City Sustainability - Essay Example

City Sustainability INTRODUCTION Environmental conservation is the key to a successful life. Effective environmental management leads to a sustainable future. The biophysical environment experiences degradation due to population pressure and change in technology. Conserving the environment is the responsibility of every individual in the society. Environmental conservation encompasses education, legislation, and ethics. In most cases, these factors play an important role in influencing personal-level environment, national-level environmental decisions, and behaviors. Environmental conservation emphasizes on waste management strategies, recycling of used materials, and avoiding pollution (Howe, Mitchell, & Skinner, 2011:178). Sustainability has been a controversial and challenging issue to the government and the society. Despite the measures taken to conserve the environment, cases of environmental pollution and degradation still exist in the society. This paper discusses in length about approaches of Curitiba and Hammarby cities in environmental management and the lessons imposed by these cities in upgrading Nairobi city in sustainability. Rapid population growth has posed a major challenge in conservation of the environment. Urban centers have been the main sites of rapid population growth thus facing problems in conserving the places. Cities as industrial areas depict most cases of pollution whether air pollution, water pollution, or even land pollution. Strategies have been each passing day innovated and invented to reduce cases of environmental pollution. The city authorities have been given a hard task of managing the ever-growing city areas. Although environmental conservation is an issue facing the community at large and an individual’s responsibility, it has now become the government’s responsibility. Despite the fact that urbanization has positive impacts to the development of the society, it has greatly influenced environmental management. Urbanization has led to the growth of cities thus attracting many people to the city areas. This results to overcrowding in the cities increasing environmental degradation (Griffiths, 2009:11). Cases associated with environmental degradation in one way or the other affect the government. Overcrowding in cities leads to water shortages, air pollution, land pollution, and mismanagement of the available natural resources. This leads to epidemic diseases that turn out to be the government’s responsibility. As the major places for income sources, it becomes hard for the government to control immigration of people to the city centers. Different people have different perceptions of life and thus different views on environmental conservation. Some people view environmental conservation as burden given unto them rather than an added advantage on their health and safety (Hyyppa, 2010:139). Environmental conservation has led to a decline in the country’s economy as the government tries to reduces cases of environmental pollution and enhance sustainability. FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE METHODS USED BY CITIES TO ADOPT SUSTAINABILITY Invention and innovation Through innovation and invention, the city council is able to improvise new machines that used in sustaining the city. Moreover, the technology used in a particular city determines the level of sustainability of the city. For efficient sustainability, the city ought to invent high technological machines that are environmental friendly rather than those that cause hazardous effects to the city. Responsibility Responsibility is a main factor of consideration when planning for environmental sustainability. In order to enhance a city’s sustainability, the residents should take it as responsibility. The sustainability of any city requires devotion and concern. Lack of consciousness in maintaining the city’s sustainability both for the present and future generation, it becomes hard and impossible to implement the measures required to make the city sustainable. Sustainability of the city starts with individuals. Discipline and behavior The behavior of many people is wanting and this determines the methods to use to reclaim or enhance a city’s sustainability. Most people always misuse the available natural resources for their own selfish good. They tend to exploit the resources present in the city to make their lives more comfortable. Planners of a sustainable city should consider this factor as they plan for a sustainable city. People have to change their behaviors and lifestyles in order to give ways for efficient methods of enhancing the city’s sustainability. Unity People united never get defeated in any task. Unity is the key factor to any success. It becomes a waste of time to formulate methods of enhancing the city’s sustainability without co-operation from the residents. To ensure that the effective measures of sustaining the city are implemented, the residents have to co-operate and all look forward in achieving one ultimate goal of enhancing the city’s sustainability. CURITIBA CITY As the eighth largest city nationwide Curitiba has an immense population thus, the government has taken responsibility to maintain the city’s sustainability. The city is depicted