Urban Sustainable Development - Literature review Example

Urban Sustainable Development Introduction The issue of sustainable development has gained prominence in the 21st century. The prominence has been due to noticing of the need of managing the environment. Environment has been crucial for human survival. In this scenario, a balance has been tried to be created between human ways of life and environment. On the other hand, the issue of sustainability is addressed together with economic growth. The more growth occurs the more the need to ensure safety of the environment. The issues are addressed through proper planning and designing especially in cities around the globe. In the past, most of the cities were designed without accounting for management of the surrounding. For this reason, there has been more focus on the urban sustainability and the sustainable urban development. The paper seeks to describe the concept of sustainable development, evolution, and effects of planning on sustainable cities. Define the concept of sustainable development Sustainable development can be defined as the practice of upholding an elusive equilibrium amid the human requirements in order to improve lives and sense of security on one hand, while on the other hand, preserving natural resources and ecosystems, that the future generations would depend upon. It can also be defined as the development that meets the necessities of the present-day deprived of compromising the capability of forthcoming generations to cater for their own wants (Rogers, 2008). Sustainable development entails economic growth coupled with the safeguarding of environmental quality, each reinforcing the other. The essence of this form of development is a steady association concerning human undertakings and the normal world, which usually does not reduce the predictions for forthcoming generations to appreciate an excellence of life at tiniest as good as the current. Severally eyewitnesses trust that involved democracy that is not dominated by vested welfares is a requirement for attaining sustainable development (Rogers, 2008). It provides a tactic of making healthier decisions on the matters that influence human lives. By integrating wellbeing plans into the planning of new communities and cities, for example, people can warrant that populations are easily accessible to proper healthcare and leisure amenities. This is through inspiring more supportable food supply chains, thus ensuring enough food for the long-standing future (Rogers, 2008). The stress on sustainable development is much pronounced than just the surroundings. It is also based on the foundation of ensuring a healthy, strong, and just society. This implies that the varied needs of all people in prevailing and future communities are met, thus promoting personal safety, social unity, and inclusion, and building equivalent opportunity (Holden, 2012). The main objective of sustainable development is to make a balance. The balance is between environmental, economic, and social requirements (Newman, 2008). Cities should develop both the social and economic organizations deprived of destroying the environment, and accomplish an equilibrium point amid the human inhabitants and the natural wealth to aid achievement of sustainable development in urbanization,. This equilibrium point can be accomplished through employment of systems conjoining the contribution of peoples and scientific facts delivered by scientific investigation. In this particular system, sustainable development in urbanization is often considered as a new comprehensive visualization to monitoring the urban planning program (Holden, 2012). There are two subcategories of sustainable development in urban areas, namely, the urban sustainability and the sustainable urban development. The urban sustainability category of sustainable development in urbanization can be defined as the appropriate utility of available resources, the safeguarding of the normal environment, the efficient utility of non-renewable resources, and the economic development and the development of community’s self-assurance, individual’s welfare, and the fulfillment of elementary human wants (Holden, 2012). According to the findings by the United Nations Sustainable Cities Program, a sustainable developed metropolitan has permanent natural resources upon which its growth depends on. A sustainable developed metropolitan is often free from any ecological problems that could affect its development. The sustainable developed city signifies an economic part within which the economic, social, and environmental inconsistencies of capitalism are being controlled and strategically solved (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2009). Urbanization and sustainable urban development, on the other hand, uses a vibrant process focused towards the achievement of appropriate circumstances that would address the economic, social, environmental, and governance sustainability apprehensions. The sustainable urban development, as a practice, often strikes a balance amid environmental, economic, and social necessities (Benton & Short, 2008). Suitable ecological urban development design should be a reaction to the global fluctuations and trends influencing metropolises, particularly in the developing nations. The premeditated urban planning procedures developed in the past periods entailed outlines related with a number of indicators which assessed the sustainability of metropolis’s strategies (Benton & Short, 2008). Sustainable development infers the satisfaction of several circumstances: conserving the overall equilibrium, admiration for the environment, and averting the collapse of natural resources. Decreased production of waste and the validation of production and energy ingestion must also be applied. Sustainable development is seen as an alternative to other issues that are a challenge to environment (Newman, 2008). Various things need to be observed to achieve sustainable development. They include protecting and being just to the surroundings and economic efficiency (Newman 2008). Sustainable development scheme should be based on a better developed style of discussion between the public and the members it encompasses. Customers tolerant to definite restraints and citizens discerning certain necessities with respect to transparency and involvement also govern the achievement of such a strategy. Discuss and analyze incentives that led to the evolution of the concept of sustainable development The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972 designed the initial idea of sustainable development, which was referred to as eco development. This conference resulted from atmosphere of conflict between the environment and the economy. This resulted in the formation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2009). In the year 1980, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) issued a world conservation strategy, which was the one the original sources of the ideas of sustainable development, which was defined as development durable in French. The idea of sustainable development was developed due to the the following observations:  the North/South divide which was creation for the potential for future conflicts, the