-
The Endangered GlobalCommonsThe Effects of Climate and
Topography on AirPollutionThe Effects of AirPollutionAir Pollution
Control:Toward a SustainableStrategyNoise: The
ForgottenPollutantIndoor Air PollutionSpotlight on
SustainableDevelopment 20-1:Germany's SustainableApproach Pays
HugeDividends
20.1
20.1
20.1
20.1
20.1
20.1
20.1
CHAPTER OUTLINE
CHAPTER 17
T his book presents a systems approach to environmental
protection.One of its goals is to show how principles of
sustainability derivedfrom the study of ecology and other areas can
be used to restruc-ture human systems such as energy,
transportation, waste manage-ment, and housing to protect the
natural systems that support our
Creating SustainableCities, Suburbs, andTowns:
SustainableCommunity Developmentand EnvironmentalProtection
Cities and Towns asNetworks of SystemsLand-Use Planning
andSustainabilityShifting to a SustainableTransportation System
Spotlight on SustainableDevelopment 17-1:Cohousing: Building
aCommunitySpotlight on SustainableDevelopment 17-2:Curitiba,
Brazil—A Citywith a Sustainable VisionSpotlight on
SustainableDevelopment 17-3: CarSharing: On the Road—Cheaper and
GreenerSpotlight on SustainableDevelopment 17-4: MasdarCity: A
Solar Oasis
17.3
17.2
17.1
The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
possibleworlds, and the pessimist fears this is true.
—J.B. Cabell
365
-
CRITICAL THINKING
ExerciseIn a speech to a group of business executives,one
opponent of the U.S. Clean Air Act notedthat natural sources of air
pollution such asvolcanoes often exceed human sources. Be-cause of
this he argued that air pollution con-trol legislation was
misguided. He went on tosay that he supported efforts in the U.S.
Con-gress to weaken air pollution legislation be-cause it was not
only unnecessary but alsohurt the economy. Regulations, he
claimed,cost jobs and reduced the nation's productiv-ity. Analyze
this premise, using your criticalthinking skills and your knowledge
of air pollution.
366 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
CRITICAL THINKING
ExerciseHydrogen is a fuel that receives a lot of atten-tion
from the media these days, and many peo-ple, including politicians,
are touting hydrogenas a potential fuel source for
automobiles,trucks, and busses. They point out that hydro-gen is
made from an abundant and renewableresource, water, by simply
running electricitythrough water. This causes the water moleculesto
split. Hydrogen can then be burned or intro-duced into a fuel cell
that uses the hydrogen togenerate electricity. When this occurs,
the hy-drogen combines with oxygen in the air toform water once
again. The process producesno pollution, say proponents.
Analyze hydrogen as a fuel, and presentyour thoughts on the
wisdom of pursuing hy-drogen as a transportation fuel. You may
wantto do some research on hydrogen to learnmore about it. How much
energy does it taketo make it? Would it be more efficient to usethe
electricity needed to split water mole-cules directly to power
cars?
lives and to ensure a long, prosperous human pres-ence. Chapter
2 made the case for this new ap-proach to environmental protection.
(If you haven’tread them, you may want to do so now.)
This book also presents many ideas on waysto create
nature-compatible designs to permithumans to thrive within the
limits of the natu-ral world. These new designs could allow
humancivilization to prosper without disrupting nutrientcycles,
climate, wildlife, and natural environments.In fact, they could
even enhance the environ-ment, our life support system, and the
source ofall human wealth.
Table 17-1 lists the humansystems that were discussedin Chapter
2. In Part IV, thechapters reviewed natural re-source issues and
solutions,highlighting ways to restruc-ture systems such as
energy,water supply, and agricultureto resolve resource issues
based
on the operating principles of sustainability. Al-though
restructuring human systems and the globaleconomy are essential to
protect the environmentand build a sustainable future, the task
will not beeasy, inexpensive, or quickly executed. The chap-ter you
are about to read presents some additionalideas on sustainable
systems. It addresses land useand transportation.
Cities and Towns as Networksof Systems
Think of the city or town you live in. It consists of people
andthe built environment—streets, shopping centers,
officebuildings, and schools. Look a little harder, though, and
youwill see the city or town as a network of interdependent hu-man
systems. There’s a transportation system, consisting ofroads and
highways, gas stations, automobiles, buses, trucks,and airports.
There’s an energy system, consisting of gas sta-tions, power
plants, underground pipes that carry natural gas,and power lines
that transmit electricity. There’s most likelyan elaborate system
of water supply, consisting of deep wellsor dams and reservoirs,
water treatment plants, and an ex-tensive set of pipes under the
streets to transport water tohomes, factories, businesses, schools,
government offices, carwashes, and parks. There’s a waste
management system aswell. It consists of thousands of generators of
waste—homes,factories, office buildings, and copy shops that
produce mil-lions of tons of waste each year. It also consists of
ways to dealwith waste, such as recycling centers, waste-to-energy
plantsthat burn garbage, landfills in which waste is buried,
sewagetreatment plants, and hazardous waste facilities.
These networks of systems are designed to meet ourneeds for raw
materials, finished goods, and services. Theyalso get rid of the
mountains of waste produced by humansociety. Some futurists believe
that making cities sustain-able will require a restructuring of
these systems. Virtuallyevery aspect of city or town life will need
to be rethought andredesigned, although not everyone agrees that
this is neces-sary or, if they do, about how this should be
accomplished.
KEY CONCEPTS
The Invisibility of Human SystemsAlthough there has been a lot
of progress in the last fourdecades in environmental protection,
many problems areworsening. As pointed out earlier, the vast
majority of thetrends are leading us away from a sustainable
existence. Itmay be hard for people to accept the assertion that
human
Cities and towns consist of numerous systems, such as
energy,housing, and transportation, that many experts think are
largelyunsustainable. Making our living environment sustainable
willrequire us to redesign human systems to protect natural
systemsthat support us.
17.1
Table 17-1Human Systems
EnergyTransportationWaste managementWaterIndustryAgriculture
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CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
367
FIGURE 17-1 The kitchen is more than a place to cook.The kitchen
is an integral part of several key systems. Canyou name them? How
do natural systems support the hu-man systems?
society and the systems it depends on are unsus-tainable.
Throughout this book you have seen manystatistics that support this
conclusion. As has beenpointed out in previous chapters, pollution,
speciesextinction, global warming, and a host of other
en-vironmental problems aren’t mere surface woundsthat can be fixed
with Band-Aids; they’re symptomsof deeper problems, most notably
overpopulationand unsustainable human systems.
Why is it hard to grasp the problem with hu-man systems? For
much of the past 60 years, en-vironmentalists, policymakers,
teachers, andresearchers have focused most of their attentionon
solutions that address the symptoms of the en-vironmental crisis.
Very little attention has been fo-cused on human systems and their
fundamentalunsustainability. The basicassumption has been that ifwe
solve the immediate prob-lems, we’ll be all right. A lit-tle change
here and there willcut pollution and reduce thenegative effects on
peopleand other living creatures.
Another important fac-tor is that for most peoplesystems are
invisible. That is, they were designed to oper-ate with minimal
bother to us (FIGURE 17-1). The fact thatwe don’t think about
systems very much is a tribute to theengineers who designed them.
In fact, it’s generally onlywhen a system breaks down that we
notice it exists.
We turn on a light switch, and electricity surges throughthe
wires. We turn on the faucet, and out comes drinkablewater. We go
to the grocery store, and the shelves are packedwith food. We pull
up to the gas station, and there’s plentyof fuel. We’re aware of
light switches, faucets, and gas pumps,but we’re fairly ignorant
about the rest of the systems. If webarely recognize their
existence, how can we be concernedabout them?
KEY CONCEPTS
Performance Versus Sustainability:Understanding a Crucial
DifferenceAnother obstacle in the way of understanding the
premisethat human systems are unsustainable has to do with
thedistinction between performance and endurance. For most
Most efforts to solve environmental problems have focused
ontreating symptoms rather than on rethinking and revampingthe
systems that are at the root of the problems. Most peopleare
unaware of the systems that support our lives until theybreak
down.
of us, the systems work well. The important distinction hereis
that just because a system is supplying us with the serviceswe need
doesn’t mean that it is sustainable. For example,just because the
world’s fishing fleet is producing over 90 mil-lion tons of fish
each year does not mean that this amountis a sustainable harvest
level. In fact, this level of fish catchis severely depleting key
fisheries, and we are headed formajor shortages in the near future.
The same is true withvirtually all human systems.
KEY CONCEPTS
Why Are Human SystemsUnsustainable?Although it is difficult to
determine the carrying capacityof the planet—that is, how many
people it can support—itis easy to find evidence that we are
exceeding it. Globalwarming, species extinction, land devastation,
soil erosion,desertification, food shortages, and other problems
are signsthat we are exceeding the capacity of the Earth to support
hu-man life—and other life-forms as well.
