There is a general ignorance about. 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). Furthermore, the governance of urban activities does not always lie solely with municipal or local authorities or with other levels of government. For instance, domestic waste is household trash, usually generate from packaged goods. 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. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. Chapter 4 explores the city profiles and the lessons they provide, and Chapter 5 provides a vision for improved responses to urban sustainability. Energy use is of particular concern for cities, as it can be both costly and wasteful. Climate change overall threatens cities and their built infrastructure. Sign up for email notifications and we'll let you know about new publications in your areas of interest when they're released. Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates. Consequently, what may appear to be sustainable locally, at the urban or metropolitan scale, belies the total planetary-level environmental or social consequences. 2 - River in the Amazon Rainforest; environmental challenges to water sustainability depend on location and water management. Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name. 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: Urban governments are tasked with the responsibility of managing not only water resources but also sanitation, waste, food, and air quality. Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email. Unit_6_Cities_and_Urban_Land_Use - Unit 6: Cities and Urban For instance, greater regional planning efforts are necessary as cities grow and change over time. Regional cooperation is especially important to combat suburban sprawl; as cities grow, people will look for cheaper housing in surrounding rural and suburban towns outside of cities. Stop procrastinating with our study reminders. when only one kind of use or purpose can be built. Every indicator should be connected to both an implementation and an impact statement to garner more support, to engage the public in the process, and to ensure the efficiency and impact of the indicator once realized. 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. It is beyond the scope of this report to examine all available measures, and readers are directed to any of the numerous reviews that discuss their relative merits (see, for example, uek et al., 2012; EPA, 2014a; Janetos et al., 2012; Wiedmann and Barrett, 2010; Wilson et al., 2007; The World Bank, 2016; Yale University, 2016). So Paulo Statement on Urban Sustainability: A Call to Integrate Our Specifically, market transformation can traditionally be accomplished by first supporting early adopters through incentives; next encouraging the majority to take action through market-based approaches, behavior change programs, and social norming; and, finally, regulating to prompt action from laggards. Science can also contribute to these pathways by further research and development of several key facets of urban areas including urban metabolism, threshold detection of indicators, comprehension of different data sets, and further exploration of decision-making processes linked across scales. When poorly managed, urbanization can be detrimental to sustainable development. What sources of urbanization can create water pollution? See the explanations on Suburbanization, Sprawl, and Decentralization to learn more! 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. 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. Some obstacles a sustainable city can face can range from urban growth to climate change effects. 6.11 Challenges of Urban Sustainability - Fiveable True or false? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available. Local decision making must have a larger scope than the confines of the city or region. View our suggested citation for this chapter. Urban systems are complex networks of interdependent subsystems, for which the degree and nature of the relationships are imperfectly known. Poor resource management can not only affect residents in cities but also people living in other parts of the world. A concern for sustainable development retains these conventional concerns and adds two more. Urbanization is a global phenomenon with strong sustainability implications across multiple scales. This briefing provides an initial overview of how the . 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). Sustainable management of resources and limiting the impact on the environment are important goals for cities. Sustainable urban development, as framed under Sustainable Development Goal 11, involves rethinking urban development patterns and introducing the means to make urban settlements more inclusive, productive and environmentally friendly. You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. However, recent scientific analyses have shown that major cities are actually the safest areas in the United States, significantly more so than their suburban and rural counterparts, when considering that safety involves more than simply violent crime risks but also traffic risks and other threats to safety (Myers et al., 2013). 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). But city authorities need national guidelines and often national policies. A practitioner could complement the adopted standard(s) with additional indicators unique to the citys context as necessary. This definition includes: Localized environmental health problems such as inadequate household water and sanitation and indoor air pollution. Finally, the redevelopment of brownfields, former industrial areas that have been abandoned, can be an efficient way of re-purposing infrastructure. If a city experiences overpopulation, it can lead to a high depletion of resources, lowering the quality of life for all. Maintaining good air and water quality in urban areas is a challenge as these resources are not only used more but are also vulnerable to pollutants and contaminants. 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. ir quality and water resources can be protected through proper quality management and government policy. Book Description This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Urban governments are tasked with the responsibility of managing not only water resources but also sanitation, waste, food, and air quality. As such, there are many important opportunities for further research. Lack of regulation and illegal dumping are causes for concern and can lead to a greater dispersion of pollutants without oversight. What are the six main challenges to urban sustainability? Fig. Further, unpredictable timing and quantity of precipitation can both dry up growing crops or lead to flash floods. Practitioners starting out in the field would be well served by adopting one or more of the best practice standards (e.g., United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Urban Sustainability Directors Network Sustainability Tools for Assessing and Rating Communities, and International Organization for Standardization Sustainability Standards) rather than endeavoring to develop their own unique suite of metrics as their data would be more comparable between cities and would have some degree of external validity built in. What is the ideal pH for bodies of water? Further, sprawling urban development and high car dependency are linked with greater energy use and waste. Examples of Urban Sustainability Challenges It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors. As discussed by Bai (2007), the fundamental point in the scale argument is that global environmental issues are simply beyond the reach and concern of city government, and therefore it is difficult to tackle these issues at the local level. 