hunt for human development and the environmental hazards that gave rise to the need to protect the environment (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2009). The idea of sustainable development remained virtually unobserved until its revitalization in the GroHarlem Brundtland report entitled Our common future, which was published in the 1987. Subsequently the idea of sustainable development has been acknowledged all quotas of the world (Stoeglehner, Edwards, Daniels, & Narodoslawsky, 2011). In order to strike a balance between environmental, economic and social necessities in sustainable urban development, the Local Agenda 21 (LA21) was suggested during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992. It had an agenda that sets tasks and vision to command and endorse sustainable development at the local level and displays the list of action (Stoeglehner, Edwards, Daniels, & Narodoslawsky, 2011). According to LA21, sustainable development has got four scopes. They include environmental, economic, social, and governance aspects. The World Bank has also described the procedure of sustainable development’s accomplishment in metropolises, showing that metropolises must be suitable, properly governed, competitive, and bankable (Stoeglehner, Edwards, Daniels, & Narodoslawsky, 2011). It was during the Rio conference in the year 1992 that most nations accepted to form national strategies initiating sustainable development programs. The application of these strategies turned out to be complex. The challenge was due to political and economic inaction (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2009). The problems occurred at each level and practically influenced all the areas regarding national policy (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2009). The many methods reproduce diverse view points, and in specific: more or less reserved free market rehearses, a desire to position people at the center of the economy, the greater or lesser the willpower of the various nations in the world, and the equilibrium between medium, short, and long, term interests. Furthermore, there is no denial that the interdependence of contemporary economies implies that environmental issues should be dispensed with a worldwide level, which never simplifies the application of the required strategies, predominantly because of modifications in levels of development (Pugh, 2000). The purpose of sustainable development is to describe feasible systems relating the social, economic, and environmental features of human action. The three areas should, therefore, consideration by companies, communities, and individuals. The definitive objectives of sustainable development are to discover a coherent and enduring equilibrium between these three features. Additionally, these three primary factors have transverse consideration, which is important to the implementation of strategies and activities regarding the sustainable development such as governance. Governance consists in the procedures of the decision-making process (Pugh, 2000). In matters concerning sustainable development, the agreement of all the members in humanity is obligatory in order to describe aims and instrument them in both private and public sector corporations, NGOs, associations, unions, and citizens. Sustainable development is the product of items of transformations in which the manipulation of ordinary resources, the decision on the type of investment, and alignment of technological and institutional alterations are in agreement with current and forthcoming requirements. As already mentioned, the goals for sustainable development should be deliberated by all companies, individuals, and on a worldwide level (Pugh, 2000). Furthermore, the idea of sustainable development is founded upon a set of requirements. It should therefore, allow the elementary needs of current and future cohorts to be met with respect to population restrictions, namely, access to education, employment, water, health, and the battle against starvation and malnutrition. Another significant importance of sustainable development is the improvement of quality of life, which encompasses easier admission to social services, medical care, culture, as well as social well-being (HOLDEN, 2011). Moreover, the admiration for fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as promotion of new types of renewable energy including, solar, wind, and geothermal power, forms the important features of sustainable development. The sustainable development procedure should allow the world’s natural resources and conditions to be safeguarded. The perception of sustainable development also includes the reduction of the gaps between the rich and the poor nations, insofar as these gaps, if sustained or emphasized, they could cause violent conflict, which by nature could leads to recession instead of development (HOLDEN, 2011). (3) Its impact on the planning sustainable cities/sustainable urban development In the past few years, urban areas round the world have faced social, economic, and ecological trials, and other fast urban fluctuations, including speedy population growth and social, spatial changes. These influences have caused significant effects on the urban areas in the developing countries. Currently, approximately 75 percent of the world population growth is intense in developing nations like China. The changes have affected the areas of social condition, economy, and the environment as whole. Economic fears and the rivalry in the luring of investors are the chief results of these fluctuations as in the case of Hong Kong in China (United Nations Human Settlements Program, 2009). In the case study, “Planning Sustainable Cities,” the density related in issues include, transportation, city size, decay and regeneration of city centers; Site and building design, pattern of land use; Policies of planning and zoning; Sustainable development, environment-related policies; and urban intensification, urban sprawl, economic issues, and quality of life. The characteristics of the high-density urban environment of Hong Kong include; mixed land uses, population and housing, an efficient mass transit system, cheap public transport, and easy access to most facilities (Leonard, & Pelling, 2010). The issues that influence the high density in Hong Kong city include; topographical constraints, land sales and income revenue, reclamation-based urban development strategy, residential density planning policy and urban renewal favoring urban intensification. Due to sustainable development in planning and building of the cities, Hong Kong city in particular has had several advantages. Such advantage is seen on economic use of land (Leonard, & Pelling, 2010). The intense sustainable urban development in Hong Kong has subsidized to decrease the growth in car road traffic jams and should be categorized as satisfactory from the viewpoint of sustainable mobility. The population densification of homes has inferred that new homes have been constructed on average at a nearer distance from downtown Hong Kong than what would have happened suppose proper land use was not considered in sustainable development planning in building the city that has continued to expand outwards as densification