These problems are partly a result of the massive size ofthe
world population, but also a result of the design of thesystems
that support our lives. A system of energy based onefficiency and
clean, renewable sources, for example, wouldhave a fraction of the
environmental impact of the presentsystem (Chapters 14 and 15). A
system of agriculture basedon minimum tillage, crop rotation, soil
conservationmeasures, and natural pesticides would be able to feed
the
Just because a system such as energy or manufacturing ap-pears
to be functioning well does not mean it is sustainable inthe long
run.
GO GREEN
One way to reduce your impacton the environment is to growyour
food—or some of it—af-ter you graduate or right now.You can even
help your familystart a vegetable garden.
-
368 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
world’s people with muchless impact on water, wildlife,and
soils. Both could endurefor many centuries, too.
The present systems areunsustainable because theyproduce waste
and pollutionin excess of the Earth’s capacity to absorb them. They
end uppoisoning us and other species. They change the climate.They
adversely change the chemistry of rainfall. They’vecontributed to
the present depletion of the ozone layer. Theydeplete both
renewable and nonrenewable resources uponwhich our future
depend.
Why do they do all of these things? As noted in Chap-ter 3, most
systems are inefficient. They do not recycle or userecycled
materials. They depend primarily on nonrenew-able energy. They
destroy but do not restore.
KEY CONCEPTS
The Challenge of Creating SustainableCities and TownsCities and
towns are a lot like the bird colonies that dot therocky coastlines
of many continents (FIGURE 17-2). Birdcolonies are nesting and
resting sites where large num-bers of birds of the same species
aggregate. They are alsosites of enormous waste production and
enormous foodconsumption—just like cities. But food for the colony
andthe city does not come from the immediate vicinity. Itcomes from
neighboring ecosystems.
To be sustainable, cities and towns must have a lastingsupply of
resources. Proper resource management is there-fore essential to
the survival and sustainability of this patternof habitation. Many
changes can also be made in cities to en-sure their sustainability.
These changes are all designed tolessen resource demand and waste
production while ensur-ing we meet our needs.
The challenge facing humankind is twofold. First, wemust revamp
existing infrastructure. Second, we must buildnew infrastructure in
a sustainable fashion. Consider thetask of revamping existing
infrastructure first—the so-calledredevelopment strategy.
One of the first steps in reducing resource demandand pollution
is to make all buildings much more efficientin their use of
energy—electricity, fuel oil, and natural gas(Chapter 15). We can
make buildings much more effi-cient by sealing air leaks in the
walls, adding insulation,and by replacing worn-out heating systems
with newermore efficient ones. We can also find ways to increase
theirdependence on renewable energy. For example, we can
addphotovoltaic systems to generate electricity or add solar
Human systems are unsustainable because they exceed the carrying
capacity of the Earth. They produce pollution in excessof the
planet’s ability to absorb it, use renewable resourcesfaster than
they can be replenished, and deplete nonrenew-able resources.
hot water panels for domes-tic hot water and space heat-ing
(FIGURE 17-3). We canadd low-flush toilets andwater-efficient
showerheads,faucets, and appliances toreduce resource demand. We
can use recycled paint orlow-toxicity paints. The list goes on.
Similar actions must be taken in transportation, hous-ing,
agriculture, waste management, and other systems—and are detailed
in this book. Especially important are effortsto reduce urban
sprawl, the continual expansion of humancommunities into farmlands
and wildlands that provide vi-tal resources required for our
long-term economic health
FIGURE 17-2 Colonies and cities. (a) Bird colony. (b)
City.Cities resemble bird colonies in many ways. They are areas of
in-tense activity where resources from outlying areas are
consumed.They are also areas of concentrated waste production.
(a)
(b)
GO GREEN
Recycling saves energy and re-sources. Recycle everything
youcan. Buy recycled goods, likerecycled paper, too.
GO GREEN
To save water and energy andreduce pollution, take
shortershowers.
-
and survival. This topic is discussed in Spotlight on
Sustain-able Development 9-1 and in Chapter 10 on agriculture
andChapter 11 on preserving biological diversity.
Redevelopment is a vital but often overlooked strategyfor
sustainable development, in large part because so
muchinfrastructure is already in place and because billions and
bil-lions of dollars have been invested in it. It is imperative
thatwe make this infrastructure as sustainable as possible. Tensof
millions of single-family homes and apartment buildingsand millions
of businesses are currently in use and are primetargets for
sustainable redevelopment.
The second challenge—designing and building new in-frastructure
to be as sustainable as possible—takes placewhen systems need
replacement or require expansion. Toexpand a transportation system
in an urban environment, forexample, cities can install light rail
systems rather thanadding new lanes to existing highways. New
housing couldbe constructed from recycled products and would
beequipped with a host of resource-saving devices so that newhouses
use only a quarter of the raw materials of existinghouses. Rather
than adding a landfill, a city could expand itsrecycling facilities
to handle waste.
Specifics of these two prescribed actions are outlinedin
chapters on energy, waste, water, forestry, mining, and
airpollution. The reader should refer to those chapters
forspecifics. In this chapter, we look primarily at land-use
plan-ning and transportation, which are not covered elsewhere.
KEY CONCEPTSTwo challenges face existing communities: revamping
existinginfrastructure and building new infrastructure in as
sustainablea manner as possible.
Land-Use Planning and Sustainability
A city or town is home to many different activities, somethat
conflict with one another: for example, housing andfactories. For
many years, cities and towns the world overhave engaged in land-use
planning to ensure that incompat-ible activities are kept apart.
Land-use plans, for example, setup industrial zones and residential
zones. Besides determin-ing where people can live and do business,
land-use plans es-tablish sites for water pipes, electrical lines,
roads, andshopping malls. In some countries, land-use planning
hasbeen fashioned in a way to prevent or reduce sprawl.
KEY CONCEPTS
Sustainable Land-Use Planning: Ending SprawlSustainable land-use
planning seeks to accomplish the samegoals as land-use planning,
notably separating humans fromunsightly, noisy, and potentially
dangerous activities. But italso attempts to achieve more efficient
use of the land—inother words, to create patterns of land use that
minimize theconversion of farmland and wildlands to asphalt,
concrete,and lawn. That is, it strives to prevent or control
sprawl. Thishelps to preserve farmland, recreational areas,
wetlands, sce-nic views, watersheds, aquifer recharge zones, and
wildlifehabitat—retaining aesthetic values and ecological services.
Therationale for saving these lands has been discussed in Chap-ters
9 through 11.
Sustainable land-use planning also entails efforts to
co-ordinate key uses such as housing, business, and transporta-tion
development. Ultimately, land-use planning seeks thebest for
people, the economy, and the environment. It can infact improve
economies by reducing the loss of productivefarmlands, by reducing
air pollution and costly health prob-lems, and by making the
provision of government servicessuch as police and fire protection
more efficient. It can, there-fore, create more efficient
government.
FIGURE 17-4 shows four major types of development:dispersed,
compact, satellite, and corridor. Let’s examineeach one very
briefly and assess its potential for promotingsustainable
development.
KEY CONCEPTS
Dispersed Development Dispersed development occursin many cities
and is commonly referred to as urban sprawl.
Sustainable land-use planning and development seek to
optimizeland use and minimize the loss of economically and
ecologicallyimportant lands. They offer other benefits as well,
including moreefficient mass transit, reduced air pollution, and
reductions inthe cost of providing water, sewage, and other
services.
Land-use planning helps cities establish the locations of
vari-ous structures and activities and keep incompatible uses
apart.As conceived and practiced in most places, it doesn’t do
muchfor sustainability.
17.2
FIGURE 17-3 A sustainable home. This solar home utilizesthree
solar technologies: solar electric panels on the roofs of thegarage
and house to generate electricity; solar hot water panelson the
roof of the garage (left) to provide domestic hot water;and passive
solar, south-facing windows that transmit sunlightfrom the
low-angled winter sun for interior space heat.
CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
369
-
370 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
FIGURE 17-4 Four development patterns.These maps of the Denver
metropolitanarea show four different developmentpaths: (a)
dispersed development, or urbansprawl; (b) compact development, the
mostsustainable alternative; (c) satellite devel-opment; and (d)
corridor development.Each one has its benefits and its costs.
Urban sprawl is the steady outward ex-pansion of urban/suburban
areas thatoccurs as new housing subdivisions,highways, shopping
malls, and otherforms of development spring up on theperimeter of
existing cities and towns,taking over farmland, forest, and
grass-land (Figure 17-4a).
In many cities, land is already zonedfor this type of
development. Disperseddevelopment, however, ranks low onthe
sustainability scale. In fact, it is theleast desirable of all of
the alternativesbecause it consumes lots of land. Farm-land,
forests, wetlands, and grasslandsare all victims of sprawl. Because
citiesare often located near prime farmland,sprawl decreases a
nation’s long-termability to produce food (Chapter 10)and displaces
wildlife (Chapter 11). Lossof natural habitat and replacement
withpaved surfaces often increases flooding(Chapter 12).
Furthermore, sprawl results in a rather hap-hazard pattern of
settlement, with poor aesthetic appeal.