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. Identify your study strength and weaknesses. For example, as discussed by Bai (2007), at least two important institutional factors arise in addressing GHG emission in cities: The first is the vertical jurisdictional divide between different governmental levels; the second is the relations between the local government and key industries and other stakeholders. limate, precipitation, soil and sediments, vegetation, and human activities are all factors of declining water quality. Right? As described in Chapter 2, many indicators and metrics have been developed to measure sustainability, each of which has its own weaknesses and strengths as well as availability of data and ease of calculation. Ready to take your reading offline? 11: 6486 . Sustainable urban development has its own challenges ranging from urban growth to environmental problems caused by climate change. A set of standards that are required of water in order for its quality to be considered high. Transportation, industrial facilities, fossil fuels, and agriculture. 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 . The overall ecological footprint of cities is high and getting higher. Dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, nitrates, and bioindicators. 5 big challenges facing big cities of the future In discussing sustainability from a global perspective, Burger et al. In other words, the challenges are also the reasons for cities to invest in sustainable urban development. 4, Example of a greenbelt in Tehran, Iran. While urban areas can be centers for social and economic mobility, they can also be places with significant inequality, debility, and environmental degradation: A large proportion of the worlds population with unmet needs lives in urban areas. These policies can assist with a range of sustainability policies, from providing food for cities to maintaining air quality and providing flood control. In each parameter of sustainability, disruptions can only be withstood to a certain level without possible irreversible consequences. Challenges to Urban Sustainability: Examples | StudySmarter Nongovernmental organizations and private actors such as individuals and the private sector play important roles in shaping urban activities and public perception. 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. This can assist governments in preserving natural areas or agricultural fields. Fossil fuel energy (coal, oil, and natural gas) currently supplies most of the world's energy, emitting carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere that exacerbate climate change and reduce air quality. 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. Very little information on the phases of urban processes exists, be it problem identification or decision making. Adaptive Responses to Water, Energy, and Food Challenges and - MDPI Urban sustainability is therefore a multiscale and multidimensional issue that not only centers on but transcends urban jurisdictions and which can only be addressed by durable leadership, citizen involvement, and regional partnerships as well as vertical interactions among different governmental levels. 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. Sustaining natural resources in the face of climate change and anthropogenic pressures is increasingly becoming a challenge in Africa [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ]. However,. The unrestricted growthoutside of major urban areas with separate designations for residential, commercial, entertainment, and other services, usually only accessible by car. Globally, over 50% of the population lives in urban areas today. The implementation of long-term institutional governance measures will further support urban sustainability strategies and initiatives. Providing the data necessary to analyze urban systems requires the integration of different economic, environmental, and social tools. Indicates air quality to levels to members of the public. Third, the critical task of developing finance models to support urban sustainability action requires urgent attention. This is a challenge because it promotes deregulated unsustainable urban development, conversion of rural and farmland, and car dependency. Improving urban sustainability in London - BBC Bitesize Commercial waste is generated by businesses, usually also in the form of an overabundance of packaged goods. Another approach is for government intervention through regulation of activities or the resource base. suburban sprawl, sanitation, air and water quality, climate change, energy use, and the ecological footprint of cities. It is also important to limit the use of resources that are harmful to the environment. I. 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. AQI ranged 51-100 means the air quality is considered good. These goals do not imply that city and municipal authorities need be major providers of housing and basic services, but they can act as supervisors and/or supporters of private or community provision. 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. Urban sustainability strategies and efforts must stay within planetary boundaries,1 particularly considering the urban metabolism, constituted by the material and energy flows that keep cities alive (see also Box 3-1) (Burger et al., 2012; Ferro and Fernndez, 2013). These strategies should not be developed in isolation, but rather in collaboration with, or ideally, developed by, the practitioners responsible for achieving the goals and targets. Over 10 million students from across the world are already learning smarter. Characterizing the urban metabolism constitutes a priority research agenda and includes quantification of the inputs, outputs, and storage of energy, water, nutrients, products, and wastes, at an urban scale. 