none of the cities discussed are sustainable yet because that dependence is not durable over the long run. However, he concludes on an optimistic note, "Creating urban habitats that deliver the bounty of nature in a sustainable fashion to the inhabitants of cities in all societies is an opportunity within our reach, as well as a cardinal test of our humanity."
Lee, Kai N. An Urbanizing World in Worldwatch Institute. 2007 State of the World: Our Urban Future. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall06/032923.htm (http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall06/032923.htm) and www.worldwatch.org (http://www.worldwatch.org/)
--source, THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER Vol. 12, No. 1, January 22, 2007