Because housing spreadsout inefficiently on the land-scape,
dispersed develop-ment increases vehicle travel,adding to commuting
timeand increasing energy con-sumption and air pollution.Each of
these has a cost. Increased commuting time meansmore time away from
families and friends and less free time.Increased energy
consumption, caused by the need to travelfarther to work each day,
costs more in gas and wear andtear on the automobile. Air pollution
takes its toll on peo-ple and the environment.
Sprawl has other costs. Providing highways, mass tran-sit,
sewers, water, and other forms of infrastructure gener-
ally costs more than the alternative forms of development
because more miles of water and sewer lines, telephone lines,and
power lines must be run to supply homes and busi-nesses strewn out
inefficiently across the landscape. Policeand fire protection in a
sprawling urban environment is often more costly.
KEY CONCEPTS
Compact Development Figure 17-4b shows an alterna-tive
development pattern, compact development. Rankinghighest on the
sustainability scale, compact development isa denser or more
compact form of development. It requires
Dispersed development or urban sprawl is the most
environmen-tally and economically unsustainable form of
urban/suburbandevelopment.
0 6
Miles
2 12N
EvergreenLakewood
Littleton
Parker
Aurora
Denver
Thornton
Longmont
Boulder
I-70I-70
I-76
I-25
I-25
I-25
US-36
C-470
I-70I-70
I-76
I-25
US-36
US 85
C-470
I-25
I-70
I-70
I-76
I-25
US-36
US 85
C-470
I-25
I-70I-70
I-76
I-25
US-36
US 85
C-470
CastleRock
(a) Dispersed development (b) Compact development
(c) Satellite development
Commuter railtransit
Light railtransit
HOV orbus lane
Urban center 1990 Urban area 2020 Urban area
Major highwaysand freeways
(d) Corridor development
GO GREEN
To save energy and reduce pol-lution, live close to where yougo
to school and work. Walk orride a bike to work, if you can.
-
the least amount of land to accommodate people and theservices
they require. Because of this, it helps to preserveopen space,
farmland, forests, and other ecologically andeconomically important
lands surrounding a city.
Many measures can be implemented to ensure compactdevelopment:
smaller lots, more efficient placement of housesin subdivisions, an
increase in the number of multifamilydwellings such as apartments
and condominiums, and morecompact placement of services (shops and
the like). Smallerlots mean that more houses can be located in an
area.
Some people argue that compact development meanscrowding and
unpleasant living conditions, but others notethat this doesn’t have
to be so. For example, in a suburb,placing houses closer to the
street so that there is less frontlawn and more back lawn gives
people more usable outdoorspace. Backyards can open into a common
area that servesmany homes: Community swing sets and community
gar-dens could be added to create a sense of community andsave
resources. Narrowing the streets and using the savedspace to create
larger parks can provide playgrounds andball diamonds for
neighborhood children. Existing zoninglaws could be changed to
allow homeowners to add smallapartments in the tradition of the
carriage house to existinghomes or to convert unused space into
apartments for renters.Condominiums and townhouses can accommodate
far morepeople per hectare of land than single-dwelling units.
Theseare ideal for singles and married couples without children
orwith small families. Paying attention to soundproofing,views,
privacy, access to lawns/playspace to make suchdwellings more
livable can help make them a desirable op-tion for people.
One promising development, which began in Denmarkin the 1970s,
is cohousing, a residential living arrangementthat strives to
create a community. Cohousing developmentsare small neighborhoods
that offer many social and eco-nomic benefits, described in
Spotlight on Sustainable Development 17-1.
In many cities and towns, businesses are strewn alonghighways in
highly dispersed fashion. Aggregating servicesclose to residences
can cut down on driving time and makethem accessible by foot or
bicycle.
Compact development not only minimizes land use, italso reduces
vehicle miles traveled and can substantially reduceenergy
consumption and air pollution. Perhaps more impor-tant, dense
settlement patterns are much more amenable tomass transit systems,
which, as discussed in the next section,are far easier and more
efficient to implement if people livecloser together. Mass transit
systems use much less energy andrequire much less space to move
people than automobiles do.
Compact development is also more efficient from aneconomic
perspective. First and foremost, it is much cheaperto provide
people living in a more compactly designed citywith services such
as fire protection, water, sewers, and otheramenities than it is to
provide them if homes and businessesare dispersed over a wider
area.
Compact development, very common in Europe, creates a clear line
between city and suburb and the out-lying lands. In many U.S.
cities, making compact develop-
ment occur will require changes in existing zoning andother
tools such as urban growth boundaries, describedshortly.
KEY CONCEPTS
Corridor and Satellite Development The last two optionsare
satellite development and corridor development. Satel-lite
development, shown in Figure 17-4c, involves the de-velopment of
outlying communities connected to themetropolitan area (the city
and the surrounding suburbs) byhighways and rail lines. Although
this permits people to liveoutside the city and suburbs in small
towns—and can cre-ate a very desirable quality of life—it is not as
advantageousfrom many perspectives as compact development. It
resultsin the conversion of a fair amount of open space and
farm-land. Although satellite development does not require asmuch
land as dispersed development, it increases commut-ing time, energy
consumption, and air pollution. Of the fouroptions, it ranks number
two in sustainability.
Corridor development, concentrating housing and busi-ness growth
along major transportation corridors, is even lessdesirable (Figure
17-4d). It requires much more vehicle useto get to work and to
services. It uses more energy and pro-duces more pollution than
compact development. It is, how-ever, amenable to mass transit.
Clearly, of all of the options described in this section,compact
development offers the best benefits and is the mostsustainable
form. When properly executed, land-use plan-ning can help us
achieve a more sustainable relationshipwith the Earth. Land-use
plans can protect the foundationof tomorrow’s civilization:
renewable resources such as farm-land, pastures, forests,
fisheries, and wild species.
KEY CONCEPTS
Land-Use Planning and BuildingProper land-use planning can also
be carried out on asmaller scale—for example, the development of a
sub-division. When applied to specific sites, land-use planstake
into account the slope of the land, soil quality, waterdrainage,
location of wildlife habitat, and many other fea-tures. This
permits planners and developers to design withnature, rather than
redesigning nature. In The Woodlands,Texas, for example, a
developer placed the homes outsidethe natural drainage areas,
saving millions of dollars thatwould otherwise have been required
to construct stormsewers. This also left an attractive open space
rich in wildlifethat local residents enjoy. Protecting natural
drainage,
Corridor and satellite development, concentrating
developmentalong major traffic routes or in distant communities
connectedto the metropolitan area, are more desirable than urban
sprawlbut less sustainable than compact development.
Compact development is a denser settlement pattern that
offersmany environmental benefits, such as reduced land use and
airpollution and increased efficiency of mass transit.
CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
371
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372 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
wildlife areas, aquifer recharge zones, and other importantland
features can reduce development costs, increase thequality of life,
and help protect valuable ecological services.For more on this, see
Spotlight on Sustainable Develop-ment 13-2.
KEY CONCEPTSMany steps can be taken when building homes to
protect valu-able ecological assets. These can save developers
money and reduce cost.
Statewide and Nationwide SustainableLand-Use PlanningThe
Japanese provide a model that many countries couldadopt to protect
their land. In 1968, the entire country wasplaced under a
nationwide land-use planning program. Landswere divided into urban,
agricultural, and “other” classes. Sev-eral years later, the zoning
classifications were expanded toinclude forests, natural parks, and
nature reserves. The suc-cess of the Japanese plan lies in
protecting land from the
SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
17-1 Cohousing: Building a Community
In the past, many people lived in villages or in tightly
kniturban neighborhoods. Families were familiar with people’spast
histories, their talents, and weaknesses. There was asense of
community that is often lacking in modern neigh-borhoods. Community
provided a sense of belonging, asense of security. It was a more
practical way to live, too.People helped each other, sharing the
burden of everydaylife.
In modern society, community has withered and died.Designers of
modern suburbs where many of us live takespecial care to ensure
privacy, rather than promote close-ness. In many neighborhoods, for
example, fences line ourback yards, walling us off from contact
with neighbors. Infact, few of us see our neighbors any more. If we
do, it isusually just to glimpse them coming and going—driving
inand out of the garage. At night, many people returningfrom work
simply slip into the garage without a trace. Al-though people do
socialize, it is often with friends wholive far from their homes.
Given the distance that sepa-rates us, many people complain that
they have to make ap-pointments to see their friends. No one just
drops in to sayhello. Because there isn’t much of a community in
the neigh-borhoods we live in, many people begin to feel isolated.
Lifebecomes a chore.
Disenfranchised with the lack of community in modernsociety,
people throughout the world are banding togetherto recreate a sense
of belonging through cohousing.
Cohousing usually consists of houses or apartmentsclustered
around a common area and a common house. Usu-ally consisting of
around 30 homes or apartment dwellings,cohousing is occupied by
people who planned their “devel-opment” and now manage the
community they’ve devel-oped. Individuals own or rent their homes,
but share in theownership of the commons. They also share in some
of thework. One person, for example, might lead a committeethat
plans social events. Another might organize weekendwork projects.
Still another might coordinate day care.
