{"id":27776,"key":"Sustainable_cities","title":"Sustainable cities","latest":{"id":1247333,"timestamp":"2026-05-12T07:14:43Z"},"content_model":"wikitext","license":{"url":"https://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:Copyrights","title":"CC-BY-SA-4.0"},"source":"{{Topic notice}}\n\n[[File:Fukuoka green roof.jpg|thumb]]\n\nOver half of the world's population already live in urban areas, making sustainable cities a key part of a sustainable planet Earth.\n\nA '''sustainable city''', '''ecocity''' or '''ecopolis''' is a entire city that is created with the intent to minimize use of [[energy]], [[water]] and imported [[food]], and minimize impact from its waste [[heat]], [[air pollution]] and [[water pollution]]. Richard Register coined the term \"ecocity\" in his 1987 book, [http://worldcat.org/oclc/15055352&referer=brief_results ''Ecocity Berkeley: building cities for a healthy future''.] Another leading figure to envisioned the sustainable city was architect Paul F. Downton, who later founded ''Ecopolis Architects''.\n\n== What is a sustainable city ==\n\nA sustainable city can feed and power itself with little reliance on the surrounding countryside, and creates the smallest possible [[ecological footprint]] for its residents. This is friendly to the surrounding environment, with negligible [[pollution]], low-impact land use, and alleviation of [[climate change]]. One effort to try and conceptualise and measure this is the [[Extended urban metabolism model]].\n\nThe first thing to consider in how sustainable a city can be is its physical layout. Sprawling means more transport cost, more cost and energy used for infrastructure, and more difficulty in ecological processing of water and [[wastewater]].\n\n== Practical achievement ==\n\nThese ecological cities are achieved though various means, such as:\n\n* Different [[Agriculture|agricultural systems]] such as agricultural plots within the city (suburbs or centre). This, in order to reduce the distance food has to travel from [[Food miles|field to fork]]. Practical work out of this may be done by either small scale/private farming plots or through larger scale agriculture (eg [[Vertical farming|farmscrapers]])\n* [[Renewable energy]] sources, such as [[wind turbines]], [[solar panel]]s, or bio-gas created from [[sewage]]. Cities provide economies of scale that make such energy sources viable.\n* Various methods to reduce the need for [[air conditioning]] (a massive energy demand), such as low lying buildings that allow air to circulate, natural ventilation systems, an increase in water features, and green spaces equaling at least 20% of the city's surface. This counters the environmental heating caused by factors such as an abundance of tarmac and asphalt, which can heat city areas by up to 6 degrees Celsius during the evening.\n* Improved [[public transport]] and an increase in pedestrianisation to reduce car emissions. This requires a radically different approach to city planning, with integrated business, industrial, and residential zones. Roads may be designed to make driving difficult.\n* Optimal building density to make public transport viable but avoid the creation of [[urban heat island]]s.\n* Solutions to decrease urban sprawl, by seeking new ways of to allow people to live closer to the workspace.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Since the workplace tends to be in the city, downtown, or urban center, they are seeking a way to increase density by changing the antiquated attitudes many suburbanites have towards inner-city areas.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} One of the new ways is on how this is achieved is by solutions worked out by the Smart Growth Movement.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}\n* [[green roof]]s\n* green transport\n* sustainable urban drainage systems or SUDS\n* [[Energy conservation|energy conservation systems/devices]]\n* xeriscaping - garden and landscape design for water conservation\n\n== Present and planned sustainable cities ==\n\n=== Present Eco-cities ===\n\n* Växjö, Sweden<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20170106230930/http://www.unep.org/GC/GCSS-IX/Documents/Swedish-1A.pdf Växjö, a eco-city in Sweden]</ref>\n* Hammarby Sjostad, Sweden<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080820171814/http://www.cooltownstudios.com/mt/archives/001143.html Hammarby Sjostad as an eco-city]</ref>\n\n=== Planned Eco-cities ===\n\n* Dongtan, China\n* Guangdon, China\n* Sanya, China<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20160306081129/http://postcarboncities.net/node/993 Sanya as eco-city]</ref>\n* 3 more to be determined eco-cities planned by Arup in China<ref>[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1635188,00.html]</ref>\n* [[Stockholm]], Sweden<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20090704195712/http://www.iclei-europe.org:80/index.php?id=4332 Stockholm eco-city by 2050]</ref>\n* Whyalla, Australia<ref>[http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16021566.800-from-steel-city-to-ecocity.html City of Whyalla as a eco-city]</ref>\n* Sydney White Bay, Australia<ref>[http://abc.net.au/news/items/200706/1944303.htm?nsw Sydney's White Bay area as an eco-city]</ref>\n\nToday, still few real life examples of sustainable cities exist. On a small scale, [[green buildings]] such as the [[Melbourne]] city council building in [[Australia]] produce much of their own energy supplies. Many shanty towns in the underdeveloped world already practice the principles of an ecopolis: efficient power use, recycling, private agriculture, and pedestrianisation. The planned development of Sociópolis in Valencia,{{W|Valencia (city in Spain)}} [[Spain]] will provide low-rise [[affordable housing]] integrated into traditional agricultural zones and irrigation systems. Perhaps the most ambitious project is a planned extension in the Chongming district of Shanghai, referred to as Dongtan. Dongtan is being designed with the specific aim of minimizing the eco-footprint of its residents, and includes plans to become self-sufficient in energy and water production.