what are five responses to urban sustainability challenges? what are five responses to urban sustainability challenges?

Sustainable management of resources and limiting the impact on the environment are important goals for cities. This definition includes: Localized environmental health problems such as inadequate household water and sanitation and indoor air pollution. Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. limate, precipitation, soil and sediments, vegetation, and human activities are all factors of declining water quality. True or false? In order for urban places to be sustainable from economic, environmental, and equity perspectives, pathways to sustainability require a systemic approach around three considerations: scale, allocation, and distribution (Daly, 1992). Urban sustainability is the goal of using resources to plan and develop cities to improve the social, economic, and environmental conditions of a city to ensure the quality of life of current and future residents. Consequently, what may appear to be sustainable locally, at the urban or metropolitan scale, belies the total planetary-level environmental or social consequences. For instance, domestic waste is household trash, usually generate from packaged goods. Two environmental challenges to urban sustainability are water quality and air quality. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States. Sustainable cities: research and practice challenges As networks grow between extended urban regions and within cities, issues of severe economic, political, and class inequalities become central to urban sustainability. Sustainable urban development has its own challenges ranging from urban growth to environmental problems caused by climate change. Reducing severe economic, political, class, and social inequalities is pivotal to achieving urban sustainability. When poorly managed, urbanization can be detrimental to sustainable development. Climate, precipitation, soil and sediments, vegetation, and human activities are all factors of declining water quality. This is because without addressing these challenges, urban sustainability is not as effective. This is a challenge because it promotes deregulated unsustainable urban development, conversion of rural and farmland, and car dependency. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. Efforts to reduce severe urban disparities in public health, economic prosperity, and citizen engagement allow cities to improve their full potential and become more appealing and inclusive places to live and work (UN, 2016b). An important example is provided by climate change issues, as highlighted by Wilbanks and Kates (1999): Although climate change mainly takes place on the regional to global scale, the causes, impacts, and policy responses (mitigation and adaptation) tend to be local. The transition to sustainable urban development requires both appropriate city management and local authorities that are aware of the implications posed by new urban sustainability challenges. By registering you get free access to our website and app (available on desktop AND mobile) which will help you to super-charge your learning process. How can urban growth boundaries respond tourban sustainability challenges? Therefore, the elimination of these obstacles must start by clarifying the nature of the issue, identifying which among the obstacles are real and which can be handled by changing perceptions, concerns, and priorities at the city level. How does air pollution contribute to climate change? 3, Industrial Pollution in Russia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Industry_in_Russia.jpg), by Alt-n-Anela (https://www.flickr.com/people/47539533@N05), licensed by CC-BY-2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en), Fig. Development, i.e., the meeting of peoples needs, requires use of resources and implies generation of wastes. Inequitable environmental protection undermines procedural, geographic, and social equities (Anthony, 1990; Bullard, 1995). 2Abel Wolman (1965) developed the urban metabolism concept as a method of analyzing cities and communities through the quantification of inputswater, food, and fueland outputssewage, solid refuse, and air pollutantsand tracking their respective transformations and flows. Low density (suburban sprawl) is correlated with high car use. Some of the most prevailing indicators include footprinting (e.g., for water and land) and composite indices (e.g., well-being index and environmental sustainability index). However, many of these areas may be contaminated and polluted with former toxins and the costs of clean-up and redevelopment may be high. Getting an accurate picture of the environmental impacts of all human activity, including that of people working in the private sector, is almost impossible. True or false? Ultimately, all the resources that form the base on which urban populations subsist come from someplace on the planet, most often outside the cities themselves, and often outside of the countries where the cities exist. The success of the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) depends on the availability and accessibility of robust data, as well as the reconfiguration of governance systems that can catalyse urban transformation. What pollutants occur due to agricultural practices? Proper disposal, recycling, and waste management are critical for cities. There are several responses to urban sustainability challenges that are also part of urban sustainable development strategies. Resources Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. Therefore, urban