Ecological Science and Transformation to a Sustainable City
A sustainable city aims to establish a long-lasting, balanced lifestyle across ecological, economic, political, and cultural domains. This urban model focuses on minimizing waste through recycling and reuse, addressing hazards to reduce vulnerabilities, and ensuring that no community is disproportionately exposed to risks.
Ecological Science and Transformation to a Sustainable City
WORD WIZARD
Ecology
Resilience
Sustainability
LITERARY LUMINARY
"The fact that so many cities are now being built or are poised for revitalization means that there is the opportunity to urbanize in different ways than we have in the past. Compared to existing cit- ies, better integration of ecological processes may be most success- ful in ‘‘new’’ cities. Greater attention to environmental equity among citizens is also possible in new cities. But such benefits can accrue to existing cities as well".
We choose this quote because it talks about how people are usually drawn to cities by the perceived amenities they provide, such as the promise of jobs, the access to education, or the desire for a healthier and easier life. urban life does not give them what they need and the accessibility is hard to attain but urban areas are being revitalized or rebuilt. Cities are being rebuilt for financial gain because people are drawn to the cities which provides befits them and their lifestyle.
Childers et al. (2013) present a more integrated conceptualization of cities as social–ecological systems, where the structural component includes both built and designed elements and natural features and where the functional component includes the interactions of human decisions and ecological processes.
Individuals cannot see a city with only one physical thing, such as the buildings, or human things, such as where people live and what they do, or a nature thing, such as the nature of the city itself. In order to have an integrated idea we have to combine all three of these elements, so that it includes built elements [buildings] and natural features [hills, parks] as well as functional pieces [where the humans put roads, sewers, skyscrapers]. As well as ecological processes [if there is a river running through the city]
“In urban systems, the cycle may reflect sensitivity to economic or physical catastrophe, followed by neighborhood or district revitalization and recovery of livelihood and human well-being”
In biological systems, resilience appears as a cycle that begins with succession shifting from rapid growth to increasing structural investment, or ecosystem development shifting to increasing investment in maintenance. The cycle may be punctuated by periodic disturbance to the highly structured system, opening yet another bout of succession. We chose this quote because In cities, this "resilience" cycle will be drastically affected by either the amount of money you have or if there is any physical catastrophe [flood, tornado, fire, earthquake, etc]. In order to create a sustainable city, you have to follow the same way you do for anything else in life, one step at a time and in this case, one neighbourhood at a time.
SUMMARY
Improving the sustainability of existing and emerging cities are becoming increasingly urgent. This has resulted in changes happening drastically due to sustainability transitioning. There is a growing urgency to enhance the sustainability of existing and emerging cities. The science of ecology, especially as it interacts with disciplines in the social sciences and has a contribution to make sustainable transformation of urban systems. But not all possible urban transformations may lead towards sustainability. Ecological science helps identify components of resilience that can favor transformations that are more sustainable. So the global shifts in urban processes place cities in crisis. This is because in the world and society we live in changes rapidly on a daily basis. We are faced with different challenges and obstacles that stand in front of us as a result of it all. Also sustainability provides a social vision for transformation of cities due to creative and new ideas on how to make society a better place. So that it is thriving and reaches the level of success they have in mind. So ecological process of urban areas are crucial for resilience because we need to advance and improve areas that are not thriving like others so that there is a sense of balance all around.
I created a picture using Paint 3D app from windows, which shows the different ways a city can transform to be sustainable. For the transformation to sustainable city, city’s urban ecosystem must be well organized to be more efficient. Sustainable city can be achieved only if the city is well maintained as sanitary city. As urban areas are warmer than the surrounding agricultural areas, cities should develop ecosystem within the infrastructure of the city, by developing green space, planting more tress, rooftop gardens, harvesting rain water, natural vegetation and reducing CO2 emissions will help to create a sustainable city. As mentioned in the article sustainable city has a key characteristic motivated by human values. Some of the Humane metropolises were described as- protecting and restore ecological services in cities and suburbs, by promoting physical and mental health and safety of residents, by enhancing efficiency by conserving energy, matter, water, and time.
CONNECTOR
Oslo Norway is another example of a sustainable city. They plan to be running on 100% renewable energy by 2020. Oslo also wants to increase their wind power capacity by 2GW by the year 2020. Oslo Norway's transportation is a large part of what makes them so sustainable. Their main ways of transportation include bus, airplane, boats and trains. This ensures that there is less pollution going into the environment by having many people traveling at the same time. They have changed their street lights to reduce energy and C02 commissions, the lights are capable of being dimmed or turned off based on traffic and climate control. 98% of the energy hat Oslo uses is renewable energy, they are able to do this by using hydro power plants, wind power, waver power and bio energy. Oslo, Norway plans to be the most sustainable city by 2020.
If I were to build my own sustainable city…
Transportation: I would use bicycles like Copenhagen does and have that as the main way of transportation however, not all places can use bicycles all year round so I would use electric cars only,because these cars run off electricity there will be no exhaust pollution going into the air.