\n\n=== Population density and Green Manhattan ===\n\nThe article Green Manhattan argues that densely packed city dwellers have a smaller footprint than those in leafier, more natural looking settings. [[Population density]] actually facilitates sustainable design in [[housing]] and [[transport]]. With their apartments backing against each other (great insulation), nowhere to park a [[car]] (trains, buses and feet can work well in a dense city) and using elevators as a regular form of transport, their daily energy use is greatly reduced.\n\n=== Green urban design ===\n\nCertain movements in urban design, or [[urban planning]], recognize the role of density, and value of development nodes around transport hubs. In particular, transit-oriented development (or the very similar concepts of [[New Urbanism]] a.k.a. Traditional Neighborhood Design) turn many standard practices of car-centered urban planning on their head.\n\n=== Transport ===\n\nWhile the individual chooses what mode of transport to use, the design of the city and the policies of the government have a huge impact on how commuters choose to travel.\n\nPublic transport, cycling and usage is enhanced by:\n\n* Walkable environments (density, to reduce distance, and pleasant leafy streets with an even line of building fronts near the street). A good coverage of public transport stops helps.\n* Adequate investment - recognizing the many benefits to the community, in air quality, health, reduced congestion, and reduced stress levels.\n* Efficient entry, exit and transfers. Poorly designed systems lead to delays and fiddling with tickets, which is tiring for commuters.\n\n=== Municipal water and sanitation ===\n\n[[File:Porous pavement.JPG|thumb|[[Permeable pavements]]|right]]\n\nLarger scale and community measures on water include:\n\n* Stormwater management through green space, and [[permeable pavements]], as well as green roofs. See [[Reducing runoff]].\n* Treatment and reuse of [[greywater]] and even [[blackwater]] - this raises important [[health]] issues, however and caution should be taken.\n\n=== Green city government ===\n\nSome city governments have developed a name for their green policies. For example:\n\n* Portland, Oregon, which makes green house designs available to their residents (and encourages their use through cheaper, expedited approval.\n* Cities which ban the burning of rubbish (which has already been done in most Western cities{{Verification needed}}) have cleaner air.\n\nIn general the adoption of policies to create [[incentives]] for sustainable behavior is an effective way to create a sustainable city.\n\n=== Green coated grey policies ===\n\n[[Policies]] restricting density, especially where based on arbitrary measures of floor space to land area, do not encourage good [[design]], and on the contrary encourage waste of space, through roads and landscaping (arguably decorative but not usable). Resisting change, perhaps due to NIMBYism, encourages growth in the same unsustainable patterns that threaten us with [[climate change]] and dropping [[quality of life]].\n\n== Ecocities ==\n\nAttempts to build sustainable cities from the ground up, i.e. [[Ecocities]], have been made, for example [[Bahía de Caráquez]]. On a smaller level, [[Ecovillages]] are a similar idea, while [[Transition Towns]] aims to transform existing communities.\n\n== Personal choices ==\n\nThere are many individual choices to make as well, to be a green city dweller - see '''[[Sustainable city living]]'''.\n\n== Notes and references ==\n\n<references />\n\n== See also ==\n\n* [[Earthship]]s, together with its company BioTincture, is examining a different route to be used for the developing world (other than developed world) for creating sustainable cities.\n* Ekistics\n* Megacity\n* Metropolis\n* Zero energy building\n* Sustainable landscape architecture\n* [[Green design]]\n* [[Ecovillage]]\n* Carfree Cities\n* Vianova\n* [[Arcology]]\n* Urban Renewal\n* Dongtan\n\n== External links ==\n\n* [[Wikipedia:Eco-cities]], [[Wikipedia:Sustainable city|Sustainable city]]\n* [http://www.ecocityworldsummit.org/index2.htm Ecocity Summit 2008], April 22-26, San Francisco, California.\n* [http://www.ecocitybuilders.org Ecocity Builders] founded by Richard Register.\n* [http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/297-Which-way-China- Which way China?]Herbert Girardet, 2006 October 2nd, chinadialogue. Discusses the emergences of ecocities in China.\n* [http://www.alphagcorp.com/mediacenter_News.aspx?PGID=124 eco-friendly homes gaining popularity in india]\n* [http://www.ithacahours.com/losangeles.html Los Angeles: A History of the Future]\n* [http://www.zonneterp.nl/english/index_uk.html Zonneterp-project (eco-neighbourhood)]\n* [http://www.sustainablecitiesnet.com Sustainable cities information]\n* [http://transitiontowns.org/ Transition Towns, a organisation building sustainable cities]\n* [http://cleanslate.editboard.com/Discussion-c1/Topics-f2.htm A proposal for a clean-slate city-state.]\n* Pearce, Fred. \"Ecopolis Now\". ''New Scientist Magazine''. 17 June 2006. [http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19025561.600-ecocities-special-ecopolis-now.html (subscription required)\n* Paul Downton: [http://web.archive.org/web/20130301014550/http://ecopolisnow.com:80/ Ecopolis Now]\n** \"[http://web.archive.org/web/20080516234523/http://www.ecopolis.com.au/index.html Ecopolis Architects]\".\n* Sociopolis Master Plan (2005-2007) [http://www.guallart.com/01projects/sociopolismasterlan/default.htm]\n* Arup: [http://web.archive.org/web/20090719075733/http://www.arup.com:80/eastasia/project.cfm?pageid=7047 Dongtan Eco-city, Shanghai, China]\n* Register, Richard. [http://worldcat.org/oclc/69599381&referer=brief_results ''Ecocities: Rebuilding cities in balance with nature'']. New Society Publishers, Gabriola, BC. 2006.\n* [http://web.archive.org/web/20200610201834/http://www.urb.im/ urb.im], for just and inclusive cities.\n\n{{Page data\n| license = CC-BY-SA-3.0\n| keywords = Sustainable cities, Urban planning, Sustainability, Landscape, City\n| sdg = SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities\n}}\n\n[[Category:Sustainable cities]]\n[[Category:Urban planning]]\n[[Category:Sustainability]]"}