sustainability will require making explicit and addressing the interconnections and impacts on the planet. One is that the ecological footprint is dominated by energy as over 50 percent of the footprint of most high- and middle-income nations is due to the amount of land necessary to sequester greenhouse gases (GHGs). Cities with a high number of these facilities are linked with poorer air quality, water contamination, and poor soil health. Poor resource management can not only affect residents in cities but also people living in other parts of the world. Wrong! Nothing can go wrong! Cholera, typhoid, diarrhea, hepatitis A, and polio. urban sustainability in the long run. Indeed, it is unrealisticand not necessarily desirableto require cities to be solely supported by resources produced within their administrative boundaries. Energy conservation schemes are especially important to mitigate wasteful energy use. Decision making at such a complex and multiscale dimension requires prioritization of the key urban issues and an assessment of the co-net benefits associated with any action in one of these dimensions. There is evidence that the spatial distribution of people of color and low-income people is highly correlated with the distribution of air pollution, landfills, lead poisoning in children, abandoned toxic waste dumps, and contaminated fish consumption. Healthy people, healthy biophysical environments, and healthy human-environment interactions are synergistic relationships that underpin the sustainability of cities (Liu et al., 2007). Here we advocate a DPSIR conceptual model based on indicators used in the assessment of urban activities (transportation, industry. In practice cities could, for example, quantify their sustainability impacts using a number of measures such as per capita ecological footprint and, making use of economies of scale, make efforts to reduce it below global levels of sustainability. Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. These goals do not imply that city and municipal authorities need be major providers of housing and basic services, but they can act as supervisors and/or supporters of private or community provision. What are six challenges to urban sustainability? Thus, urban sustainability cannot be limited to what happens within a single place. planetary boundaries do not place a cap on human development. Because urban systems connect distant places through the flows of people, economic goods and services, and resources, urban sustainability cannot be focused solely on cities themselves, but must also encompass places and land from which these resources originate (Seto et al., 2012). 2 Urban Sustainability Indicators and Metrics, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States. Its 100% free. Only about 2 hectares (4.94 acres) of such ecosystems are available, however, for each person on Earth (with no heed to the independent requirements of other consumer species). Principle 2: Human and natural systems are tightly intertwined and come together in cities. As discussed by Bai (2007), the fundamental point in the scale argument is that global environmental issues are simply beyond the reach and concern of city government, and therefore it is difficult to tackle these issues at the local level. Best study tips and tricks for your exams. The implementation of long-term institutional governance measures will further support urban sustainability strategies and initiatives. How did the federal government influence suburban sprawl in the US? All different types of waste must be properly managed in cities. A description of each of these phases is given below. What are five responses to urban sustainability challenges? Stop procrastinating with our study reminders. Urban metabolism2 may be defined as the sum of the technical and socioeconomic processes that occur in cities, resulting in growth, production of energy, and elimination of waste (Kennedy et al., 2007). How can climate change be a challenge to urban sustainability? Here we use the concept of ecological footprint, which has been proposed as an analytic tool to estimate the load imposed on the ecosphere by any specified human population (Berkowitz and Rees, 2003). Long-term policies and institutionalized activities that can promote greater equity can contribute to the future of sustainable cities. Proper disposal, recycling, and waste management are critical for cities. Measuring progress towards sustainable or unsustainable urban development requires quantification with the help of suitable sustainability indicators. Providing the data necessary to analyze urban systems requires the integration of different economic, environmental, and social tools. Urbanization Causes and Impacts | National Geographic Waste management systems have the task of managing current and projected waste processing. Examples of Urban Sustainability Challenges This common approach can be illustrated in the case of urban food scraps collection where many cities first provided in-kind support to individuals and community groups offering collection infrastructure and services, then rolled out programs to support social norming in communities (e.g., physical, visible, green bins for residents to be put out at the curb), and finally banned organics from landfills, providing a regulatory mechanism to require laggards to act. Although cities concentrate people and resources, and this concentration can contribute to their sustainability, it is also clear that cities themselves are not sustainable without the support of ecosystem services, including products from ecosystems such as raw