Urban Futures

A sustainable City

A sustainable City

Task:

In a group of 4, think of how can we have a

sustainable living in a city.

You should ask these questions to yourself..

Sustainable urban development in LEDCs

A sustainable futures require:

Use of appropriate technology, materials and design

Acceptable minimum standards of living

Social acceptability of projects

Widespread public participation

Main dimensions of sustainable development are..

Provision of adequate shelter for all

Improvement of human settlement management

Sustainable landuse planning and management

Integrated provision of environmental infrastructure:Water, sanitation, drainage and solid waste management

Sustainable energy and transport system

Settlement planning in disaster prone areas

Sustainable city case study: Curitiba, Brazil

Curitiba, a city in SW Brazil, an excellent model for sustainable urban development.

It has experience a rapid urban population growth from 300,000 in 1950 to over 2.1 million in 1990 but managed to avoid all the problems with such expansion.

Problems…(1950s & 1960s)

Many streams had been covered to form underground canals which restricted water flow

Houses and other buildings had been built too close to river

New buildings were built on poorly drained land on the periphery of the city

Increased in roads and concrete surfaces accelerated runoff

Solution late 1960s onwards..

Natural drainage was preserved – these natural flood plains are used as parks

Certain low-lying areas are off-limits

Parks have been extensively planted with trees; existing buildings have been converted into new sports and leisure facilities

Bus routes and bicycle paths integrate the parks into the urban life of the city

Curitiba – A model sustainable city

Although Curitiba has grown from 300,000 in 1950 to 2.2m in 2000, the city has avoided the worst of usual problems of:

CongestionPollutionUnder-employmentUnsanitary living conditionSquatter settlement

Extensive urban green space has been developed with one and a half million trees have been planted

Areas prone to flooding have been turned to wetlands

Public transport is high quality and cheap to use.

The city centre is pedestrianised

Recycling all forms of waste products is given a high priority

70% households separate recycle rubbish,

In squatter settlement, food and bus fare are exchanged for garbage

Key features of a sustainable city..

Options for sustainability Reduce the use of fossil fuel

Promote public transport

Keep waste production to within levels that can be treated locally

Provide sufficient green spaces

Reuse and reclaim land

Encourage active participation of local community

Conserve non-renewable resources

Use renewable resources

Options for sustainability..Compact cities:

minimise the amount of distanceUse less spaceRequires less infrastructureReduce urban sprawl

But is the city is too large, an area becomes:CongestedOvercrowdedOverpriced Polluted

* Then it becomes unsustainable.