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. when people exceed the resources provided by a location. PDF Five Challenges - wwwwwfse.cdn.triggerfish.cloud Bai (2007) points to threethe spatial, temporal, and institutional dimensionsand in each of these dimensions, three elements exist: scale of issues, scale of concerns, and scale of actions and responses. These areas can both improve air quality, preserve natural habitats for animals, and allow for new recreational opportunities for residents. Further mapping of these processes, networks, and linkages is important in order to more fully understand the change required at the municipal level to support global sustainability. 2. A description of each of these phases is given below. Fig. This is a target that leading cities have begun to adopt, but one that no U.S. city has developed a sound strategy to attain. The transition to sustainable urban development requires both appropriate city management and local authorities that are aware of the implications posed by new urban sustainability challenges. Urban governments are tasked with the responsibility of managing not only water resources but also sanitation, waste, food, and air quality. 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). How can regional planning efforts respond tourban sustainability challenges? Low density (suburban sprawl) is correlated with high car use. 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. Factories and power plants, forestry and agriculture, mining and municipal wastewater treatment plants. Cities are not islands. Read "Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities UA is further situated in the powerful, far-reaching influences of urbanization processes that occur within and beyond these spaces. When cities begin to grow quickly, planning and allocation of resources are critical. MyNAP members SAVE 10% off online. Given the uneven success of the Millennium Development Goals, and the unprecedented inclusion of the urban in the SDG process, the feasibility of SDG 11 was assessed in advance of . City-regional environmental problems such as ambient air pollution, inadequate waste management and pollution of rivers, lakes and coastal areas. 5. This is because without addressing these challenges, urban sustainability is not as effective. Name three countries with poor air quality. This is particularly relevant as places undergo different stages of urbanization and a consequent redrawing of borders and spheres of economic influence. You're a city planner who has gotten all the support and funding for your sustainability projects. In many ways, this is a tragedy of the commons issue, where individual cities act in their own self-interest at the peril of shared global resources. Intensive urban growth can lead to greater poverty, with local governments unable to provide services for all people. This can include waste made by offices, schools, and shops. Healthy human and natural ecosystems require that a multidimensional set of a communitys interests be expressed and actions are intentional to mediate those interests (see also Box 3-2). I have highlighted what I see as two of the most interesting and critical challenges in sustainable urban development: understanding the 'vision' (or visions) and developing a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted processes of change required to achieve more sustainable cities. A holistic view, focused on understanding system structure and behavior, will require building and managing transdisciplinary tools and metrics. A Review of Policy Responses on Urban Mobility" Sustainability 13, no. Poor waste management likewise can harm the well-being of residents through improper waste disposal. 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). Ultimately, given its U.S. focus and limited scope, this report does not fully address the notion of global flows. Fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides. Cities with a high number of these facilities are linked with poorer air quality, water contamination, and poor soil health. Each of these urban sustainability challenges comes with its own host of issues. The success of the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) depends on the availability and accessibility of robust data, as well as the reconfiguration of governance systems that can catalyse urban transformation. Indeed, often multiple cities rely on the same regions for resources. To avoid negative consequences, it is important to identify the threshold that is available and then determine the actual threshold values. There are six main challenges to urban sustainability. Discriminatory practices in the housing market over many decades have created racial segregation in central cities and suburbs. Such a framework of indicators constitutes a practical tool for policy making, as it provides actionable information that facilitates the understanding and the public perception of complex interactions between drivers, their actions and impacts, and the responses that may improve the urban sustainability, considering a global perspective. October 15, 2015. Resources Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. However, air quality and water resources can be protected through proper quality management and government policy. Health impacts, such as asthma and lung disease. Many of these class and cultural inequalities are the products of centuries of discrimination, including instances of officially sanctioned discrimination at the hands of residents and elected leaders (Fullilove and Wallance, 2011; Powell and Spencer, 2002). Simply put, any sustainability plans, including those applied in urban areas, cannot violate the laws of nature if they are to achieve acceptable, long-term outcomes for human populations. Reducing severe economic, political, class, and social inequalities is pivotal to achieving urban sustainability. Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying. 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). Goals relating to local or global ecological sustainability can be incorporated into the norms, codes, and regulations that influence the built environment. Although perfect class and economic equality is not possible, severe urban disparities should remain in check if cities are to realize their full potential and become appealing places of choice for multigenerational urban dwellers and new urban immigrants alike. 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. True or false? Part of the solution lies in how cities are planned, governed, and provide services to their citizens. Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Smart and Resilient Urban Futures for Getting an accurate picture of the environmental impacts of all human activity, including that of people working in the private sector, is almost impossible. 3 Principles of Urban Sustainability: A Roadmap for Decision Making. 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. Some promising models exist, such as MITs Urban Metabolism framework, that warrant further development (Ferro and Fernndez, 2013). Waste disposal and sanitation are growing problems as urban areas continue to grow.
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