Transcript Unit 6 - The City as a System and Sustainability

The City as a System and
Sustainability
IB Geography II
Part 1
Opening Video
• BBC Building Better Cities for an Overcrowded World:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130507-challengesfor-the-cities-of-2050 (6 min)
• As you watch, answer these questions based on what
the experts say:
– What are the greatest challenges we will face in the
future city?
– How do cities need to change?
– What will the future cities be made of?
– How will we power our cities?
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 going to create
a sustainable
world, we need to
focus on the cities.
The Sustainable City
• Sustainable City or “Eco-City” is a city
designed to have minimal
environmental impact. It meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the needs of future
generations.
Urban ecological footprint
• The land area required to sustain a
population of any size. All of the resources
which people use for their daily needs,
such as food, water and electricity, must
be produced using raw natural resources.
– The urban ecological footprint measures
the amount of farmland and water
resources that must be used to sustain an
urban population, based on its
consumption levels at a given point in
time.
Cities can be designed in a way that
increases their urban ecological footprint …
Cities can be designed in a way that
reduces their urban ecological footprint…
• The design of a city’s built environment,
its land use and land area will affect its
urban ecological footprint.
• Urban densities and private transport
Close Reading Activity
• “Discussion Round-up: What Makes a
Sustainable City?” from The Guardian
Highlights from Live Discussion
• As you close read and annotate:
– Is a sustainable city an oxymoron?
– What main points were made about how to
make a city sustainable?
– What are the challenges in reaching
sustainability?
Part 2
Introduction to Systems
• A system is a simplified way of looking at
how things work.
• Systems generally include factors (inputs),
processes (throughputs), and results
(outputs).
• This “systems” approach can be applied
to many aspects of geography, including
cities.
The City as a System
Inputs
Processes
Outputs
Large Cities vs. Compact Cities
• Large Cities (or cities with
sprawl)
• Compact Cities (or dense
cities)
– Often considered to be
unsustainable systems
because they consume
huge amounts of resources
and produce vast amounts
of waste.
– Minimize the amount of
distance traveled
– Require less infrastructure
(pipes, cables, roads, etc.)
– Easier to provide a public
transport network for
– Reduce urban sprawl
– BUT- if the compact city
becomes congested,
overcrowded, overpriced
and polluted…AND
UNSUSTAINABLE
The Rogers Model of City System
• The Rogers Model was created in 1997
• It compares a Sustainable City (Circular
System) with an unsustainable one
(Linear System)
• In the sustainable city, inputs and outputs
are smaller and there is more recycling.
How to Achieve Sustainability
• The following steps need to be taken to
achieve sustainability:
– Improve Economic Security
– Meet Social, Cultural and Health Needs
– Minimize the use of Non-Renewable
Resources
– Use finite renewable resources sustainably
– Preserve Green Space
Improve Economic Security
• People should
have access to
employment and
an adequate
livelihood
• If they are ill,
retired, disabled
or unemployed
they should be
entitled to
economic
security.
Meet Social, Cultural and Health
Needs
• Housing should be
healthy, safe, secure,
affordable and within a
neighborhood that
provides piped water,
drainage, sanitation,
transport, healthcare,
education and child
welfare.
• The home and workplace
should be free from
hazards and chemical
pollution
Minimize the Use of NonRenewable Resources
• Reducing consumption
of fossil fuels in
housing, commerce,
industry and transport
• Substituting renewable
resources where
possible.
• Public transportation
should be promoted.
Use finite renewable resources
sustainably
• Use only enough
water that is needed
• Waste minimization
and recycling
should be
encouraged
• People should be
aware of the
ecological footprint.
Preserve Green Space
• “The Green Agenda”
involves providing and
maintaining green
space such as parks.
• It also means reusing
existing urban sites or
brownfield sites