In cohousing, many resources are shared, too. For ex-ample, in
Golden, Colorado, Harmony Village’s 27 families
share a single lawn mower. The common house also offersa
tremendous opportunity to share. In many common houses,there’s a
shared laundry facility. Two washers often serve anentire
community. A television room and places for kids tohang out, to
play without disturbing adults, are features ofmany common houses.
The common house also typicallyhas a large kitchen where community
meals are prepared,sometimes every night of the week. The
preparation of com-munity meals is a shared responsibility. Imagine
cominghome from work to have a meal on the table and only be-ing
responsible for cooking once or twice a month.
Because of the sharing of resources, individual units
aretypically downsized. Kitchens, for example, tend to be
muchsmaller, more like those found in apartments. If you
areplanning a big meal for friends, you book the common houseand
use the larger kitchen facility.
The common house may also have a room or two forguests, so you
don’t need a spare bedroom for that once-a-year visit by mom and
dad. Mechanic shops, greenhouses,gardens, and playgrounds are also
shared by residents,greatly cutting down on expenses and reducing
personalliving space.
Common meals and activities help knit a community to-gether. But
the initial weaving of the social fabric comes dur-ing the
development of the community. In most instances,a core group of
people does the planning from day 1 and seesthe project through.
This involves numerous meetings anddiscussions to reach consensus.
Although this is difficult atfirst, with practice, residents say it
becomes much easier.In fact, many people claim that the skills they
learned incohousing benefit them in both their home and work
lives.
FIGURE 1 shows the layout of cohousing. As you can see,houses
face a central area, a common area, where kids canplay freely.
Adults socialize in the commons, too. Cars aretypically relegated
to a peripheral position, usually garages,parking lots, or carports
along the outside of the commu-nity. Although the car is never more
than a block or so awayfrom your home, you generally can’t park
next to your home,except perhaps to deliver groceries. The walkways
are made
-
market system, which, left on its own, appropriates land
ir-respective of its long-term ecological value.
Many European nations have adopted similar programs.In Belgium,
France, the Netherlands, and the former WestGermany, national
guidelines for land-use planning wereestablished in the 1960s.
Administered by local govern-ments, they protect farmland, prevent
urban sprawl, andhelp to establish greenbelts, undeveloped areas in
or aroundcities and towns (FIGURE 17-5). The Netherlands has one
of
the best programs of all. Its national planning program
alsogoverns water and energy use.
Land-use planning at the federal level in the United Statesis
rudimentary at best. Except for establishing national
parks,wilderness areas, national forests, and wildlife preserves,
thefederal government has done little to systematically protect
itsland. Most zoning occurs on the community level. On the local
level, planners concern themselves primarily with restrictions on
land use for commercial purposes—housing
CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
373
for people, not cars. As a result, cohousing is kid and
pedes-trian friendly.
The common house is usually in view of all the units
incohousing. It is the heart of the community. Some co-housers have
organized day care in the common house sothey can leave for work
and not have to transport theirchildren to another location, saving
time and money.
Privacy is designed into all cohousing so that peoplecan satisfy
this need too. In many instances, private patiosor gardens are
located outside the back door. You’re notforced to socialize if you
need alone time.
Cohousing is found in rural and urban settings. It is agreat
place for kids to grow up, and adults, too. It providesa rich
social atmosphere.
Cohousing is not a new idea byany stretch of the imagination.
Itbegan in Denmark in the 1970s.The pioneers in cohousing sought
tocreate a child-friendly atmosphereand opportunity to share some
dailyfunctions. Since that time, hun-dreds of new communities
havesprung up in Europe, Canada, andthe United States. Most are
organ-ized around the idea of community.However, a growing number
of com-munities have been formed to createa more environmentally
responsibleway of living. In Nyland Cohousingin Lafayette,
Colorado, the homeswere designed and built to conserveenergy and
use solar energy for
heating. Environmentallyfriendly building materials,were used,
too. In Denmark,several cohousing develop-ments have
incorporatedpassive solar design andwind energy to
generateelectricity.
Cohousing is growing rapidly and is bound to increasein years to
come. Being a more compact form of develop-ment, in which some
space is often devoted to habitatpreservation, cohousing is not
only good for people, it isgood for the planet.
GO GREEN
Take a break from your studiesand visit a local
cohousingcommunity. You can find onenear you by visiting the
co-housing association web site.
FIGURE 1 An architectural sketch of thelayout of a typical
cohousing community.
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374 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
developments and industrial development. Because of theUnited
States’ reliance on community-level planning, states are a
patchwork quilt of conflicting rules and regulations.Some people
believe that statewide land-use planning is needed.
Statewide land-use planning is an idea that is slow incoming.
Oregon passed such a program in the early 1970s,discussed in
Spotlight on Sustainable Development 9-1.Noteworthy programs now
exist in Maine, New Jersey,Florida, Vermont, Washington, and
Hawaii.
KEY CONCEPTS
Beyond ZoningThe main tool of land-use planning for years has
been zon-ing regulations, which classify land according to use.
Zon-ing can protect farmland and other lands from urbandevelopment.
In rural Black Hawk County in Iowa, for in-stance, zoning laws
prohibit housing developments on primefarmland, but permit them on
lands with lower productivity.
New approaches are also being adopted to protect valu-able land,
especially farmland. One public policy tool is thedifferential tax
rate. This allows city officials to tax differ-ent lands at
different rates. Farmland is taxed at a lower ratethan housing
developments, making it more economical tofarm—and encouraging
farmers to hold onto their landsrather than sell them to
developers.
Another technique that helps farmers keep their land in-stead of
selling it to developers is the purchase of developmentrights. A
development right is a fee paid to a farmer to preventthe land from
being “developed,” that is, being bulldozed,paved, and built on. To
determine the cost of a developmentright, two assessments of the
land are made, one of its value asfarmland and one of its value for
development. The difference
Many states and nations have land-use planning that
minimizesurban sprawl.
between the two is the development right. State or local
gov-ernments may buy the development rights from the farmerand hold
them in perpetuity. From then on, the land must beused for farming,
no matter how many times it changes hands.
Still another way to reduce the spread of human popu-lations
onto valuable land is by making growth pay its ownway. This idea
calls on developers and new businesses topay the cost of new
schools, highways, water lines, sewerlines, police protection, and
other forms of infrastructureneeded as communities expand. The
rationale is that thecost of new development should be passed on to
those whoprofit from it, not to existing residents. A new home
thuscomes with a development fee attached, which the newhomeowner
pays.
This not only keeps local taxes from rising to subsidize
newdevelopment, it encourages builders to locate new
housingprojects closer to existing schools, water lines, and
highways.This, in turn, reduces sprawl and reduces the destruction
offarmland and other ecologically important sites. Developmentfees
might also encourage developers to install water-efficientfixtures
and pay for water efficiency measures in existing homesand
businesses, thus preventing an increase in demand.
Open space—fields, forests, and other valuable lands—can also be
purchased and set aside for wildlife or designedfor mixed use—that
is, as parks in which people and wildlifecan coexist. Open space
acquisition is practiced in many ar-eas. In some counties, a small
sales tax raises millions ofdollars to purchase land. In others,
real estate transfer fees(a tax paid when houses and land are
bought and sold) areused to buy open space. Although these methods
raise muchmoney, open-space lands often command a premium
price.
KEY CONCEPTS
Land-Use Planning in the LessDeveloped NationsUrban sprawl is a
major problem in the less developed na-tions. In fact, millions of
hectares of farmland are destroyedeach year by expanding urban
centers. Land-use planning istherefore as essential in the less
developed countries as in theindustrial nations.
In some areas, land reform is badly needed. Wealthylandowners in
many Latin American countries, for example,graze their cattle in
rich valleys while peasants scratch outa living on the erodible
hillsides. Hilly terrain that should beprotected from erosion is
being torn up by plows and washedaway by rainfall. Some argue that
sensible land use hinges onreform of these outdated landholding
systems.
These are just a handful of ideas that could help
reshapegovernment policy to foster sustainability. Combined
withmany other ideas given in previous chapters—to promote
sus-tainable ethics, revamp economics, and reshape unsustain-able
systems—they could form a national framework for
Many methods can help promote sustainable land-use
patterns,including zoning, differential tax rates, purchase of
develop-ment rights, making growth pay its own way, and open space
ac-quisition.
FIGURE 17-5 The greenbelt. This aerial photograph of
Boulder,Colorado shows the greenbelt that surrounds the town,
preservingvaluable farms and open space and creating a more
aesthetic liv-ing environment.
-
dramatically realigning human systems to steer us onto
asustainable course.
KEY CONCEPTS
Shifting to a SustainableTransportation System
In 1950, the global automobile fleet numbered only 50 mil-lion;
in 1998, the number was 508 million. In 2010, it hadclimbed to
around 750 million. Americans are among the most avid automobile
users on the planet. Each year,Americans travel more than 4.16
trillion kilometers (2.6 tril-lion miles) in their automobiles—the
equivalent of more than13 round trips to the sun, 149 million
kilometers (93 mil-lion miles) away.