materials and food, from nonurban areas. However, some cities are making a much more concerted effort to understand the full range of the negative environmental impacts they produce, and working toward reducing those impacts even when impacts are external to the city itself. Third, the critical task of developing finance models to support urban sustainability action requires urgent attention. When cities build and expand, they can create greenbelts, areas of wild, undeveloped land in surrounding urban areas. We argue that much of the associated challenges, and opportunities, are found in the global . With poor quality, the health and well-being of residents can be jeopardized, leading again to possible illness, harm, or death. Cities with a high number of manufacturing are linked with ____. What are some anthropogenic causes of air pollution? Currently, urban governance is largely focused on single issues such as water. This is a challenge because it promotes deregulated unsustainable urban development, conversion of rural and farmland, and car dependency. Urban systems are complex networks of interdependent subsystems, for which the degree and nature of the relationships are imperfectly known. Statement at NAS Exploratory Meeting, Washington, DC. The six main challenges to urban sustainability include: Other urban sustainability challenges include industrial pollution, waste management, and overpopulation. All rights reserved. . For instance, industrial pollution, which can threaten air and water quality, must be mitigated. How can urban growth boundaries respond to, How can farmland protection policies respond to, How can the redevelopment of brownfields respond to. Urban sustainability refers to the ability of a city or urban area to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This means the air quality is at the level of concern of ____. The main five responses to urban sustainability challenges are regional planning efforts, urban growth boundaries, farmland protection policies, greenbelts, and redevelopment of brownfields. The majority of natural resources in the world are consumed in cities. Sign up to highlight and take notes. According to the definition by Gurr and King (1987), the first relates to vertical autonomy, which is a function of the citys relationship with senior-level government. Currently, many cities have sustainability strategies that do not explicitly account for the indirect, distant, or long-lived impacts of environmental consumption throughout the supply and product chains. Free and expert-verified textbook solutions. Urban sustainability challenges 5. However,. transportation, or waste. (2009), NRC (2004), Pina et al. A concern for sustainable development retains these conventional concerns and adds two more. A holistic view, focused on understanding system structure and behavior, will require building and managing transdisciplinary tools and metrics. To improve the threshold knowledge of sustainability indicators and their utility in defining an action strategy, it is necessary to have empirical tests of the performance and redundancy of these indicators and indicator systems.3 This is of increasing importance to policy makers and the public as human production and consumption put increased stress on environmental, economic, and social systems. For example, in order to ensure that global warming remains below two degrees Celsius, the theoretical safe limit of planetary warming beyond which irreversible feedback loops begin that threaten human health and habitat, most U.S. cities will need to reduce GHG emissions 80 percent by 2050. Each city's challenges are unique; however, many have implemented one or more of the following in their efforts to develop their own integrated solutions: In many ways, this is a tragedy of the commons issue, where individual cities act in their own self-interest at the peril of shared global resources. What sources of urbanization can create water pollution? The challenges to urban sustainability are also what motivate cities to be more sustainable. tourism, etc. The metric most often used is the total area of productive landscape and waterscape required to support that population (Rees, 1996; Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). As such, there are many important opportunities for further research. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. As discussed by Bai (2007), although there are factors beyond local control, the main obstacles to bringing the global concerns onto the local level are the reflection of contradictory perceptions, concerns, interests, and priorities, rather than the scale of the issue. Every indicator should be connected to both an implementation and an impact statement to garner more support, to engage the public in the process, and to ensure the efficiency and impact of the indicator once realized. Identify your study strength and weaknesses. How can energy use be a challenge to urban sustainability? For a nonrenewable resourcefossil fuel, high-grade mineral ores, fossil groundwaterthe sustainable rate of use can be no greater than the rate at which a renewable resource, used sustainably, can be substituted for it. Further mapping of these processes, networks, and linkages is important in order to more fully understand the change required at the municipal level to support global sustainability. There is the matter of urban growth that, if unregulated, can come in the form of suburban sprawl. