L/O: To be able to describe the city as a system

Describe the information being shown in table 11.11 Suggest reasons for the patterns show in table 11.11 Explain how traffic patterns in Beijing has increased air pollution from SO2 and O3 Explain the impact of polluted water on people’s health

For each statement Annotate the piece of paper to explain why these issues are problems in urban areas

So what? Urban sprawl e.g. urban expansion takes up 200, 000 ha of arable land in China each year Many farmers move outwards to new farming areas which are less productive, or are forced to move to the city in search of non farming work. Food is also now transported longer distances, raising cost of food. Additional GHGs (btwn 15-20% of 6bn tonnes of CO2 produced by human activities comes from transport). Also creates greater transport difficulties. Longer journeys, greater distances, congestion. Waste of petrol, waste of productivity. LICs – overcrowding on public transport.

So what? Overcrowding and housing – shortage of housing (especially in LICs). Increase in the numbers of shanty towns No building standards, lack of basic provisions, health problems, Some response from governments e.g. Dharavi slum in Mumbai.

So what? Tax revenues are insufficient to provide urban services. E.g. waste collection, water supplies Chronic sickness – poisoning from plastic. Water pollution leads to water borne diseases. Some seek to make a living from recycling waste. Urban flooding is increasing because less facilities to wash away waste water.

So what? Underemployment and unemployment e.g. in developing cities unemployment rates = 30-40% Creation of own work e.g. food Development of the informal sector – does not always feedback into tax revenue so affects other areas of the urban system

Part 4: The sustainable city Hong Kong is a sustainable city To what extent is this true? Think about: Water, food, energy What would be the characteristics of a sustainable city?

The Brundtland Commission 1987 Sustainable development: ‘development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’

http://www.wsd.gov.hk The supply of water from Dongjiang at Guangdong, is now the major single source of raw water supply for Hong Kong. The annual Dongjiang water supply has been now almost 70 - 80 per cent of Hong Kong's total demand starting since the late nineties.

City systems can be either ‘closed’ or ‘open’. What do you think these terms mean?

Define the terms OUTPUT and INPUT. Explain why the examples listed above are categorised as either input or output (eg. why is energy etc considered an input in the city?)

Investigate the ‘Rogers Sustainable City Model’ It may be worth doing an image search to find the model. Describe the differences between the 2 ‘models’, and explain why they can be considered sustainable or unsustainable (think back to INPUTS, OUTPUTS, OPEN and CLOSED).

Large cities are often considered to be unsustainable systems because they consume large amounts of resources and produce vast amounts of waste. Compact cities minimise the amount of distance travelled, use less space, require less infrastructure (pipes cables roads…), are easier to provide a public transport network for, and reduce urban sprawl. BUT, if the compact city covers too large an area, it becomes CONGESTED, OVERCROWDED, OVERPRICED and POLLUTED. It then becomes unsustainable.

What is SUSTAINABILITY? Which system (linear or cyclical) is most likely to be more sustainable? Why? Evidence? … is a sustainable city the same as an eco-city? This is an open question. I’m keen to see what ideas you come up with.

Describe the differences between a sustainable city and an unsustainable city

What cities are considered sustainable? Create a google doc Add the city, a map of its location and an explanation of its sustainable features.