Sustainable Cities

Written By: Elizabeth Pham

Climate change has been an issue since the increase in industrialization in the late 19th century. However, it has imposed a bigger threat during the last few decades, as studies revealed that the depletion of the ozone layer had become increasingly prominent. This is mainly attributed to the excessive amounts of carbon being used in cities. By switching to more sustainable practices in everyday life and in the urban planning industry, we may be able to reverse some of the effects of climate change.

I’ve frequently visited Portland, Oregon - in fact, I’m in it right now studying abroad for a semester. One thing I love about this city is its proximity to nature: a two hour car ride can get me to the Columbia River Gorge, where I can access many scenic hikes with views of waterfalls and the river; the beach, where I go clamming or hike to a nice viewpoint; or the mountains, where I can ski or snowboard. Portland doesn’t just promote nature, it advocates for it. Everywhere I go, I can tell Oregonians are conscious of their eco-related choices. For example, when going to the store, people have to pay for the bags they provide or opt to bring their own, when going on hikes, people use the shoe brushes at the end of a trail to prevent seeds that may have been caught on their shoes from spreading, and most people opt to commute using the tram or bus system. I believe that all cities in the world should adopt an eco-friendly system, especially now that our climate change has already led to irreversible impacts.¹

Pollution From Metropolises

Over half of the world’s population lives in cities, and this number is likely to increase to over two thirds by 2030. Cities are a major contributor to climate change, as they are responsible for about 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat and result in the warming of Earth. This is due to poor planning and layout. For example, there is little public transportation and homes are far from work places and shops, so there are more cars on the roads that release carbon dioxide. Also, most buildings use fossil fuels.²

What the Top 5 Eco-Friendly Cities In the World Are Doing

The idea of creating sustainable cities was introduced at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference on Environment and Development to encourage the eradication of unsustainable practices of production and consumption and protection of the environment.³ Since then, major cities across the world have adopted this practice and have come up with unique ways to build sustainable communities. Here are the top five eco-friendly cities and their green methods⁴:

1. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen invests into green alternatives to give its residents a high quality of life. The country is on track to be the first CO(subscript 2)-neutral city by 2025. Some of this can be attributed to the residents’ choice in transportation. Only 29% of households own a car, as people prefer cycling to get around thanks to the many cycle lanes.

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam was one of the first cities to outline a sustainable plan, which aimed to achieve its goals by 2020. One of the objectives was to reduce the emission of CO₂ by introducing electric vehicles. Currently, more homeowners are installing solar panels on their roofs and growing their own food or purchasing from local farmers’ markets, which supports the local economy.

1. Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm aims to remove the use of fossil fuels by 2040. One way it’s able to achieve this is by using biofuel from sewage waste to power vehicles. The city is also able to reuse wasted heat from its 30,0000-seat stadium to help warm over 1,000 flats more efficiently.

1. Berlin, Germany

In Berlin after World War I, it became common practice for residents to grow their own foods. This passed down through generations and is still used among residents today. Residents are also opting to share cars with one another to decrease the emission of CO₂.

1. Portland, Oregon

Portland (woohoo!) is a very bike-friendly city with about 250 miles of bike paths and its transportation system is one of the best in the United States. Because of this, 25% of workers in the city commute by bike, carpool, or public transit. When it comes to waste, Portland produces 2,434,840 tons and rovers 1,235,924. Not only that, it uses 33% of renewable energy and has banned plastic bags.

Building Sustainable Cities

Implementing sustainable practices in cities might be a slow process, but if the process starts now, there will be time to reduce climate change. The greatest thing that cities need to focus on is reducing the amount of CO₂ produced. For example, more zero carbon buildings should be built, as they don’t rely on carbon for heating, lighting, cooling or electricity. Instead, they use renewable energy sources, which are more energy efficient. This can be seen in most new buildings in Africa and Asia within the next 30 years as air conditioning is being replaced with natural ventilation. The same concept must be applied for power generation; the cost of renewable electricity has dropped for solar and wind power since 2009 and will keep doing so if more of them are being used. Instead of using steel, concrete, and other building materials that produce CO₂ during their extraction and manufacturing process, cities should opt to use low carbon infrastructure. Another way to reduce carbon footprint is investing into a plan that doesn’t revolve around cars but rather zero-carbon public transport, footpaths and protected bike lanes. Electric public transportation powered by renewable energy could prevent 250 million tons of carbon emissions by 2030. Lastly, minimizing organic waste, which emit methane, a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide in the short-term, by improving waste management methods and capturing the methane emissions from landfills will help reduce emission of greenhouse gasses.²

References:

1. Burgess J. Some climate change impacts already irreversible, with greater risks to come: IPCC. S&P Global Commodity Insights. https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/022822-some-climate-change-impacts-already-irreversible-with-greater-risks-to-come-ipcc#:~:text=Human%2Dcaused%20climate%20change%20has,28. Published March 1, 2022. Accessed October 10, 2022.

2. Chapter III towards Sustainable Cities - United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/wess_current/wess2013/Chapter3.pdf. Accessed October 10, 2022.

3. Cities: A 'cause of and solution to' climate change | | 1UN news. United Nations. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046662. Accessed October 10, 2022.

4. Hazlegreaves S. Top 10 eco-friendly cities around the world. Open Access Government. https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/top-10-eco-friendly-cities-around-the-world/53998/. Published August 19, 2020. Accessed October 10, 2022.