In the United States, over 200 million automobiles arecurrently
on the road. This impressive total results from anumber of factors,
among them inefficient land-use plan-ning (that results in urban
sprawl) and inadequate masstransit systems. Affluence and the
expansive nature of thecountry also contribute to America’s having
the highest percapita auto ownership on the planet. In the United
States,automobile travel accounts for 90% of the motorized
passen-ger transport. In Europe, where mass transit is much
betterdeveloped and where cities are more compact, the auto
stillaccounts for 78% of the passenger transport.
Air travel is another major component of modern trans-portation.
World air travel has grown rapidly in the past fivedecades from 28
billion passenger kilometers per year tonearly 3720 billion today
(FIGURE 17-6). Besides carryingpeople, jets also carry huge amounts
of freight. Unfortu-nately, the rising demand for air travel comes
at an increas-ingly high environmental cost. Aviation consumes at
least 5%of the world’s oil each year. It is also the most polluting
formof transport per kilometer traveled. According to the
World-
17.3
Land-use planning and land reform are also essential to
creat-ing sustainable land-use patterns in the developing
nations.
watch Institute, a single DC 10 flight from Los Angeles toTokyo
emits 266 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.The Worldwatch
Institute points out that aviation currentlyaccounts for 3% of
global human carbon dioxide emissionsand 2% of global nitrogen
dioxide emissions, but these fig-ures could rise to 11% and 6%,
respectively, by the year 2050if global air travel continues to
increase as projected.
Today, more than 30% of the energy Americans consumeis used by
the transportation sector, and much of that pow-ers our automobiles
and jet aircraft. But are automobiles andjets sustainable forms of
transportation?
Many observers believe that the answer to this ques-tion is no.
The planet cannot absorb the pollutants producedby them. As the
number of cars and jets expands and as thenumber of miles traveled
each year increases, air pollutionis bound to worsen. Oil spills
could increase as the amountof oil being shipped increases.
Atmospheric carbon dioxidelevels are bound to rise as the
combustion of fossil fuels in-creases. Acid deposition and urban
pollution, both causedin large part by pollutants in automobile
exhaust, could ex-pand and threaten the health of people and
ecosystems. Ur-ban congestion, already at headache levels in many
cities, isbound to worsen. Declining oil supplies also make the
auto-mobile and jet aircraft unsustainable. Road construction
andmaintenance are also quite costly. And tens of thousands
ofpeople are killed and injured each year in automobile acci-dents
just in the United States.
Clearly, even though they provide us with great joy andmobility
and are an important aspect of our economy, auto-mobiles come with
a huge price tag. So do jets. What can bedone to shift to a more
sustainable transportation system?Will the automobile continue to
play a predominant role? Willjet aircraft travel continue to rise?
The shift to a sustainablesystem of transportation will very likely
occur in phases.
KEY CONCEPTS
Phase 1: The Move Toward EfficientVehicles and Alternative
FuelsThe first step in the transi-tion to a sustainable
trans-portation system will be animprovement in efficiency, achange
that has already be-gun. Improving fuel effi-ciency has several
benefitsessential to sustainability.First, it helps stretch oil
supplies, providing time for the de-velopment of sustainable fuels
and sustainable modes oftransportation. Second, it reduces air
pollution. The more ef-ficient a vehicle is, the less pollution it
produces. Third, it re-duces the need to drill for and transport
oil. Important as they
Automobiles are a major component of the global
transportationsystem. Declining oil supplies, congestion in urban
areas, regionalair pollution problems, and global climate change
are problemsassociated with their use that are likely to help
stimulate a shiftto a more sustainable transportation system.
Bill
ion
pass
enge
r-ki
lom
eter
s
0
3000
2000
2500
3500
1500
1000
500
1990 20001980197019601950
FIGURE 17-6 World air travel. More and more people are
travel-ing by air these days, one of the most energy-inefficient
modes oftransportation.
GO GREEN
To promote renewable energyand reduce pollution, considerbuying
a car that can run onethanol or biodiesel or straightvegetable
oil.
CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
375
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376 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
are, efficiency gains could easily be offset by both the
risingnumber of vehicles on the road and the increasing numberof
miles people are driving each year.
What is happening to fuel efficiency in the United States?In
1982, the average new American automobile got about 9 kilometers
per liter of gasoline (22 miles per gallon). By1992, the average
fleet mileage had edged up to 11.9 kilome-ters per liter (about 28
mpg). But progress stagnated in the1990s and 2000s because of heavy
pressure on Congressfrom auto manufacturers interested in selling
minivans,trucks, and sport-utility vehicles. Sales of these
relativelyinefficient, but highly popular vehicles, are more
profitablethan energy-efficient vehicles. Today, minivans, trucks,
andsport-utility vehicles account for about two-thirds of all
newcar sales in the country. Because of this trend, in 2007,
theaverage gas mileage of new vehicles in the United States fellto
19.8 mpg. Efforts to increase fuel economy have reversedthe
downward trend. In 2010, the average fuel economy fornew vehicles
was set at 27.5 mpg and thanks to the Obamaadministration will rise
to 35.5 mpg by 2016.
Creating More Fuel-EfficientCars and Better HighwaySystems
Improvements in gasoline mileage can beachieved by many
differenttechniques that can be com-bined to produce safe,
light-weight, and extremelyefficient vehicles. Engine re-design,
for instance, can improve fuel efficiency. Improve-ments in
aerodynamics—how the air flows over a movingvehicle—can also
improve efficiency, as can lightweightmaterials such as the new
foams and plastics. Space-agematerials and air bags can increase
the safety of the smaller,more energy-efficient vehicles. The
alleged dangers of smallercars could also be mitigated by tougher
drunk-driving laws,enforcement of speed limits, and better driver
education.
California has been a catalyst for many of the changesoccurring
in automobile design. In 2004, the California AirResources Board
released a proposal for regulations thatwould decrease greenhouse
gas emissions from autos by 1%to 2% statewide by 2009. The state
was sued by a consortiumof auto manufacturers, but their suit was
rejected in courtin 2007. In 2005, California’s Governor
Schwarzenegger signedan executive order committing the state to
reduce carbondioxide emission by 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.
Some auto manufacturers have responded admirably tothe
challenge. In 1998, for example, Honda released a nat-ural gas
version of the Civic whose emissions are so clean theydon’t
register on emission test equipment. As noted in Chap-ter 15,
hybrid cars are now being sold by many auto manu-facturers,
domestic and foreign. These vehicles have small gasoline-powered
piston engines combined with electricmotors, which are controlled
by an on-board computer. Inthe Toyota Prius, the electric motors
are used to power thevehicle at slow speeds (FIGURE 17-7). The gas
engine is usedfor higher speeds. These new vehicles are getting
around
40 to 50 miles per gallon, but further improvements couldgreatly
increase the gasoline mileage.
Two promising developments are the plug-in hybridand electric
car, discussed in Chapter 15. Besides increasingefficiency of
vehicles by improving engines and automobileaerodynamics, engineers
are studying ways to change theway cars are driven. Imagine
climbing into your car, punch-ing your destination into the
computer, and then sittingback to read the newspaper. This is the
dream of some tech-nologists who are working on cars that drive
themselves.The experimental models are either equipped with
on-boardcomputers that sense the sides of the road and traffic and
keepthe car in its lane or sensors that pick up a signal from a
wireembedded in the highway. One of the chief benefits of
thisstrategy would be that traffic would move more smoothly andmore
efficiently, reducing commuting time and pollution.
Another innovation is the use of computers to unjamcongestion.
Currently, engineers are using computers to un-derstand and
eliminate some of the factors that cause traf-fic congestion. These
analyses are also helping cities to designhighways to reduce
congestion. Better controlled trafficlights and electronic signs
that provide information to driv-ers to guide them toward better
choices could reduce com-muting time and prevent congestion.
KEY CONCEPTS
Creating More Efficient Aircraft Aircraft manufacturershave made
significant strides in improving fuel efficiency.Concerns over the
impact of aviation and desires to reduce
More efficient cars are part of the first phase of the
transitionto a sustainable energy system. Improvements in engines
andautomobile aerodynamics are key elements of this effort.
Com-puter systems that operate cars automatically, monitor
trafficand signal congestion, and permit designers to create more
ef-ficient highways are also key to the success of these
efforts.
FIGURE 17-7 This five-passenger hybrid vehicle boasts
outstandinggas mileage and low emissions. It runs on gasoline and
electricitybut never needs to be plugged in. Hybrid trucks, sedans,
vans, andSUVs are gaining in popularity and could help us bide time
to de-velop alternative transportation fuels and modes of
transportation.
GO GREEN
When traveling long distance,consider taking the train or
bus.Both options use less energyand produce less pollution
perpassenger mile than an auto-mobile.
-
CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
377
costs have led manufacturers such as Boeing/McDonnellDouglas and
General Electric to take measures to improveefficiency in jet
engines. In large part because of their ef-forts, today’s new jets
use about half as much fuel as thosemanufactured in the mid-1970s.
Aircraft manufacturers arecontinuing to improve the efficiency of
their jets. Even withthese advances, air travel is growing so
quickly that othermeans may be needed to reduce environmental
impacts.
