CASE EXAMPLE CURITIBA,

BRAZIL

1.7 The City as a system

Syllabus link

The city as a system - Describe the city as a system in terms of:• inputs—energy, water, people, materials, products, food (urban agriculture)• outputs—solid, atmospheric and liquid waste, noise, people. Distinguish between a sustainable circular system where inputs are reduced and outputs are recycled and an unsustainable (open/linear) city system with uncontrolled inputs and outputs.(2 hours) Case studies - Referring to at least two city case studies, discuss the concepts of:• sustainable city management• the urban ecological footprint.(4 hours)

The sustainable city

With over half the world's population living in cities, and the vast majority of economic activity occurring in cities, it is clear that if we are to successfully create a sustainable future, we have to focus on cities.

Two per cent (2%) of the world’s land surface, which global cities currently occupy, consume 75% of the world’s natural resources and discharge an equal amount of waste, causing huge ecological footprints.

The global effect for sustainability will be won, or lost, in the world’s cities, where urban design may influence over 70% of people’s ecological footprint.

Ecological footprint – a reminder

EF measures the land resources required to support the current consumption levels with current levels of technology for supporting our food consumption, housing, transport and waste production. It is measured in so-called global hectares (GHA), defined as the average productivity of all biologically productive areas (measured in hectares) on earth in a given year.

EF measures the land resources required to support the current consumption levels with current levels of technology for supporting our food consumption, housing, transport and waste production. It is measured in so-called global hectares (GHA), defined as the average productivity of all biologically productive areas (measured in hectares) on earth in a given year.

Sustainable development

“Development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brutland 1987).

Compact cities minimise distance travelled, use less space, require less infrastructure, are easier to supply with public transport and reduce urban sprawl. If cities have uncontrolled inputs and outputs, issues such as congestion, overcrowding, pollution, inflation etc occur and it becomes unsustainable.

“Cities are the physical framework of our society, the generator of civil values, the engine of our economy and the heart of our culture. In England, one of the three most densely populated countries in the world, 90% of the population live in cities, but many of our urban centres are not sustainable. Large areas of dereliction, poverty and empty quarters, destroy the sense of community and vitality, urban sprawl erodes our countryside.

Today, with the increase in life expectancy, the decrease in birth rate, increase in divorce rate and the potential for less pollution in our post-industrial society, the city has once more become man's natural habitat. Compact polycentric cities are the only sustainable form of development and should be designed to attract people. If we don't get urban regeneration right then all our work on cities - buildings and public spaces, education, health, employment, social inclusion and economic growth - will be undermined”. November 2005

http://www.urbantaskforce.org/UTF_final_report.pdf

Report on Urban task force – Lord Richard Rogers

Emerging city innovation

http://www.good.is/post/emerging-city-innovation

Cities for a small planet – R. Rogers

The city as a system

Large cities are often considered unsustainable because of the high resource use and waste outputs

Roger’s model compares 2 systems:

Linear and circular

Options to achieve sustainability:

Reduce use of fossil fuels eg promoting public transport

Treat waste production locallyProvide sufficient green spaceReusing and reclaiming land eg brownfield sitesHalt urban sprawlEncourage active involvement of local communityUse renewable resources

Sustainable city management

“Process of managing the city’s inputs and outputs in such a way that the quality of life for current and future dwellers can be maintained and enhanced”.

Sustainable management of cities is a holistic concept that includes all facets of the urban environment, including social (housing, crime), economic (income, employment) and environmental (air, land, water and resources)

SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Curitiba is a small city by Brazilian standards and is located in Parana, SW of Sao Paulo

In many ways the city is ahead of its time and it is organized much better than most other cities

It recycles a huge amount of waste and uses incentives to keep people recycling

It has a revolutionary transport system or people mover scheme

It re-designed brownfield sites and created parks

They redesigned the city centre and improved housing

You need two case studies on two different cities, describing and evaluating examples of Sustainable City Management.

You also need ONE each of the following:Socially sustainable housing management

strategyEnvironmentally sustainable population

management strategyOne strategy to control rapid city growth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRD3l3rlMpo

Examples and case studies:www.environmentandurbanization.org