Energy: Hot water panels which will convert light energy into heat in order to heat homes and other spaces requiring heat. Solar panels which will convert light energy into electricity. I would also use geothermal energy for the majority of the city.
Waste Management: I would implement the same system that Calgary has for their waste program by giving each house three different colour bins for garbage, compost and recycling.
Copenhagen has taken many approaches to become the sustainable city it is today. They plan to put their focus on mobility, pollution and energy. Copenhagen has become a bike city which has 350 km of bike lanes, street lights for the bikers and only 29% of households even own a car. They have also implemented a multi functional recycling center and created three new recycling hubs. Copenhagen also has a 'green roof policy' which was implemented in June of 2010 which will reduce air pollutants. They plan to be carbon neutral by 2025 which means there will be no net release of carbon dioxide into the air. In order to achieve this they will reduce their carbon emissions through wind farms. They use one of the worlds largest district heating systems and use district cooling by using the water, reducing electricity use by 70%. The citizens within Copenhagen is one of the biggest driving forces because by having citizens that are willing to buy in and create a sustainable city by reducing their own ecological footprint will help the city reach its goals.
Subopic
QUESTIONS
What elaborate the effects of industrialization on the environment?
Solid waste is generated wherever there is human activity and is characterized by a several different streams, each with different characteristics and components. These include industrial waste, dry waste, and organic waste.
Soil contamination is caused by direct exposure to the pollutant, leakage of toxic gases into buildings, and groundwater pollution. The properties of soil result in pollutants remaining in the soil long after the pollution incident
Leakage from the fuel and energy industries, as well as industries involving hazardous materials, are the main causes of land contamination. Examples of soil pollution sources are oil refineries and pipelines transporting gas, oil depots, gas stations, garages, metal treatment and coating factories, chemical plants, dry cleaning businesses, printing businesses, the textile industry, and sites where hazardous materials are stored.
Untreated wastewater can cause environmental woes including: pollution of groundwater reservoirs, damage of transport and wastewater treatment systems, and degradation of treated wastewater and sludge such that it would disqualify them from being used for agricultural purposes.
Industry is a major cause of air pollution, since the operation of factories results in the emission of pollutants, including organic solvents, respirable particles, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. These pollutants can both harm public health and damage the environment by contributing to global phenomena such as climate change, the greenhouse effect, ozone hole and increasing desertification.
As industry was introduced and grew, city population increased to staff the factories, and the economy shifted to focus on the concentration and conversion of raw materials into consumer goods and accumulated wealth (Boone & Modarres, 2006; Olson, 1997). Such industrial cities were productive but also highly polluted, disease ridden, and unhealthful. Industrialization, while important for economic growth and development of a society, can also be harmful to the environment. Amongst other things industrial process can cause climate change, pollution to air, water and soil, health issues, extinction of species, and more.
How is ‘the sanitary city’ called as a less damaging form of an industrial city?
Sanitary refers more especially to conditions affecting health or measures for guarding against infection or disease: to insure sanitary conditions in preparing food. Hygienic is applied to whatever concerns the care of the body and the promotion of health.
This model of urban transformation from the industrial city to the sanitary city is associated with a human demographic transition, as people move from agricultural settlements having little access to health and educational services, to urban areas where the economy is primarily industrial, major shifts in their demographics occur, from high to low birth and death rates. Improved health care and reduced infant mortality ultimately lead to reduced family size. Increased education and literacy, particularly as it relates to empowerment of women, also contributes to the shift. Provision of clean water, sanitation, public education, recreational facilities, and green space along with establishment of public and non-governmental institutions to integrate new migrants into the social fabric are aspects of the sanitary city.
What is sustainable city? explain the contrast between the sanitary city and the sustainable city.
Management will be conducted not only by experts with specialized training, but with the involvement of communities, neighbourhoods, and private organizations. Governance in the sustainable city will be flexible and decentralized, and therefore more adaptive to community initiatives for sustainability.
Wastes will be reduced in volume, and emphasis will be placed on recycling or reuse of any wastes that are generated. This applies to household and institutional waste streams, and demolition materials.
Hazards will be addressed in all land cover types, and an attempt will be made to reduce vulnerabilities throughout the urban system. Moreover, sustainability recognizes that vulnerable people should not be disproportionately exposed to these hazards. Rather than segregating nuisances and polluting sites, efforts will be made to reduce, prevent, or mitigate hazards across the entire city region.
Contrast between the sanitary city and the sustainable city;
The sustainable city will include ecological as well as engineered infrastructure to provide ecosystem services, such as storm water control or climate mitigation.
A sustainable city creates an enduring way of life across the four domains of ecology, economics, politics and culture. Goals of a sustainable city are to be able to feed itself with a sustainable reliance on the surrounding natural environment and have the ability to power itself with renewable sources of energy. The central focus of this topic is to create the smallest conceivable ecological footprint while also producing the lowest quantity of pollution achievable. All of this is to be accomplished by efficiently using the land in ways such as composting used materials, recycling, and/or converting waste-to-energy. The idea is that these contributions will lead to a decrease in the city's impact on climate change.