KEY CONCEPTS
Alternative, Clean-Burning Fuels Alternative fuels arealso part
of the immediate transition to a more sustainablesystem of
transportation. Cars, trucks, and buses can bepowered by a variety
of fuels, including hydrogen and ethanol,an alcohol produced from
renewable sources such as corn andwood. Besides being renewable,
these fuels burn very cleanly.Interestingly, many new cars are now
designed to operateon gasoline and a 85% ethanol–gasoline blend
(called E-85).Known as flex fuel cars, they’re growing in
popularity.
Mentioned previously, another technology that holdssome promise
is the electric vehicle. Electric vehicles aremuch cleaner than
standard gasoline-powered engines.
Another technology for electric cars that some peoplethink holds
tremendous promise is the fuel cell, describedin Chapter 15. This
device produces electricity used to runelectric motors in cars,
home generators, and other applica-tions. Fuel cells are powered by
hydrogen that can be derivedfrom renewable resources (such as
water) and nonrenew-able fuels (gasoline, natural gas, and
methanol). Unfortu-nately, it takes energy to make hydrogen. It is
three to fourtimes more efficient to use that energy (electricity)
to poweran electric vehicle.
Yet another fuel that holds great promise is biodiesel. De-rived
from vegetable oil, biodiesel burns in conventionaldiesel engines
and produces a fraction of the air pollution ofa conventional
oil-based diesel. Biodiesel was discussed inChapter 15. Also
covered in Chapter 15 is vegetable oil, a fuelthat can be burned in
diesel engines with only minor mod-ifications. For more on green
cars and green fuels, you maywant to read one of my newest books,
Green TransportationBasics, published by New Society Publishers in
2010.
KEY CONCEPTS
Phase 2: From Road and Airports to Rails, Buses, and BicyclesThe
shift to clean-burning cars is essential, but like improve-ments in
efficiency, it may be only a stopgap measure. Bythe year 2010,
there were about 500 cities in the world that
Alternative fuels that burn cleanly and are renewable could
alsohelp reduce many problems created by the
gasoline-poweredautomobile.
Aircraft manufacturers have made much more impressive stridesin
improving fuel efficiency.
contained over a million people, and more than 26 of thesehoused
over 10 million people. As cities grow, large numbersof commuters
will very likely have to shift to mass transit—buses, commuter
trains, and light rail (single-car trains)—to reduce highway
congestion.
For a case study on onecity’s successful use of masstransit, see
Spotlight on Sus-tainable Development 17-2 .
Besides reducing high-way congestion by takingcars off the road,
mass tran-sit is inherently more efficient than the automobiles.
Adiesel bus used to transport people, for instance, only gets 4
miles per gallon, but with 40 people on board thepassenger miles
per gallon of fuel increases to 160. Lightrail, commuter trains
typically run on electricity, performwell, too.
Another option is carpooling and vanpooling—encouraging people
to ride together. Carpooling is muchmore efficient than driving
alone. For instance, the averagenew car on the road today gets only
about 27.5 miles pergallon. If there’s one person on board, that’s
27.5 passengermiles per gallon. With two people, it jumps to close
to 55 pas-senger miles per gallon (considering the additional
weightbeing carried). Although that’s an improvement it is not
asefficient as light rail or bus transport. With three on board,it
increases to nearly 83 passenger miles per gallon. If thereare four
passengers, it jumps to 110 passenger miles, stillhalf that of the
bus.
Given the relative efficiency of mass transit—and givendeclining
fuel supplies, congestion, and pollution—many ur-ban residents may
within the next few decades give up theirsecond and third
automobiles. They will turn to more effi-cient and less polluting
forms of transportation, among themcommuter trains, light rail, and
buses. Some mass transitusers may even join car-share programs.
Participants in com-mercial car-share programs lease cars by the
hour for specialtrips but rely on mass transit for most of their
daily trips. Tolearn more about car-sharing programs, see Spotlight
onSustainable Development 17-3.
The shift to mass transit is inevitable over the comingdecades,
but cities will have to improve their systems, mak-ing them much
more rapid and convenient. With decliningautomobile traffic, cities
may be able to convert highwaylanes to light rail lines. Median
strips could be converted tolight rail systems serving surrounding
suburbs. Fast, effi-cient buses could carry commuters from their
homes to out-lying rail stations, where people board high-speed
trainsthat transport them rapidly to urban centers.
To be profitable, high-speed rail requires high-partici-pation,
high-density population in outlying areas, and a largecentral
business district. In order to achieve this, it may benecessary to
densify new suburbs—that is, to foster a morecompact form of
development, as described in the previoussection.
Another idea gaining interest is in making new sub-divisions
more like small towns—that is, making them more
GO GREEN
When commuting to school orwork, take a bus or light rail.Both
use much less energy thana single-occupancy vehicle.
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378 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
17-2 Curitiba, Brazil—A City with a Sustainable Vision
Most modern cities have grown up around the automobile.City
planners have literally shaped their cities around ma-jor transit
corridors. Thus, the location of subdivisions, in-dustrial
facilities, and services has been largely determinedby roads and
highways, access routes primarily traveled bypeople in
automobiles.
Proving that there is an alternative path is a city
that’sgaining wide recognition: Curitiba, Brazil. Lying near the
eastcoast in the southernmost part of Brazil about 800 kilome-ters
(500 miles) south of Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba is a show-case of
wise planning and sustainable design principlesthat have served the
city and the planet well.
Since 1950, Curitiba’s population has grown from300,000 to over
2.1 million. For most cities, this rate ofgrowth, combined with
poor planning, would have been aprescription for disaster. Poverty,
pollution, crime, and high-way congestion would have been the
inevitable results—notso in Curitiba.
The city was blessed with a visionary mayor in the1970s, Jaime
Lerner, who adopted proposals first made inthe 1960s to plot a
future for the city based on masstransit, ecological design,
appropriate technology, andpublic participation—all essential
elements of sustainabil-ity. Lerner was an architect and planner of
extraordinaryvision.
As witness to his foresight, consider this: Today, 1.3 mil-lion
commuters travel into Curitiba each day to go to
work.Three-quarters of these people travel by bus. This remark-able
feat is made possible by an extensive, privately oper-ated bus
system that transports people in and out of the citywith remarkable
speed.
In most cities, bus systems are notoriously slow. Al-though they
move large numbers of people, they bog downin heavy traffic on city
streets. In Curitiba, however, busesmove passengers into and out of
the city at such rapidspeeds for several reasons. First, the city
has constructedfive major roadways that penetrate into the heart of
the city.Each of these roadways has two lanes designated for
buses.In addition, bus stops are equipped with special
devicescalled raised tubes, which allow passengers to pay
beforethey get on the bus (FIGURE 1). This greatly speeds up
theboarding process that slows down many a bus in the UnitedStates
and other countries. Extra-wide doors also contributeto the speed
of boarding. Double- and triple-length busesincrease the system’s
capacity. Together, these innovationsreduce the transit time by
one-third.
Curitiba has made it possible to move in other direc-tions as
well. Many smaller bus routes connect residential
areas with the main transit corridors so that one can
travelabout freely. Commuters can take a bus to the main route,hop
on an express bus, and be downtown in record speed.
This system of transit not only makes good sense froman
environmental standpoint—because buses transportpeople with fewer
resources and much less pollution thanthe automobile—it also makes
sense from an economicstandpoint. It’s much cheaper than a subway
system.
So that the less fortunate, Curitiba’s poor, can gain ac-cess to
the system, the city purchased land along majorcorridors, which was
developed for low-income families.
Curitiba has more to boast about than its mass transitsystem. It
has established an extensive network of parksalong natural
drainages. This not only provides residents withsomeplace to escape
from the buildings and roadways, it re-duces damage from flooding.
Prior to the establishment ofthis system, developers often built
homes and other struc-tures in drainage areas. When floods came,
many a home wasdamaged. Today, this system of parks with specially
con-structed ponds has nearly eliminated flooding and saved thecity
millions of dollars in engineering and constructioncosts. Low-tech
solutions work and save money.
Curitiba promotes participation and cooperation, too.The city
recognizes that solutions require the participationof many sectors,
including business, government, commu-nity groups, and others.
Fortunately, other cities are begin-ning to learn from
Curitiba.
FIGURE 1 Raised tube bus stop in Curitiba.
-
self-contained. Known as new urbanist developments
orneotraditional towns, these new communities are being builtso
that residents live within walking or biking distance ofshops,
stores, and small office buildings—which are often partof the new
development itself. At this writing, nearly 100 arein various
stages of development in the United States. Theyare also called new
urbanist communities.
Urban centers can also densify by converting emptyparking lots
(produced by the decline in automobile usein cities) into office
buildings. This makes mass transit moreefficient and affordable.