increases (Leonard, & Pelling, 2010). In specific, the substantial home development in the internal regions suggests an upsurge in the population residing near to the attention of workplaces and service amenities originate in the central and internal areas of the urban area. This has led to reduction of the overall amount of motorized transportable and in particular traveling by car, paralleled to external urban expansion (International Institute for Environment and Development & International Institute for Environment and Development--Latin America, 1989). Climate change and global warming is an important concern that can be essentially alleviated through application of sustainable development. The sustainable development practices would dictate a lower application of fossil energy, that are not environmentally friendly and which produces greenhouse gases. As the demographics of the city increases, more people are likely to require more energy and are also likely to put a greater pressure on the world climate. Hong Kong city is more industrialized and contributes greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Sustainable development through proper land use in concentrating industries in one area and purifying the gasses before being released to the environment would ensure that cleaner air that would not facilitate acid rain to destroy properties and increases soil pH level (International Institute for Environment and Development & International Institute for Environment and Development--Latin America, 1989). Sustainable development would also increase the agricultural activities to meet the needs of a growing population in Hong Kong city, like figure out methods of feeding over one billion people in China than it presently does. If similar unsustainable methods of tilling practices, seeding, crop watering, pest spraying and harvesting methods in Hong Kong city are used into the future, they could become very expensive due to the extinction of fossil energy. Sustainable agricultural methods like effective seeding practices, crop rotation could assist in promoting higher yields while protecting the productivity of the land as it yields sustenance for superior amounts of people (Næss, & Strand, 2011). Sustainable development in Hong Kong city would accommodate city development while populations increase. To meet the needs of the future generation as population increases, cities should grow to become bigger in size and opportunities in order to accommodate the arrival of new residents. If the cities were not sustainably developed, they would become very costly to shape and maintain over time, because the resources needed to develop, the cities would be finite fossil energy that would get more costly as they run out over time. Due to this fact, Hong Kong city has started using solar energy that is environmentally friendly and can provide more power to construct residentially and office buildings (Næss, & Strand, 2011). The higher volume of fossil fuels needed to produce energy for the projected larger population would also negatively influence the quality of air in cities. Hong Kong has adopted sustainable development methods, and it has conceivably made ways for new housing and business developments indeterminately using environmentally friendly energy and the planting of trees that would absorb greenhouse gasses (Næss, & Strand, 2011). The social sides of sustainability in Hong Kong city are also receiving more focus. The city has developed its personal definition and agenda for social sustainability and has initiated to register present initiatives from parks and recreation, social planning, culture, wellness, community safety, poverty and planning (Newman, 2008). Social sustainability develops as an essential innovative emphasis for sustainable development strategy at the urban measure due to the development inequities, encounters and disappointments shaped by the present urban economic and authority standard. These include inadequate quality public services, housing problems resulting from unaffordability and inadequate investment in vital infrastructure. Cities often balance the requirements to involve in replying these demands for action against the deterrents made by their status and role within the levels of government (Newman, 2008). The environmental obligation of manufacturers in Hong Kong city is to endure to advance innovative clarifications that approve sustainable development. The city management holds that the continuing expedition for more energy-efficient structures as one of its main objectives. According to this viewpoint of reverence for the environmental and sustainable development, the Hong Kong city has definite precedence activities to be undertaken in its activities. These precedence institute the approval of its incorporeal commitment (Newman, 2008). Sustainable urban development in Hong Kong city is often conducted by a sustainable management and planning vision that is aimed at promoting interrelated green space, a multi modal transport structure, and mixed application development. The city management uses diverse public and private partnerships in creating sustainable and habitable communities that safeguard cultural, historic, and environmental wealth. Additionally, policymakers, developers and regulators in Hong Kong city have supported sustainable site development and building techniques aimed at reducing pollution and creating a balance amid built system and natural environment (Stoeglehner, Edwards, Daniels, & Narodoslawsky, 2011).  New sustainable urban developments in Hong Kong city should be aimed at providing diversity of institutional, commercial, and educational uses, as well as housing elegances, prices, and sizes. The establishment of trails, sidewalks, and private streets linked to transport stops and connected street network in the mixed-use developments that provide flexibility choices and aids in reducing pollution by decreasing vehicle trips. Bicycling, walking, and other movement selections should be stimulated throughout the Hong Kong mixed-use central and mixed-use regions with effortlessly accessible and definite centers. Conclusion It is clear the concept of sustainable development dominated the world today. The concept has gained prominence due to understanding that sustainable existence is crucial for both humanity and environment. As a result, human beings have endeavored to strike a balance between the two aspects. Sustainable development has also been tied to economic factors. As a result, some cities such as Hong Kong have focused on ways of ensuring safeguarding of environment as a way of attracting investors. The city management uses diverse public and private partnerships in creating sustainable and habitable communities that safeguard cultural, historic, and environmental wealth. Hence, the issue of sustainable development needs to be stressed to safe guard well-being of humanity. Reference Benton-Short, L., & Short, J. R. (2008). Cities and nature. London: Routledge. Holden, M. (January 01, 2012). Urban policy engagement with social sustainability in metro Vancouver. Urban Studies (edinburgh, Scotland), 49, 3, 527-42. HOLDEN, M. E. G. (January 01, 2011). 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