Chapter 11: Sustainable Cities Flashcards
what is urbanization?
The increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas; the process by which a large number of people becomes permanently concentrated in relatively small areas, forming cities.
Define Megacity
Urban area with more than 10 million inhabitants
Define slum
unplanned, illegal housing. Inhabitants lack at least 1 of:
-access to water: hard/expensive to obtain
-access to sanitation facilities
-lack of sufficient living area: 3+ people in 1 room
-lack of housing durability:non-permanent structure, no protection from elements
-lack of land tenure: no eviction protection
Reasons for slums
inability of the market and public authorities to provide enough affordable housing. Rapid growth of slums also a result of rural-to-urban migration
Issues with Slums
5
-poor infrastructure (water, sanitation, education, healthcare, electricity)
-air pollution from cooking indoors over fire with no ventilation
-no clean water
-disease from contaminated water, high population density
-health impacts (neonatal death, respiratory issues)
Environmental impacts of urbanization
four
-urban footprint: Cities consume vast amounts of resources; and generate tremendous waste
-Urban Heat Island Effect
-Air Pollution: from vehicles and power generation
-environmental hazards: earthquakes, floods, heatwaves
Solutions to Urbanization
four
-create urban sustainability plans: comprehensive goals and focus on sustainability
-upgrade and integrate slums: improvements to housing and/or basic infrastructure in slum areas.
-redevelop brownfields: properties that contain contaminants/pollutants transformed into parks
-plan for resilience: able to survive disasters and employ a model of recovery
4 stages of recovery
- emergency responses: rescue
- restoration: reestablishes urban services
- replacement and reconstruction: return to pre-disaster levels
- Development Reconstruction: commemoration and betterment