as an important political, cultural, and economic centre in the country. Immigrants from Germany, Italy, Pole, and Ukrainian have significantly contributed to the economic and cultural development of the city. This expansion was mainly based on the cattle trade that was conducted in the city. Although the city experiences cases of population growth, it has thrived to ensure that it maintains sustainable environmental conservation measures. In the year 2010, the city got an award of the Globe Sustainable City Award. This award aimed to congratulate the city and the municipality for the hard work they had excelled in enabling the city’s sustainability. Despite the fact that the city experiences a large number of immigrants, it becomes unbelievable in its achievement of a sustainable city award. Many cities with rapid population growth, always find it hard to enhance environmental sustainability. Since 1950, the city has been one of the richest cities in Brazil and more so a pioneer in urban solutions. Scholarly research portrays Curitiba city as a star due to its industrial-district, sanitation, and public amenities downtown. Moreover, the city exemplifies magnificent environmental practices. Curitiba is not an exceptional city from all other cities pertaining overcrowding, pollution, poverty, or limited public funding. The city experiences all these issues but what makes it unique is the fact that the planners have strategized creative and inexpensive ways of solving these universal problems. Research portrays that Curitiba has a radical approach to city planning that is not only unique within Brazil but also globally. According to Jamier Lerner who has been the city’s mayor for approximately 3 years, there seems no endeavor noble to him than achieving a desired goal of maintaining the cities sustainability. It becomes a happy era for the city when it understands of its responsibility, accepts as a mandate its quality of life, respect the people who habit the place, respect the environment, and of all prepare for the future generation. Although the city is economically incompetent, it has produced a succession of amazing results in transportation, flood control, and parking based on unique ways of meeting people’s needs and wants. Evident in the Curitiba City website, has improvised efficient waste management strategies in that almost two-thirds of the city’s daily waste is processed. This waste is recycled to produce products beneficial people and the environment. For instance, in Curitiba city, recycling does not at all stop at separating waste, since older city busses are often reused as schools and offices in the city (Suzuki, et.al. 2010: 169). In addition, children help in tidying the place by tending the gardens and green spaces in the city centers. This has led to tourist attraction in the place thus boosting the countries economy. The city has also improvised recreational parks to enhance people’s lives. Curitiba has extensively created sustainable, eco-friendly and socially conscious decisions to enable a standard living for the people. It has created wooden houses and parks to ease over population in the city centre. These parks have been situated in valley bottoms or along riversides thus helping in the control of illegal occupation and shantytown growth. This reduces congestion in the city centre and misuse of landfill sites (Miller and Spoolman, 2008:604). The city is regarded as the most ecological capital city of Brazil having more than two dozen parks and wooden regions. The city has strategized new ways of preventing flooding in the city unlike the expensive and ineffective dams used in prevention of flooding. Air pollution caused by personal cars has been greatly reduced by the government improvising of public transport means. The city has many public busses that carry approximately 50 people. They are not only cheap but also fast enough thus convenient and mostly used by the city residents (Wheeler and Beatley 2004: 243). Although the percentage of people having personal cars is high, the city experiences no cases of traffic jam since many people go for the public means of transport. STRENGTHS Unity It has been the co-operation of the city’s residents and their unity that has enabled the city’s succession and become a pioneer in sustainability. The residents have in one accord worked towards fulfilling the set goal of sustainability. Responsibility The residents have taken it as a responsibility to enhance sustainability in the city. They have shown willingness and devotion by making the city an admirable place for tourist attraction and a clean place for human settlement. Children have helped in tidying gardening the green paths and areas in the city. Weakness The city advocates for low technology equipments rather than strategizing of new technology that will meet the needs of the society more effectively (BRT Case Study). HAMMARBY CITY Hammarby city depicts magnificent visions and efforts in enhancing environmental sustainability. The city advocates for environmental programs and concrete action plans that help to reduce green house gases and tackle climate change (Lock, 2008). The city is undergoing transformation into a modern sustainable area. Its goal is to maximize both sewage and