9 - Sustainable Urban Development

Question 1

Define sustainable development.

Answer 1

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations.

Question 2

What does a city have to provide to be sustainable?

Answer 2

Employment, a high standard of living, a clean and healthy environment and fair governance for all its residents

Question 3

What are the inputs of an eco/green cities sustainable circular system?

Answer 3

Local food and goods
Conservation and use of renewable energy
People

Question 4

What is an individual’s ecological footprint?

Answer 4

The amount of land that is needed to produce everything they consume (e.g. food, water and fuel) and to absorb their waste

Question 5

What does the ecological footprint of a city depend on?

Answer 5

Wealth
Size of city
Quality of public transport

Question 6

What are the 4 categories for the features of a sustainable city?

Answer 6

Natural
Physical
Social
Economic

Question 7

What are the natural features of a sustainable city?

Answer 7

Natural - how the environment, resources and waste are managed.

Renewable energy resources.
Walking, cycling and public transport opportunities.

Question 8

What are the physical features of a sustainable city?

Answer 8

Physical - how well a city is able to support the people living there.

High quality housing
Secure supplies of nutritious food
Safe water and energy for all residents

Question 9

What are the social features of a sustainable city?

Answer 9

Social - how people live together, their quality of life and the availability of basic services e.g. healthcare.

Peaceful
Tolerant
Respect human rights
Politically stable
Access to basic services

Question 10

What are the economic features of a sustainable city?

Answer 10

Economic - maintaining economic growth without causing long-term negative effects e.g. environmental damage , social inequality.

Wealthy
Low levels of inequality
Little debt
Home to profitable, ethical businesses
Offer plenty of well-paid jobs

Question 11

Define livability.

Answer 11

The characteristics of a city which improve the quality of life for the people living there.

Question 12

What does livability depend on?

Answer 12

Job opportunities
Crime rates
Open space
Access to education

Question 13

What 3 things create opportunities to make cities sustainable?

Answer 13

1. People are more deeply concentrated + provision of services (clean water, public transport etc) is easier and cheaper.
2. Understanding the importance of sustainability has increased = encouraged more research and investment into urban sustainability.
3. Governments may invest more in urban sustainability initiatives than rural ones because they benefit more people!

Question 14

What 4 things that create challenges in making cities sustainable?

Answer 14

1. Requires significant investment which many cities cannot afford…only HICS can make effective efforts to be sustainable e.g. Copenhagen in Denmark
2. Many cities are growing so public services need to expand rapidly to meet needs of a larger population e.g. Mumbai
3. Some people are unwilling to change their habits e.g. driving less e.g. UK
4. Some cities don’t have appropriate infrastructure e.g. roads may be too narrow to add bicycle lanes etc e.g. London

Question 15

What are 6 strategies for increasing urban sustainability? (+ examples of places for some)

Answer 15

1. Reducing the number of cars - Copenhagen or Freiburg and cycling
2. Increasing amount of green space - Olympic Park and Cheonggyecheon
3. Improving urban waste disposal - Copenhagen
4. Increasing renewable energy - Copenhagen
5. Reducing water use
6. Making buildings energy efficient