Unfortunately, the economics ofmass transit is currently skewed by
massive subsidies to theautomobile and gasoline industry. According
to nationalstatistics, the automobile is subsidized to the tune of
about$300 billion a year—or about $1,500 per car. This
subsidyincludes expenses for police protection, traffic
control,city-paid parking, and other things—expenses that arepaid
out of general tax revenues. As you learned in Chap-ter 14, oil is
also heavily subsidized. Because of this, sus-tainable strategies
such as mass transit generally have a hardtime competing with the
automobile. Some critics say thatthe playing field is tilted
heavily in favor of the automobile.Removing the hidden subsidies
from oil and automobileswould clearly make mass transit compete
more favorablywith the automobile.
Jet travel could shift in the coming decades as well. TheSwiss
have, for example, levied an extra tax on aircraft thatdo not meet
air pollution standards. In 1997, Denmark in-troduced a $15 fee on
all domestic flights that has encour-aged people to travel by train
instead. High-speed rail, whichis growing in popularity in Europe
and Japan, could helpreduce air travel and shift passengers to a
much more effi-cient form of transit.
KEY CONCEPTS
The Bicycle For many urban dwellers, the bicycle is not aviable
commuting option. Streets are too hilly, or workers livetoo far
from work for practical commuting. In other places,cold winter
climates prevent commuting except during thespring, summer, and
early fall.
In some cities, however, the bicycle could play a signif-icant
role in transporting people. Where climates are mild,streets are
not too crowded, and people live relatively closeto work, the
bicycle can transport surprisingly large numbersof people.
Investments that promote bicycle commuting rep-resent one of the
cheapest options available to cities andtowns.
For decades, the bicycle has been a major means oftransportation
in many European and Asian countries. InBeijing and other major
Chinese cities, bicycles once outnum-
Mass transit is much more efficient than automobiles and
pro-duces much less pollution per passenger mile traveled.
Conges-tion, fuel concerns, and interest in cutting pollution will
allstimulate the shift to efficient mass transit in urban areas.
Morecompact development patterns will help complement the moveto
mass transit.
bered cars many times over, although bikes are being squeezedout
by automobiles as China’s economy improves. In someAsian cities,
half of all trips are made by bike. Europe is alsorelatively
bicycle friendly. In some cities, bicycles account for20 to 30% of
all trips. In the United States, in contrast, bi-cycles account for
less than 1% of all trips. In Portland, Ore-gon; Austin, Texas; and
other cities, however, bikes arebecoming more popular thanks to a
“fleet” of city-ownedbikes that are left on the sidewalk for anyone
who wantsthem (FIGURE 17-8). If you need to travel five blocks
anddon’t want to walk, you hop on a bike and pedal to yournext
meeting or to lunch. Anyone who wants to use the bikeyou leave by
the side of the road can have it.
Following the example set by Europe and Asia, somecities in the
United States have laid out extensive bike pathsfor commuters.
Davis, California, is a leader in promoting bi-cycle
transportation. Today, 30% of all commuter transportwithin the city
is by bicycle. Some streets are closed entirelyto automobile
transport, and 65 kilometers (40 miles) ofbike lanes and paths have
been established.
Bicycles won’t replace cars, buses, and trains, but theycan
augment them—in some places more than others. Un-fortunately,
bicycle sales are declining in Asia because of anincreased interest
in motorized transport, mostly motor-bikes and cars. In some
countries, official policies are discour-aging bicycle transport in
an effort to make travel by careasier.
KEY CONCEPTSIn many cities, bicycles already carry a significant
number of com-muters. The bicycle could help supplement the mass
transit sys-tems of cities in the future.
FIGURE 17-8 The yellow bikes of Austin, Texas. These bicyclesare
left on the street for anyone who wants to use them. Riderstake
them to their destination and leave them for someone elseto
use.
CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
379
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380 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
Economic Changes Accompanying a Shift to Mass TransitThe
automobile industry is the world’s largest manufactur-ing endeavor
and supports a number of other economicallyimportant industries.
Manufacturers of rubber, glass, steel,radios, and numerous
automobile parts will also feel the im-pacts of the shrinking
automobile market. So will the servicesector: gas stations,
automobile dealerships, and repair ser-vices. The shift to more
efficient forms of transportation islikely to lead to significant
shifts in the world’s economy.
Today, 20 cents of every dollar spent in the United Statesis
directly or indirectly connected to the automobile indus-try and
its suppliers. Eighteen cents of every tax dollar thefederal
government collects comes from automobile manu-facturers and their
suppliers.
Although shifting toward a sustainable transportationsystem
could result in a dramatic shift in our economy, ex-perts point out
that some of the steel and glass now destinedfor autos will be used
for buses and trains. Many automobileworkers will very likely find
jobs in plants that producebuses and commuter trains. Many
mechanics could shift aswell to service the new fleet of more
efficient vehicles. Someworkers, however, may be forced to find
employment in newareas. Helping them adjust to the changes is an
important task.
Studies suggest that the employment potential of masstransit,
like other sustainable strategies, exceeds that of thecurrent
automobile-based economy. A study in Germanyshowed that spending $1
billion on highways yields 24,000to 33,000 (direct and indirect)
jobs. The same amount spenton mass transit produces 38,000 to
40,000 jobs.
SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
17-3 Car Sharing: On the Road—Cheaper and Greener
Do you own your car—or does it own you? If you’re like
mostpeople, you’ll answer “yes” to both questions. You own a
carthat gets you where you want to go, but you’re a slave toit,
spending considerable amounts of money (and time)supporting your
driving habit.
According to the American Automobile Association,each month
Americans pay an average of $700 to ownand operate a car. Payments
for a new car can easily run$300 to $500 per month. Insurance adds
from $75 to$150 per month to the cost of car ownership, and
thenthere’s gasoline, costing another $100 to $200, and
main-tenance expenses.
Fortunately, if you want the convenience of a car with-out the
expense of ownership, there’s an option for you—it’s called car
sharing.
Popular in Europe for almost 3 decades, car sharinghas begun to
gain momentum in the United States. Twocompanies ventures—Zipcar
and Flexcar, which merged in2007 and now operate as Zipcar—offer
car share programsin cities across the country, including Boston,
New York,Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, D.C.,
andPortland, Oregon. Even universities, including the Univer-sity
of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, UCLA, and the Universityof
Washington, are jumping on the wagon, saving studentsmoney, and
helping curb campus traffic congestion andparking problems.
Most car share programs require an application andmembership
fee, which average about $75. Once you join,vehicles are available
for 1 hour to several days. (Specialarrangements can be made to
rent cars for long trips.) Busi-nesses, families, and individuals
can all participate. Car shareprograms screen applicants using age
and traffic violationcriteria to eliminate risky clientele.
Qualified members are
covered by comprehensive and liability insurance when be-hind
the wheel.
Urban car share programs place their cars conve-niently
throughout the city, in reserved parking lots orspaces. Members pay
a small hourly fee to use the car, typ-ically under $10, and a
per-mile charge. Some programsgive members a certain number of free
miles before charg-ing for mileage.
Car share companies use online and phone reservationsystems,
which allow you to reserve a car in a few quick key-strokes or with
a phone call. A computer tells you where thecar is and its license
plate number. You show up at the site,hold your membership card
next to the windshield, whereit is read by a scanner, and the doors
unlock. The car’s on-board computer sends a signal to company
headquarters, in-dicating your rental period has begun, and
activating abilling record.
When you’re done, you return the car to its parkingspace, lock
it, and leave. Your credit card is billed monthlyfor usage. The
program pays for gas, although members areresponsible for filling
the tank when the gauge drops be-low the one-quarter mark—using a
company credit card. Andwhat if you have a fender-bender? According
to former Flex-car spokesperson John Williams, members pay half of
thedeductible ($500) if they caused the accident; otherwise,there’s
no penalty. (Policies vary among different organiza-tions; be sure
to inquire first.)
Car sharing programs make it easy to choose a vehicleto meet
your needs by offering a wide range of vehicles, fromsmall,
efficient commuter cars such as the hybrid-electricHonda Civic or
Toyota Prius to larger vehicles for special uses,such as Ford
pickups and SUVs. According to Zipcar, morethan half of their
members say that they tried the service for
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CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
381
A sustainable transportation system is possible, but itwill
require a significant restructuring of the current, unsus-tainable
system. Making that transition will require fore-sight and
considerable political will. Many cities are alreadymaking changes
needed to effect this transition. Denver,Colorado, for instance,
has already installed one successfullight rail system and is
building a second one to serve west-ern suburbs.
Creating sustainable cities and towns is part of the chal-lenge
outlined in this text. It will take many years. The tech-nology and
knowledge required to make the changes are notbarriers, but the
political will and the costs of such endeavorssurely stand in the
way of such a massive shift. Incrementally,however, cities,
businesses, and citizens are beginning to makethe changes required
to create a more sustainable human pres-ence. Automobile
manufacturers are making and selling tens
of thousands of more efficient hybrid cars and trucks.
Thehypercar featured in Chapter 15 is currently under develop-ment.
Biodiesel is currently sold at 10,000 gas stations in theUnited
States, and numerous cities such as Denver are dramat-ically
expanding their light-rail systems. Growth manage-ment strategies
are popping up in the most unlikely places. Thegreen living tips
(Go Green boxes) in this and other chapterslist personal actions
that you can take to do your part in cre-ating a more sustainable
system of transportation and a bet-ter future.
