h1 geography notes

cities in a sustainable future

Sustainable Urban Development Chapter 1: Sustainable Development ● Definition of SD: According to the Brundtland report, SD is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This involves the maximising of goals across economic, environmental and social dimensions ● Concept of “Needs” ○ Essential needs -> food, water, shelter, employment ○ Perceived needs -> demand for electronic devices, overconsumption of food ○ Intragenerational equity needs to be met: at the present , essential needs of the poor must be met ○ Intergenerational equity needs to be met: ensuring essential needs can be met in the long-term ● Interdependency of dimensions: ○ Socio-economic system is dependent on environment as environment provides us with ecological resources and services and acts as a sink for wastes ○ When humans try to maximise the production on one environmental service, there will be unexpected and unwanted declines in provisions of other environmental services ○ Examples: Overfishing -> Collapse of Atlantic cod stocks (coast of Canada in late 20th century); Decline of Mayan civilisation in Central America due to large-scale deforestation, excessive use of soils and over-reliance on maize ○ Challenge in maximising goals across the different dimensions: Many aspects of the environment are not properly valued in economic terms ■ Basically tragedy of the commons (air, oceans, fisheries have transboundary nature so hard to assign value to environmental impact) ● Concept of “Trade-offs” ○ (certain goals have to be compromised for the achievement of others) ○ Another challenge in achieving SD: Institution responsible for managing the environment is institutionally separated from those responsible for the economy ■ Global environment and development has an integrated nature so achievement of SD difficult without a change in how policies are implemented ○ Examples: ■ Biodiversity is disappearing at alarming rates (environmental) but cost of conservation / making areas protected will rise and opportunities for development might be lost (socio-economic)

● however, one solution is for governments to stem the destruction of reservoirs of biological diversity by developing them economically (eg: ecotourism) ■ Industrialization, agricultural development and rapidly growing population of developing nations need a lot of energy (socio-economic) but increase in use of non-renewable fossil fuels place a strain on ecosystems (environmental) ● solution would be for economic growth now to be less energy-intensive than in the past ● Concept of “Limits” ○ Current Level of Technology: ■ Existing technologies are still resource- inefficient. For example, older irrigation or mining techniques waste water or minerals, reducing availability and limiting the supply available for future generations ■ Despite current levels of technology allowing for the harnessing of renewable energy like solar energy, they currently lack adequate storage capacity. Without efficient solar panels or large-scale storage, countries remain dependent on finite fossil fuels in the longer term and may have insufficient energy sources to meet their needs ■ While modern waste treatment exists, they may not be advanced enough to cope with the increasing amounts of waste that is being generated by cities in both countries of higher and lower levels of development. This can render contamination of soil/water sources by improper disposal of waste, which can reduce resource quality and availability over time. ○ Environment’s ability to meet needs: ■ Earth and environment provides us with the input needed for human activities ■ Ecological footprint should be below Earth’s biocapacity => both in terms of resource use and generation of waste ■ Definition of Biocapacity: The ability of the environment to replace resources and withstand impacts of waste ■ Currently we in ecological deficit (ecological footprint > biocapacity) Chapter 2a: Challenges In Progressing towards Sustainable Urban Development ● High Urbanisation Rates & Rapid Urban Growth — more prevalent in CLLDs (currently undergoing development / industrialisation) ○ Urbanisation: a process whereby an increasing proportion of the population in a geographical area lives in urban settlements ○ Urban Growth: an increase in the population of urban areas ( ABSOLUTE number )

○ increase in the population size of cities due to: ■ natural increase (birth rates > death rates due to low life expectancy, large young population) ■ Rural-urban migration (various push and pull factors) ● This growth often outpaces the capacity of rural areas to provide sufficient employment, educational opportunities, and essential services. ● The agricultural sector, traditionally the mainstay of rural economies, may not be able to absorb the burgeoning young labour force, leading to underemployment and a search for better prospects elsewhere. ● At the same time, cities attract youths as they are typically centres of economic activity, offering a greater diversity of jobs in manufacturing, services, and the informal sector. ● Furthermore, the concentration of educational institutions, from universities to vocational training centres, in urban areas presents another significant draw. Young people seeking to enhance their skills and future earning potential are naturally attracted to cities where these opportunities are more readily available. ○ If unplanned (too rapid), can result in ■ poor urban infrastructure which reduces cities' competitiveness and economic prospects (congested roads, poor public transport, inefficient ports, inadequate schools, not enough housing) ■ failure to provide the necessary basic infrastructure and public services (lack of proper waste management, water shortage) → This is manifested in the rise of slum settlements whereby the poor standard of living amongst the urban poor can widen inequality within the current generation (intra-generational inequity) ■ Eutrophication and water pollution if factories / agricultural farms are built near water bodies ■ The demand for more urban areas necessitates deforestation of surrounding forested areas, which can result in the destruction of habitats and biodiversity loss ■ Growing urban populations increase demand for energy, food, and water, which can result in the over-extraction and overconsumption of resources faster than they can be naturally rep