Chapter 9 The Urban Environment
How much money is lost per year to heavy use of cars
$74 BILLION per year
What are ways to make a building green.
-Build with sustainable materials -Renewable energy -Efficiency -Control pollution -Recycle wastes
Benefits to mass transit systems
-Cheaper, more energy efficient, and cleaner than moving the same number of people in cars -Eases traffic congestion
Why is the US mass transit behind?
-Low population density and cheap fuel led the US to support road networks for cars. -Political opposition.
Why is mass transit better?
-More people in the vehicle per machine -Eases traffic congestion -Cheaper, more energy efficient, and cleaner than moving the same number of people in cars
Items in a "green building"
-Natural lighting -solar collection, -insulation - rain garden -deciduous vegetation -efficient sinks -toilets.
Ways that government can encourage mass transit
-Raise fuel taxes. -Tax inefficient modes of transport. -Reward carpoolers. -Encourage bicycle use and bus ridership. -Charge trucks for road damage.
Ways cities can promote sustainability and be made into functional ecosystems
-Use resources efficiently. -Recycle -Develop environmentally friendly technology. -Account full for external costs. -Offer tax incentives for sustainable practices. -Use locally produced resources. -Use organic waste and wastewater to restore soil fertility. -Encourage urban agriculture
Metropolitan areas with more than 10 million people
23 of these areas GLOBALLY
Buildings consume ___ of energy and ___ of electricity
40%, 70%
The United Nations projects that by 2050:Urban populations will increase _____
72%
In the United States, ___ of people live in urban areas
80% (30% cities, 50% suburbs)
The United Nations projects that by 2050: Rural populations will decline by ____
9%
What are the negative effects of traffic jams?
Air pollution, stress, lost time
Tokyo, NYC, Paris,
Area where there are more than 10 million people
Negative effects to heavy use of cars
Causes stress and lost time, COSTS MONEY: 74 billion PER YEAR Lost money due to traffic jams
Cities generate little pollution and waste. True or false?
FALSE; they create LOTS of pollution and waste
Cities ecological footprint is FAR SMALLER than their land area. True or false?
False, their ecological footprint is FAR GREATER
Is the US ahead in mass transit system. True or false?
False, they lag behind in the mass transit system.
Cities can have only bad impacts. t or f?
False. They can have a mix of good and bad impacts
What are some transit options to help cities?
Get mass transit, make walkable neighborhoods bike trave
What does LEED stand for?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
How is urban planning used to make cities better?
Maximize efficiency, functionality, beauty
What are some alternatives to driving?
More walkable neighborhoods, bike travel, mass transit
Sprawl has negative or positive effects?
Mostly negative
The United States has good and accessible bus systems. Yes or no?
No. Unlike most nations, the US does not have extensive accessible bus systems
Benefits to new urbanism
Reduces sprawl, reduces our dependence on cars ; everything you need is right there
Urban ecology helps cities toward __________.
Sustainability
Where are most heavy rail systems in the US
They are in large cities
What are some negative effects that sprawl has?
Transportation, pollution, health, land use, economics.
What is LEED?
a certification program run by the U.S. Green Building Council. (can cost more to build, but overall saves more money)
Urban growth boundary:
a line on a map intended to separate areas desired to be urban from areas desired to remain rural
Traffic jams can cause what?
air pollution, stress, and lost time
New urbanism
approach among architects, planners, and developers that seeks to design neighborhoods in which homes, businesses, schools, and other amenities are within walking distance of one another
Cities can have good impacts by Preserves land
because people are packed densely in cities, more land outside cities is left undeveloped
Pollution:
carbon dioxide, air pollutants, ozone, smog, acid precipitation
Cities can have bad impacts by Resource sinks:
cities must IMPORT resources, relying on large expanses of land elsewhere to supply resources
Zoning
classifying areas for different types of development and land use
Cities can have good impacts by Innovation:
cultural life and creativity; serve as markets for organic produce, recycling, and environmental education
Cities can have good impacts by Efficiency:
dense concentrations of people in cities allow efficient delivery of goods and services better for people to all be there to make it easier for them
All properties of __________ ecology can apply to _________.
ecology, cities
Urban ecology:
field that holds that cities can be viewed explicitly as their own ecosystems
Growth in less developed countries:
go up rapidly
What is an example of command and control, top down issues?
government only lets you make certain types of development here or there. (residential, commercial, etc)
Cities can have bad impacts by Consumption:
heavy use of outside resources increases the ecological footprints of cities
Japan and many European nations have developed systems of ____________________.
high speed bullet trains
Cities must replace the one-way linear metabolism of ___________ resources and _______________wastes.
importing, exporting
Land use
less forests, fields, farmland, or ranchland, Lose biophilia, lose environmental resources
Smart growth
managing city growth in ways intended to limit sprawl and maintain or improve resident's quality of life.
Less developed areas:
more people are fleeing to the cities to try to find jobs
Transportation
people are forced to drive cars
Urban and suburban areas grow in _____ and ______.
population size, spatially
Mass transit systems:
public systems that move large numbers of passengers at once
Constructing or renovating buildings using efficient technologies is probably the best way to _____________ and _________________.
reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Economics:
sprawl drains tax dollars from communities
Health:
sprawl promotes physical inactivity because driving cars replaces walking
Green buildings:
structures that use technologies and approaches to minimize the ecological footprints of construction of operation
Urbanization
the movement of people from rural to urban (cities and suburbs) areas
Sprawl
the spread of low density urban or suburban development outward from an urban center
_____ dwellers have far larger ecological footprints than _____.
urban, rural