KEY CONCEPTSA shift away from the automobile will have serious
repercussionson the global economy, but much of the slack could be
taken upby a shift to the manufacture and maintenance of
alternativetransportation modes such as buses.
the opportunity to get behind the wheel of many differentmakes
and models of cars, including hybrid-electric vehicles.
How much you save depends on your driving habitsand needs.
Studies show that customers save $200 to over$400 a year.
To determine whether a car sharing program makeseconomic sense
for you, Zipcar offers an online savings cal-culator. Just click on
“Run the Numbers” on their websiteand enter the current or
projected costs of your vehicle,including monthly payments,
insurance premiums, fuelcosts, parking, and maintenance costs. The
program calcu-lates the monthly and annual costs of car ownership
andcomputes car sharing savings.
Beyond your pocketbook, car sharing also offers
someenvironmental savings. Personal vehicles produce a large
por-tion of the nation’s annual emissions of carbon dioxide
andother pollutants, contributing to global warming and local-ized
smog. Accommodating the growing fleet of vehicles aswe pave the
planet also results in the loss of huge amountsof open space,
farmland, and wildlife habitat.
Before the two companies merged Zipcar company hadbeen
responsible for removing more than 10,000 cars fromU.S. city
streets and highways. Their survey also showed thatcar share
members drive an average of 4,000 fewer miles(6,437 km) each year,
compared with their habits beforejoining the program. Most people
drive less when they haveto pay a per-hour or per-mile fee, and
studies have shownthat car sharing folks are more likely to combine
trips, takemass transit, bike, or walk when it’s convenient.
Combinedwith cities that have good mass transit systems, car
shareprograms are highly effective at reducing congestion and
pol-lution in urban settings.
If car sharing hasn’t come to your town, considersetting up a
program yourself. Across the country, groupsof friends, neighbors,
and colleagues have establishedtheir own car share programs by
using cars already ownedby individual members of the group or by
purchasing carstogether.
To make a community car sharing program run smoothly,members
should consider providing convenient locations topark the vehicles,
and draft agreements on buying fuel, ac-cessing keys, and servicing
and insuring the vehicles. Abooking system should also be
established. The Eugene,Oregon BioCarShare program uses Online
Resource Sched-uler free software as their scheduling tool. Members
log onat the website with their user name and password to reservea
car. Set up as a cooperative, BioCarShare requires mem-bers pay a
joiner’s fee, which is refundable, and a smallmonthly membership
fee. Like most programs, they also re-quire that drivers pay in
proportion to their use, per houror per mile. Car clubs such as
these usually operate with stan-dard insurance coverage—as long as
the group or any of itsmembers makes no profit. In most states, car
clubs applyfor insurance in the club’s name and can list four or
five peo-ple on a single policy.
Car sharing is an idea that offers the best of bothworlds. It
ensures people access to transportation whilesaving them
considerable sums of money, and, it is good forthe environment.
Adapted with permission from Dan Chiras, EcoKids:
RaisingChildren Who Care for the Earth, Gabriola Island, British
Columbia: New Society, 2004
-
CRITICAL THINKING
AnalysisHydrogen is nearly an ideal fuel. It can be made from an
abundant resource, water, and is renewable. Itproduces little, if
any, pollution when burned or used to power a fuel cell. In your
research, however, youmay have discovered that it takes a lot of
energy to make hydrogen from water or to strip hydrogen atomsoff
other molecules such as methane (in natural gas). In fact, it takes
a lot of electrical energy. Wheredoes that energy come from?
Burning coal or nuclear fuels. The combustion of coal and the use
of nuclearfuels both create serious environmental and health
problems.
Would it be better to use the electricity directly to power a
car or truck, rather than use it to split water to make hydrogen to
power a fuel cell to make electricity to run a car or truck?
Actually, yes.
You may have found studies showing that using electricity
directly—using it to power an electricvehicle—is three to four
times more efficient than using electricity to create hydrogen to
create electric-ity in a fuel cell to drive an electric motor in a
car.
Bear in mind, too, that there are no sources of free hydrogen we
can tap into. So, we’ll always need tomake it from other molecules,
a process that takes a lot of energy.
382 PART IV. Resource Issues: Solutions for a Sustainable
Society
The world of politics is always twenty yearsbehind the world of
thought.
—John Jay Chapman
SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
17-4 Masdar City: A Solar Oasis
In an effort to create a sustainable future,
communitiesthroughout the world are looking for ways to reduce
theirconsumption of energy, water, land, and other natural
re-sources. Entirely new green communities are being built, andsome
communities are being rebuilt green in the wake of dis-asters like
the city of Greensburg, Kansas, that is buildinggreen after a
devastating tornado ripped through their townin May, 2007 (see page
323).
The latest effort to build a green community from theground up
is occurring in a most unlikely place, the PersianGulf.
Groundbreaking for the new solar, car-free city tookplace in
February, 2008. This nearly self-contained smalldesert city, called
Masdar, is designed to be home for 50,000people and is being built
in the desert next to Abu Dhabi’sinternational airport. The city
will serve as a “hub for aca-demic and corporate research on
nonpolluting energy tech-nologies,” according to Andrew Revkin, New
York Timesscience writer.
Revkin continues, “The 2.3-square-mile community,set behind
walls to divert hot desert winds and airportnoise, will be car
free, according to the design by Foster +Partners, the London firm
that has become a leading prac-titioner of energy-saving
architecture.”
Car-free Masdar City will feature narrow pedestrianstreets
shaded by canopies made of photovoltaic panels. Thecity will
produce all of its electricity from abundant sunlight.
Water will be supplied by a solar-powered desaliniza-tion plant
that extracts salts and other impurities fromabundant seawater.
Food will be grown in greenhouses.Waste will be composted and
recycled.
Phase 1 of Masdar City is expected to be completed bythe end of
2015 and include a graduate-level academic re-search center
associated with the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology. It will
also include extensive commercialand residential buildings. The
city will house 7,000 residents.
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CHAPTER 17: Creating Sustainable Cities, Suburbs, and Towns
383
Connect to this book's
website:http://environment.jbpub.com/9e/The site features
eLearning, an online reviewarea that provides quizzes, chapter
outlines,and other tools to help you study for yourclass. You can
also follow useful links for in-depth information, research the
differingviews in the Point/Counterpoints, or keep up on the latest
environmental news.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGTo save on paper and allow for
updates, additional readingrecommendations and the list of sources
for the informationdiscussed in this chapter are available at
http://environment.jbpub.com/9e/.
CRITICAL THINKING AND CONCEPT REVIEW1. List all the human
systems you have relied on since you
woke up this morning.2. Where does the water you drink come
from? Where does
your garbage go? Is it recycled? Is it landfilled? Is
itincinerated? Where does the wastewater from yourdomicile go?
3. Using your critical thinking skills and the knowledgeyou have
gained in your coursework and reading, criti-cally analyze the
following statement: “We must re-structure human systems to make
them compatiblewith natural systems.”
4. What is meant by the statement “Just because a sys-tem is
functioning well doesn’t mean that it is sustain-able”? Give some
examples.
5. List and describe several reasons why most if not allhuman
systems are currently unsustainable.
6. When most people think about creating a sustainablefuture,
they think about designing anew—that is, creating new
superefficient homes and autos. Is thissufficient?
7. Critically analyze the following comment: “Our
trans-portation system is just fine. My commute hasn’tchanged very
much. Air pollution levels are down be-cause of greater efficiency
in automobiles and pollu-tion control devices. What’s everyone so
concernedabout?”
8. What are the traditional functions of land-use plan-ning? How
is sustainable land-use planning different?
9. Compare and contrast compact development and dis-persed
development patterns according to the followingcriteria: use of
land, cost of infrastructure (roads, bridges,and so on),
feasibility of mass transit, and air pollution.
10. Describe corridor and satellite development. What arethe
advantages and disadvantages of each?
11. Imagine that you are a developer. You are about todraw plans
to develop a 80-hectare (200-acre) piece ofproperty. Make a list of
ways to make the developmentas environmentally sustainable as
possible. Try doingthis exercise by addressing one system at a
time—forexample, energy, waste, water, and transportation.
12. How can differential tax rates, the purchase of devel-opment
rights, and making growth pay its own way(ending the subsidy for
growth) be used to promotemore sustainable land use?
13. Using your critical thinking skills, analyze the follow-ing
assertion: “Land reform in the developing nationswill help create a
sustainable future.”
14. The text outlined a simplified version of a plan to shiftthe
developed nations such as the United States to amore sustainable
system of transportation. Describethis plan and point out its
strengths and weaknesses.How could the weaknesses be
eliminated?
15. Debate the following statement: “A shift to a
trans-portation system based in large part on mass transitwill
devastate the global economy and put thousandsof people out of
work.”
KEY TERMS cohousingcompact developmentcorridor
developmentdevelopment rightdifferential tax rate
dispersed developmentgreenbeltsland-use planningmaking growth
pay its own way
mass transitsatellite developmenturban sprawlzoning
regulations