rubbish recycling processes. Planners hold on the city’s own recycling model and a local sewage treatment plant. In response to environmental concerns, the city provides new peripheral tramlines, car-pooling arrangements and ferries across the Hammarby canal that serve as transport means. The success of the city is that each of its twelve neighborhoods has been designed as a co-operative effort to enhance the city’s development. Moreover, the inhabitants pay as much consideration as they can to the city’s sustainability (Malmqvist & Heinicke, 2006:117).The city has been able to meet the residents’ needs of electricity by turning recycled domestic waste and recycled wastewater to electricity, heating and cooling. Moreover, new types of solar cells, fuel cells, and solar panels that are environmentally friendly are being tested in the city (Novotny et. al., 2010:25). The city is environmental friendly, airy, and green. Its amazing cool environment has made many people admire and tour the place. The city is still growing and each passing day, it has improvised on efficient strategies to enhance sustainability. STRENGTHS Invention and innovation Management of the city has invested a lot of technology especially in dealing with waste recycling. For instance, the city has gone ahead to implement systems of underground pipes that transport garbage by using vacuum suction. In addition, the city has improvised new technology in recycling wastewater that consists of a local wastewater treatment plant (Evans, 2012:177). Responsibility The residents have taken it as their own task to ensure that the city is sustainable. Most of the residents have opted to using the car-pooling transport systems rather than using personal cars. This has helped in reduction of air pollution in the city. WEAKNESS Ignorance of some of the residents Although the city has taken a step forward in maintaining their objective of sustainable use of resources and conserving the environment, some people tend to be ignorant in understanding the role of environmental sustainability (Hall & Mark, 2010:221). People once at the beginning sold their cars for car-pool transport but this has seemed to disappear with time. NAIROBI CITY Nairobi as the capital city of Kenya ranks among the poorest in city sustainability. The city lacks waste management facilities, efficient transport systems, quality air, and adequate environmental governance. Scholarly research depicts that the city is highly polluted by idling cars in traffic jams and human refuse from the slum areas (Cruz, Sommer and Tempra 2006:5). The city has quite a large sum of people living in the slums resulting to overcrowding and high pollution. Among the issues, that the city has implemented in ensuring the city’s sustainability is improvising high capacity vehicles and utilizing technology to enforce traffic discipline. This has helped improve the city’s transport system in line with the smart city concept. Moreover, with the assistance of the Chinese government, the government has started the city’s improvement with expansion of the roads. The city has also been able to retain and manage a number of green spaces that help in purifying the air and act as tourist attraction site. Nairobi city, which is highly populated, and having many people in the slums has established the Slum Upgrading and Low cost of Housing and Infrastructure Trust Fund to serve as a depository for funds mobilized for the Slum Upgrading Program. Despite the city’s efforts to enhance sustainability, it lacks effective and efficient ways of managing sewage and garbage disposals. The city ought to take an example from Curitiba and Hammarby city, which have improvised on efficient ways of managing waste disposal. The city should invent on new technological equipments that will aid in making the city sustainable. Their three priority actions entail responsibility, invention and innovation, and unity. All the residents should take it as their responsibility not to litter garbage anywhere. Garbage pits should be used effectively and for the right purpose. The government should improvise new technological machines that will ease the task of waste disposal and management. Above all, the residents have to be united to enhance the city’s sustainability. For instance, a dived city never succeeds. Therefore, the residents should all have a set goal of establishing a sustainable city. Bibliography BRT Case Study. CURITIBA, BRAZIL. Available from: http://nexus.umn.edu/Courses/ce5212/Case3/Curitiba.pdf [Accessed March 25, 2012]. Cruz, F., Sommer, K. and Tempra, O. 2006. Nairobi urban sector profile. Nairobi: UN-HABITAT. Curitiba City. Welcome to Curitiba. Available from: http://www.curitiba.pr.gov.br/idioma/ingles [Accessed March 25, 2012]. Evans, A.M. 2012. Frommer's Stockholm Day By Day. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Griffiths, T. 2009. Stockholm: a cultural history. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hall, G.P. and Mark, T. 2010. Urban and Regional Planning. New York: Taylor & Francis. Harris, M. J. et.al. 2001. Ah Survey of Sustainable Development: Social And Economic Dimensions. Washington: Island Press. Howe, C., Mitchell, C. & Skinner, R. 2011. 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