Sustainable cities Flashcards
Definition of a sustainable city
Meeting a cities needs without making it more difficult for future generations to meet their needs. (cities put pressure on the natural environment by using inputs hence producing outputs
Examples of inputs
-Food grown out of town
-Energy from fossil fuels that are drilled or mined
-Other resources such as building materials e.g. timber and/or concrete
Examples of outputs
- Sewage (that is in theory meant to be treated)
- Pollution that spreads beyond the city in air and/or water
- Waste that often ends up either in landfills or being incinerated
planning sustainably-social
Involving people with the situation and taking their needs into account
planning sustainably- economic
more employment
planning sustainably- environmentally
Ensures resources aren’t wasted and protects environment is protected from future generations
Location of Freiburg
south most area on the western of Germany on the boarder of France and Switzerland it has a population of approximately 225,000 (Vauban in Freiburg has a population of about 5,500)
Solar Valley
> 10,000 people in 1,500 businesses. More than 1000 people employed in the solar industry producing/ advancing solar cells and the machinery that makes them
How Freiburg tries to be more sustainable
In Vauban:
- biking is common and encouraged
- organic food that is locally sourced
- Homes are carbon neutral and it isn’t out of the ordinary to produce more energy than used
- renewable energy
- tree lined streets
unpaved tram lines
How Freiburg has maintained its 1970 sustainability goals
Its well designed so it encourages activity while being safe
Economy thriving while maintaining equity
ITS (integrated transport system)which is environmentally sensible
And local government really cares
Freiburg providing sustainable energy for urban areas
They plan to be 100% renewable which will be halving current consumptions but they plan to do this by taking advantage of being one of the sunniest cities powering even the main railway and the local stadium with about 400 solar installations
currently 10 mil kilowatts are produced from solar and burning waste
they use wood and rapeseed oil to power and heat the local pools
Water supply in Freiburg
Homes have rain and waste water recycling using their roof gardens letting water water filter through green space to filter pollutants to make it drinkable which means water is either retained, reused or soaked back into the ground hence there being also financial incentives to using less water
Methods to conserve water in Freiburg
-Collecting rainwater
-Green roof
-Pervious pavements letting water through
-unpaved tramline
-drainage wetlands
Green spaces
- 40% of the city is forested with 600 hectares of parks with over 44,000 native trees planted in those parks and streets
- 56% of the forests are nature conservation of which 6%/56% is left wild leading to 75% of the wood being reforested (44% of of wood used for timbre
- the river Dreisam can flow naturally wchich leads to natural habitats
traffic conjestion
when too many commuters on the road put strain on traffic increasing journey times, increasing the need for fuel increasing air pollution and risk of accident. (Growing cities have to be the most careful as in cases such as Mumbai lung cancer rates sky rocketed and there was an urgent need for a metro system
Social impacts of traffic congestion
Late for events
Increased anxiety due to noise and air pollution
Economic impacts of traffic congestion
Fuel costs
Expensive delays especially for hauliers
in 2018-19 London lost 4.9 billion dollars to traffic congestions (Manchester lost 176 million)
Environmental impacts of traffic congestions
Increased exhaust emissions
Reduced local air quality
Larger carbon footprint
How has Freiburg encouraged less traffic
Carrot:
- Low fares, and being able to use public transport
-70% of the population live within 500m of a bus stop whole alternate options are utilising the 400Km of bike paths
- 30km of tramroutes are connected to 168 km of bus routes
Stick:
-parking spaces cost £20,000 a year
How has Singapore encouraged less traffic
Carrot:
-Car sharing and weekend use only schemes
- electronic traffic monitering for the lights
-overhead railway+ bus network
Stick:
-restricted to city entry during rush hour
-high petrol prices
- vehicle registration fee
how has Beijing encouraged less traffic
Carrot:
-Expansion of transport with 30 new rail lines by 2020 as only 1/2 the population has access
Stick
-Only 20% of people applying for cars can get 1
-Cars are banned one day a week based on their number plate
- increased parking fee, conjestion charges and pollution tax
