Sustainable Design - Research Paper Example

? Sustainable Design Case Study Introduction and Background of the Project The project that has been chosen for the study is “Environmental Planning for Sustainable Urban Development” which was prepared for Caribbean Water and Wasteland Association. The project is mainly concentrated upon Caribbean Island as well as other developing regions (Williams, 2000). It has been observed that there is a rise in the population and the growth in the urban areas in Caribbean as well as other developing regions. Cities are considered to be the engines for development. They as well are the source of abundant environmental problems. The main reasons behind people moving towards urban areas are to seek employment, make shopping for purchasing goods, seek entertainment as well as attain better standard of living. Simultaneously, existing environmental infrastructures related to work as well as services are quite insufficient to serve the rise in population as well as population densities. It can be observed in this context that overcrowding leads to environmental vulnerabilities as well as degradation unless strategies related to reversing the environmental deterioration can be applied. One of the determinants of the sternness of environment conditions in the urban areas has been their regional ecosystem types such as mountainous, coastal and riverine among others. It needs to be remembered that the urban ecological types are significant components in identifying the environmental strategies along with preparing the plans for precise and sustainable urban development. The project also discusses regarding the physical planning, environmental health management and sustainable development. The main objective of the project analyzed in the paper is to make the urban areas quite self-sufficient, enjoyable place to live and thus sustainable (Williams, 2000). Challenges and Opportunities The most important urban environmental requirements by the people in the developing countries would comprise provision of healthy accommodation as well as other built surroundings, access to environmental infrastructural methods as well as services. It is worthy of stating the fact that the most severe influences on urban environment concerning people and which is caused by human being as well as nature are water pollution as well as depletion, air pollution and energy use and wastage. Furthermore, urbanization leads to solid waste and resource losses such as groundwater contamination and depletion, land and ecosystem degradation among others. There are a few infuriating factors as well in relation to the project which lead to urban environmental degradation that are lack of public as well as political awareness, lack of efficient public education as well as involvement along with requirement for public pressure and political will. It is quite noteworthy to control such factors and make policies to minimize the impact of the factors on the environment so that the sustainability of the urban areas can be ascertained (Williams, 2000). Involvement of Numerous Stakeholders The efforts at enhancing the urban environment would comprise the involvement of numerous stakeholders such as governmental bodies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as the informal sector in defending the environmental problems. It also requires the efforts of numerous institutions, organizations as well as individuals. It becomes difficult for the isolated action to meet the requirements because of the swiftness and intricacy of change. It has been found that one of the most crucial causative factors to the prevailing accumulation of urban developmental issues is the lack of synchronization of actions between various stakeholders as well as actors. In order to reduce this problem, it is necessary to have a major intention of working in harmony towards the attainment of the common objectives. When all the stakeholders collaborate in order to work towards the accomplishment of the goals of the particular project then it leads to greater synergy. It comprises greater information exchange and group decision making. There is a need for partnerships, mutual reliance and understanding among the members when resolving the issues related to environment in urban areas. This partnership needs to be viewed as a principle needing mindful practice so that the resources and actions can be optimized thereby leading to mutual support and thus avoiding duplication, disputes and conflicts. The project has also outlined the main reasons for the stakeholders’ involvement in the project. One of them has been strategy and the other has been opportunity. In the present times, the government of Caribbean Island confronts numerous difficult problems. Laws as well as regulations are likely to work well with willing observance. Furthermore, the project states that community group needs to comprehend the interests of the parties. Stakeholders must be involved in the project related to environmental improvement in urban areas for the purpose of information sharing. Most of the decision makers desire the involvement of such stakeholders and at times even the law needs such policy (UN Habitat, 2002). There are numerous other stakeholders such as the scientific and engineering community, news media, neighborhood organizations and the policies as well as programs instigated by government agencies. Resources Required To Complete Such Projects In order to attain the goals, different tools can be utilized for the purpose of building awareness, making efficient problem evaluation and dialogue along with ensuring participation in the decision make process. The community planning tools that have been used in the project are brainstorming, media campaigns, open houses, field trips, public hearings, role playing, workshops and vision building. The other two most popular tools are popular education and search conferences. The project has also made use of different assessment tools in order to identify where the program is and for controlling and assessing where the program is going. A few of the community assessment tools that are used consist of risk assessment tools, ranking and survey and focus group. There are technical planning tools that can be utilized to create environmental capacity limits and to identify the influence of human upon it. These tools are ecological footprint analysis, environmental space and community based state-of-the-environmental reporting. Sustainability reporting and environmental budgeting are other most noteworthy tools that are used to identify the sustainability of the particular community or environment. The resource that is in action is Local Agenda -21 which can be explained as a sustainable development action plan. It has been designed generally for the 21st century for the urban as well as local community areas (American Society of Landscape Architects, 2012). Process Involved In Creating Sustainability Indicators Creation of the sustainability indicators comprises steps which need to be adhered in a systematic way. At the outset, it is significant to clarify the objectives which encompass the objective of the assessment and the type of desired outcome. After having identified the goals, it is noteworthy to identify who will lead the process. The third logical step is to invite the participants who would be involved in the process of improving the conditions of the environment and thus attain sustainability. The participants need to decide the way of selecting the indicators. Furthermore, they are supposed to gather data on how to evaluate the indicators. The next logical step is to report on the