five ideas for cities "let's get on with it!"
DESCRIPTION
With Australia’s current federal government wishing to be known as ‘the infrastructure government’, Chairman of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia - David Singleton – is urging decision makers to move forward with infrastructure investment but to tread wisely. He shares five ideas for cities and says "let's get on with it!" Read more here: http://ow.ly/w6vjbTRANSCRIPT
David SingletonArup
13 March 2014
Five Ideas for Cities
Aristotle said:
“people come to cities for a living….. they live in cities for a better life”
More than half of humanity now lives in cities. Urban areas account for between 60-80% of energy consumption and a commensurate share of global CO2 emissions.
Within a decade, more than 500 cities globally will have populations exceeding one million.
A statement on climate adaptation from the recent C40 Summit in Johannesburg:
“…..countries talk…but cities act”
February 2014
Cities are the clusters around whichhuman interaction is fostered, creativity and innovation flourish and economic activity is focussed
They are the focii for economic development
To foster the contributions that cities make we must understand what drives their success
These drivers can be thought of in terms of:
Demographic factorsDensityDesign and planningDiversity, of all typesDigital economy
These drivers can be thought of in terms of:
Demographic factorsDensityDesign and planningDiversity, of all typesDigital economy
Economic growth
Urbanisation
In 2008 the majority of the world’s population lived in cities
By 2050 the UN projects that 6.9 million people will live in cities (>75% of population)
Urbanisation most marked in emerging markets
Ho Chi Minh City
These drivers can be thought of in terms of:
Demographic factorsDensityDesign and planningDiversity, of all typesDigital economy
Toronto
Beijing
Canary Wharf
These drivers can be thought of in terms of:
Demographic factorsDensityDesign and planningDiversity, of all typesDigital economy
What makes cities vibrant and successful?
© Arup
What makes cities vibrant and successful?
© Arup
Green Star, South Africa
Treasure Island, San Francisco
Helsinki
Manchester
These drivers can be thought of in terms of:
Demographic factorsDensityDesign and planningDiversity, of all typesDigital economy
Copenhagen
Asian Cities
Singapore
Low Emission Vehicles
High Speed 1, UK
These drivers can be thought of in terms of:
Demographic factorsDensityDesign and planningDiversity, of all typesDigital economy
Thank you
Office Realtime
Resistance orResilience?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines resilience as “...the ability of a social or ecological system to absorb disturbances while retaining the same basic structure and ways of functioning, the capacity for self-organisation, and the capacity to adapt to stress and change”
IPCC, 2007
Cities should adopt a systemic approach to resilience that allows them to fail 'gently', rather than catastrophically.
A solution based around ‘gentle’ failure is considered a success when the city is able to function after disaster by using alternative resources and systems and through the initiatives of the local community.
Toolkit for Resilient Cities: Arup – Siemens
David SingletonArup
13 March 2014
Thank you