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globes economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. There are many policy options that can affect urban activities such that they become active and positive forces in sustainably managing the planets resources. Urban Sustainability Indicators, Challenges and Opportunities Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website. Ultimately, the goal of urban sustainability is to promote and enable the long-term well-being of people and the planet, yet doing so requires recognition of the biophysical constraints on all human and natural systems, as well as the acknowledgment that urban sustainability is multiscale and multidimensional, both encompassing and transcending urban jurisdictions. However, what is needed is information on flows between places, which allows the characterization of networks, linkages, and interconnections across places. These same patterns of inequality also exist between regions and states with poor but resource-rich areas bearing the cost of the resource curse (see also Box 3-3). Sustainability | Free Full-Text | Smart and Resilient Urban Futures for or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one. Energy use is of particular concern for cities, as it can be both costly and wasteful. A strip mall is built along a major roadway. However, recent scientific analyses have shown that major cities are actually the safest areas in the United States, significantly more so than their suburban and rural counterparts, when considering that safety involves more than simply violent crime risks but also traffic risks and other threats to safety (Myers et al., 2013). For the APHG Exam, remember these six main challenges! Let's take a look at how the challenges of sustainable urban development may not be challenges at allit all depends on perspective! Name three countries with high air quality. Although perfect class and economic equality is not possible, severe urban disparities should remain in check if cities are to realize their full potential and become appealing places of choice for multigenerational urban dwellers and new urban immigrants alike. A suburban development is built across from a dense, urban neighborhood. The results do show that humans global ecological footprint is already well beyond the area of productive land and water ecosystems available on Earth and that it has been expanding in the recent decades. Science can also contribute to these pathways by further research and development of several key facets of urban areas including urban metabolism, threshold detection of indicators, comprehension of different data sets, and further exploration of decision-making processes linked across scales. It can be achieved by reducing, reusing, and recycling materials. Cities in developed countries may create more waste due to consuming and discarding a greater amount of packaging. unrestricted growth outside of major urban areas with separate designations for residential, commercial, entertainment, and other services, usually only accessible by car. . How many goods are imported into and exported from a city is not known in practically any U.S. city. Three elements are part of this framework: A DPSIR framework is intended to respond to these challenges and to help developing urban sustainability policies and enact long-term institutional governance to enable progress toward urban sustainability. How can regional planning efforts respond tourban sustainability challenges? Urban sustainability goals often require behavior change, and the exact strategies for facilitating that change, whether through regulation or economic policies, require careful thought. Will you pass the quiz? Create and find flashcards in record time. Frontiers | Grand Challenges in Urban Agriculture: Ecological and European cities have been at the forefront of the crisis from the very beginning, not only bearing the worst impacts but also becoming key actors in advocating for a green and just recovery. Urban Development Overview - World Bank Further, sprawling urban development and high car dependency are linked with greater energy use and waste. Commitment to sustainable development by city or municipal authorities means adding new goals to those that are their traditional concerns (McGranahan and Satterthwaite, 2003). Do you enjoy reading reports from the Academies online for free? What are the 5 responses to urban sustainability challenges? 1, Smog over Almaty, Kazakhstan (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smog_over_Almaty.jpg), by Igors Jefimovs (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Igor22121976), licensed by CC-BY-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), Fig. Cities have central roles in managing the planets resources sustainability (Seitzinger et al., 2012). However, air quality and water resources can be protected through proper quality management and government policy. Sustainable Cities: Urban Planning Challenges and Policy What are the 5 indicators of water quality? Water conservation schemes can then be one way to ensure both the quantity and quality of water for residents. Key variables to describe urban and environmental systems and their interrelationships; Measurable objectives and criteria that enable the assessment of these interrelationships; and. How can the redevelopment of brownfields respond tourban sustainability challenges? There are different kinds of waste emitted in urban areas. Poor waste management likewise can harm the well-being of residents through improper waste disposal. Simply put, any sustainability plans, including those applied in urban areas, cannot violate the laws of nature if they are to achieve acceptable, long-term outcomes for human populations.