indicators and finally update and revise the indicators (Edmonton, 2012). Impact and Benefit of the Project One of the pertinent facts is that cities are generally human dominated ecosystems. The activities of human make it different from natural ecosystems in diverse fields such as climate, population dynamics, hydrology, population dynamics, composition and flow of energy among others. The most vital influence of urban ecosystems is rapid population expansion, insufficient infrastructure along with unintentional urbanization. The rise in the population tends to impact the quality of the city based services such as public infrastructure, social facilities and housing. It further leads to crisis in the living conditions. The aspect of unplanned urbanization leads to several difficulties in the health and safety of the human beings. It also hampers the urban productivity and leads to inadequate infrastructure. It is because of this reason that the need for building a sustainable community for future generation becomes quite significant. Cities are further needed to redesign their technologies and functions with ecological standards. In the recent times, both ecological approaches as well as planning concepts have gained huge attention and importance. The surmounting concern has imposed the incorporation of environmental protection into both national as well as local policies. For the purpose of addressing the issues of ecological degradation, several international meetings as well as agreements were created. Along with it, legislations, plans and programs were also formed in order to shield the natural environment. Despite this fact, countries are still conducting numerous studies as well as practices in order to identify the ecological solutions to the problems of the environment. Subsequently, this concern has assisted in the creation of ecological precedence for urban planning process. It is also significant to create new frameworks in order to prevent the degradation in nature and thus ensure the sustainability of the resources. Sustainable development can be considered as a continuous enhancement of quality of life that shields and balances the social, ecological and economic environments. Hence, it is an attempt to offer the best outcome for the natural as well as human environments. The various elements of the sustainable development are better quality community services, social equality, environmental quality, higher living standards as well as ecological health. Hence, it can be stated that one of the most significant strategic planning approaches as per the principles of sustainable development is eco-planning (Dizdaroglu, Yigitcanlar, & Dawes, 2009). Eco-planning signifies the strategies as well as the techniques that unite both urbanism as well as nature so that it can build civilized and healthy places to live. It generally refers to a living area monitored by nature instead of legislature. Eco-planning can be considered as a multi-dimensional concept offering different benefits such as environmental, social and ecological benefits to governments and community as a whole. Environmentally, it generates economically effective green areas, minimizes ecological risks and enhances the quality of water, soil as well as air. Economically, eco-planning is mainly concerned with the prevention of urban collapse as well as traffic clogging. Socially, it aims in the minimization of health risks, enhances the quality of urban life and city services. Hence, with all these benefits, an unsustainable urban area confronting numerous problems can turn into a sustainable urban environment (VRM, 2009). Timeline In order to complete such a huge project, huge deal of time is needed. 5 years development plan is prepared in order to achieve the goals of the project. However, it needs to be remembered that a project such as sustainable development is a continuous process and hence it is updated as per the need of the community. Funding Such Transformation In order to fund such transformation, involvement of different stakeholders is needed. The government of Caribbean Island can fund such transformation. Along with it, the local banks as well as the various trusts can play a significant part. Recommendations Urban development needs to be directed by a sustainable planning and management vision stimulating interlinked green space. It also promotes a multi-modal transportation system as well as mixed-use development. It can be suggested that varied public as well as private partnership needs to be utilized so that sustainable as well as livable communities can be developed that shield the historic, environmental as well as cultural resources. It is also crucial for the policy makers, developers as well as regulators to endorse sustainable site planning as well as construction methods through which certain adverse issues such as pollution can be minimized and thus a balance between built as well as natural system can be created. Furthermore, it is crucial for the new sustainable urban developments’ to offer a variety of commercial, educational as well as institutional uses. The provision related to sidewalks, trials as well as private streets which are generally linked to transit related stops along with interconnected street network offers the people the option of mobility thereby minimizing pollution by lowering vehicle trips (Rumming, 2010). Conclusion Sustainable urban development is an initiative to protect the cities from various environmental, social as well as economical hazards and thus maintain sustainability. Owing to growth in the population, the cities are being polluted by the citizens of that particular place leading to several problems in the environment (Queensland University of Technology, 2010). Hence, it is significant to prevent the environment from various hazards. The involvement of various stakeholders is significant under such circumstances. Huge amount of money is required in order to fund the project of these types. Governmental bodies and the external banks can participate in the funding program. References American Society of Landscape Architects. (2012). Sustainable urban development (updated 2011). Retrieved from http://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=23720 Dizdaroglu, D., Yigitcanlar, T., & Dawes, L. (2009). Sustainable urban futures: an ecological approach to sustainable urban development. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/29539/1/c29539.pdf Edmonton. (2012). Urban planning and environment. Retrieved from http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_organization/urban-planning-and-environment.aspx Queensland University of Technology. (2010). Planning for sustainable urban futures: an ecological approach to sustainable urban development. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/38875/ Rumming, K. (2010). Sustainable urban development-the ecologically exemplary new settlement of Hannover-Kronsberg. Retrieved from http://www.unil.ch/webdav/site/ouvdd/shared/Colloque%202006/Communications/Eco-urbanisme/Bonnes%20pratiques/K.%20Rumming.pdf UN Habitat. (2002). Urban poverty reduction through good urban governance: how can local agenda 21 initiatives contribute? Lessons learned from un-habitat’s experience. Retrieved from http://ww2.unhabitat.org/programmes/agenda21/documents/LA21&governance.pdf VRM. (2009). Urban planning and sustainable development. Retrieved from http://www.vrm.ca/EUUE/vol3_2009/EUE3_gauthier_en.pdf Williams, E. R. A. (2000). Environmental planning for sustainable urban development. Retrieved from http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsaidis/cwwa9/will.pdf Read More