m1 l8 cities
TRANSCRIPT
8/6/2019 M1 L8 Cities
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This material is based on work supported by the National Science
Foundation ("NSF") under Grant No. 0607010. Any opinions, findings,
and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Whatdowethinkofourci1es?
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• Dowethinkofci1esasbeau1fulplaces?
• Areci1eshealthyplacestolive?• Domostoftheworld’speopleliveinci1es?
• Doci1esfunc1onlikeothernaturalsystems,suchas
desertsandforests?
Theseques1onshelpustoframe
ourinves1ga1onofurbanlandscapes
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Someques)onstohelpusdevelopour
understandingofci)es…• Whystudyci1esscien1ficallyasecosystems?
• Howdoci1esdifferfromotherecosystems?
• Whatadapta1onsdoanimalandplantspecies
haveinordertoexploittheurbanecosystem?
• Howcanyou,asastudentwholivesinacity,
usethisinforma1on?
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• Themajorityoftheworld’spopula5onnowliveinci5es(>0%worldwide;>6%UnitedStates)
• CurrentpaDernofurbansprawl isthemost
ecologicallydamagingmodelfordevelopment
• Thequalityandcharacterofurbanlandscapesshapehowpeopleviewnature
• Byfocusingresearcheffortsonurbanecology,ci5escanbecomemorelivable‐developmentpressure
canbetakenoffofsuburbanandrurallands
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Let’sInves1gateanAsiancity
famousforitssize…
• HongKong,acityoffthecoastofChina,isoneofthefirstmega‐ci1esonearth
• HongKongisbuiltonaseriesofmorethan
000separateislands
• Thiscityisconsideredbymanytobethe
bestexampleofahugemetropolis
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Ci1esTakeupphysicalspace‐an
ideacalledtheUrbanFootprint • Asurbanpopula1onsgrow,thephysicalsize
ofthecitywillgrowtoaccommodatetheaddi1onalpeople,thereforeincreasingthe
sizeoftheurbanfootprint
• HongKongcannotincreaseitsfootprint‐thereisnomorelanduponwhichtobuild
thecity• Mostothercityfootprintsaregrowingrapidly;considerthegrowthofBal1moreandWashingtonDCoverthepast40years
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Inthisimagetheurban
footprintsaredepictedfrom992.The
rapid
urbaniza1onwasmadepossiblebytheadventofrapidtransporta1on
andtheabilitytoconcentrateresourcesinto
denselyinhabitedareas
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Growingfootprintsgiveriseto
UrbanSprawl • Oen,whenthepopula1onofacitygrows,so
doesitsphysicalsize‐thisgrowthofphysicalsizeiscalledUrbanSprawl
• Inmanyci1es,theaccelera1onofurbansprawlisdrama1candarealchallengetothehealthofthecity.
• Thefollowingareexamplesofurbangrowthfrom
fourAmericanci1es‐theseci1eshavegrownmuchmorerapidlyinsizethantheyhavein
popula1on.
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The growth of cities has been most pronounced when the data
are measured as changes in land use practices (sprawl)…
From: Platt, R. (2000) Ecological Cities Symposium at Boston College
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Thegrowthofurbanareasis
closelylinkedtothedevelopment
oftechnology
• Ci1eshavegrownrapidlyastechnologyandthe
industrialrevolu1onofthepast50yearshascreatedopportuni1esforpeopleinurbanareas.
• Theimpactofindustrializa1on,especiallythe
burningoffossilfuels,hasledtoenvironmental
declineduetothereleaseofgreenhousegases.• Globalwarmingiscloselyassociatedwithhuman
industrialprac1ces.