Page 373 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

advocates suggest that cities follow an ecosystem-centered
model by striving to: TABLE 13.4 Goals of New York City’s PlaNYC
Sustainability Program
• Maximize efficient use of resources. • Create affordable, sustainable housing for 1 million more people
• Recycle as much as possible (pp. 635–637). • Ensure that all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park
• Develop environmentally friendly technologies. • Clean up all contaminated land in the city
• Account fully for external costs (pp. 164, 183). • Reduce water pollution, and open 90% of waterways for rec-
• Offer tax incentives to encourage sustainable practices. reation
• Use locally produced resources. • Repair and maintain water delivery network
• Add substantial new mass transit capacity
• Use organic waste and wastewater to restore soil fertility.
• Bring subways and roads up to full state of good repair
• Encourage urban agriculture.
• Upgrade energy infrastructure to provide clean power
Planners and visionary leaders have come up with designs • Achieve the cleanest air quality of any big city in America
for entire “eco-cities” built from scratch that follow cyclical, • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30%
sustainable patterns of resource use and waste recycling. So
far, none of these efforts have come to fruition, but urban sus- Source: City of New York, Office of the Mayor, PlaNYC Progress Report
tainability is developing step by step across the world as more 2012: A Greener, Greater New York.
and more cities adopt sustainable strategies. Urban agriculture
is thriving in many places, from Portland to Cuba to Japan. the looming societal challenges of peak oil (pp. 550–551) and
Municipal recycling programs continue to grow. Curitiba, climate change (Chapter 18). Moving transportation away
Brazil, shows the kind of success that can result when a city from cars and toward mass transit systems reduces gasoline
invests in well-planned infrastructure. Besides its highly consumption and carbon emissions. Parks offer ecosystem
effective bus transportation network, the city provides recy- services while promoting residents’ health. And green build-
cling, environmental education, job training for the poor, and ings bring a diversity of health and environmental benefits.
free health care. Surveys show that its citizens are unusually Successes from Portland to Curitiba to New York City
happy and better off economically than residents of other Bra- suggest that cities may one day make urban sustainability a
zilian cities. reality. Indeed, because they affect the environment in many
In 2007, New York City unveiled an ambitious plan that positive ways and can encourage efficient resource use, urban
Mayor Michael Bloomberg hoped would make it “the first centers are a key element in achieving progress toward global
environmentally sustainable 21st-century city.” PlaNYC is sustainability.
a 132-item program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
improve mass transit, plant trees, clean up polluted land and
rivers, and enhance access to parkland. The aim of PlaNYC is Conclusion
to make New York City a better place to live as it accommo-
dates 1 million more people by 2030 (TABLE 13.4). As of 2012, As half the human population has shifted from rural to urban
accomplishments included completing 100 energy efficiency lifestyles, the nature of our environmental impact has changed.
projects in city buildings; planting 560,000 trees; opening As urban and suburban dwellers, our impacts are less direct
or renovating 210 school playgrounds; establishing 64 com- but more far-reaching. Resources must be delivered to us
munity gardens; upgrading wastewater treatment; acquiring over long distances, requiring the use of still more resources.
36,000 acres to protect upstate water supplies; installing Limiting the waste of those resources by making urban and
bike lanes and bike racks and launching a bike-sharing suburban areas more sustainable will be vital for our future.
program; retrofitting ferries to reduce pollution; introduc- Fortunately, the innovative cultural environment that cities
ing electric vehicles and converting 30% of the taxi fleet foster has helped us develop solutions to alleviate impact and
to hybrid vehicles; and reducing greenhouse gas emissions promote sustainability.
by 13%.
Part of seeking urban sustainability lies in making urban
areas better places to live. One key component of these efforts
involves expanding transportation options to relieve con-
Steps toward livability enhance gestion and make cities run more efficiently. Another lies
sustainability in ensuring access to adequate parklands to keep us from
becoming wholly isolated from nature. Proponents of smart
The best news of all is that most of the steps being taken to growth and new urbanism believe they have solutions to the
make cities more livable are also helping to make them more challenges posed by urban and suburban sprawl. Accomplish-
sustainable. Planning and zoning are pursuits that specifically ments in city and regional planning have improved many
entail a long-term vision. By projecting farther into the future American cities, and we should be encouraged about such
than political leaders or businesses generally do, planning and progress. Continuing experimentation in cities everywhere
zoning are powerful forces for sustaining urban communities. will help us determine how best to ensure that urban growth
The principles and practices of smart growth and new urban- improves our quality of life while not degrading the quality of
372 ism cut down on energy consumption, helping us to address our environment.

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