'Explain the concept of sustainable urban development and with the aid of appropriate examples, consider whether it is an attainable goal or an unattainable ideal.

The sustainability of cities can be approached at either a global or a local scale. From a global scale, the concern is centred around the long-term sustainability of the earth’s resource stock and the associated impacts for urban life. If resources to satisfy urban requirements are being depleted at such a rate, or if pollution from urban industry is causing global environmental deterioration, then the goals of sustainable development are being denied. At the local level, concern is centred around the social and economic consequences of localized problems such as waste management and traffic congestion, which if left unmanaged, will also go against the goals of sustainability. For the purpose of this essay, I will concentrate on the local aspects of urban sustainable development.

Cities, home to half of the world’s population, are at the forefront of the battle to implement sustainable development. As economic and cultural powerhouses of nations, cities provide an abundance of benefits that are essential to meeting our development aspirations. However, they are the most significant consumer of ecosystem resources and services and thus, ‘in most cities there are contradictions between the goals of ‘sustainability’ and ‘development’.’ (Pacione, 2001; 580).

It is clear that many, if not all cities throughout the world are functioning in highly unsustainable ways at present. It has been estimated that London requires 50 million acres of land to sustain its population - the food and timber requirements as well as the vegetation necessary to absorb carbon dioxide emissions. This area is roughly 125 times the actual surface, a vivid example of how unsustainable a city can be (Williams et al, 2000). Peter Berg (1990) also follows this line of argument; ‘Cities aren’t sustainable because they have become dependent on distant, rapidly shrinking sources for the basic essentials for food, water, energy and materials.’ (Haughton and Hunter, 1994; 24). With such metabolism, the question asked is what can be done in order for cities to become more sustainable or at least contribute to sustainable development.

Agenda 21, derived from the 1992 UNCED Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is aimed at the local scale of governance. Agenda 21 agreed a number of proposals relating to local, urban challenges such as;

‘B. Improving human settlement management’ and

‘E. Developing sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements’.

In order to illustrate the ways in which dimensions of urban sustainable development are trying to be achieved, I will concentrate on just a few of these specific aspects. One specific sustainable development challenge in the urban context is in achieving sustainable mobility. In western societies, and in an age of decentralization, suburbanisation and urban sprawl, the private automobile is very much part of everyday urban life. However, there is widespread concern that the continuing growth of transport is damaging our environment, and in particular the atmosphere. Transport is responsible for emissions of many harmful pollutants that lead to acid rain, poor air quality and global warming. In the UK, 80% of pollution caused by transport is released in urban areas, and in Mexico City motor vehicles account for 83% of all air pollution! (Haughton and Hunter, 1994). Road construction results in increased land consumption, increased energy use and causes major disruption to natural and human ecosystems. Congestion costs in cities are also high, for example in the city of Athens, traffic moves at an average of just 4-5 mph (Haughton and Hunter, 1994). An effective transport system is vital for economic well-being and good quality of life. To maintain the standard of transport that is required for society and the economy to function efficiently without placing too much pressure on the environment, it is necessary for governments to devise a policy that will take these factors into account. In the Sustainable Development  for the UK, the government has acknowledged that it will need to take action to control the rate of traffic growth, improve the performance of vehicles and initiate public awareness about the environmental impacts of polluting emissions from transport (McLaren et al, 1998). People need to be encouraged to reduce their dependency on cars, but affordable alternatives must be available to allow them to do this. Sustainable transport policies will involve more than traffic reduction. New technology is required to increase vehicle efficiency and investment in other modes of transport, for example . One example of a sustainable mobility strategy comes from the developing country of Brazil. In the city of Curitiba, as opposed to investing millions of pounds into an expensive new metro system, the government decided to concentrate on its existing bus system. In conjunction with supportive land use planning, the improvements in the city’s public transport system were remarkable. ‘From a single bus line serving the entire city of 600,000 people in 1974, Curitiba's bus network has continually expanded to meet growing demand. The transportation system is hierarchical, with different buses playing different roles. Silver buses, for example, have their doors on the left side, only stop at every third stop, and drive with regular traffic on normal streets, while express buses are bright red and have doors on the right side. Passengers can get anywhere in the city with a single fare of about 55 cents. In 1991, Curitiba introduced tube stations - elevated glass bus stops where passengers pay their fare, enter through a turnstile, then board at the bus level. This ‘surface metro’ accommodates three times as many passengers per hour as before, save bundles of time, and costs one-three-hundredth the price of an underground metro. Curitiba's public transportation system is used by more than 1.3 million passengers each day, nearly two-thirds of the population. Twenty-eight percent of express bus users previously traveled in their cars, which translates into savings of up to 25 percent of fuel consumption citywide. Fuel consumption per head in Curitiba is a quarter less than the Brazilian average, even though car ownership per head is the highest in the country, reversing the normal rule that high ownership means high fuel consumption. Curitiba also has one of the lowest levels of ambient air pollution in Brazil’ (Roseland, 1998; 117-118). This example clearly shows the possibilities for sustainable development in relation to energy efficiency in the urban context.

Energy efficiency is closely related to the structure of the built environment, and in particular urban form. In recent years city planners, developers and policymakers have increasingly looked towards designing a more 'compact city' in order to achieve a more sustainable urban form. The compact city, advocated by Le Corbusier in 1929, is based on mixed land use, high-density urban living. There are many perceived benefits of the compact city over 'urban sprawl', which include less car dependency thus lower emissions, reduced energy consumption, better public transport services, increased overall accessibility, the re-use of infrastructure and previously developed land, a rejuvenation of existing urban areas and urban vitality, a higher quality of life, the preservation of green space, and the creation of a milieu for enhanced business and trading activities (Thomas and Cousins, 1996). As the concept of 'sustainable development' relies upon the combination of economic, social and environmental elements, it is important for the compact city to show improvements across all three spheres and for most, if not all of the perceived benefits listed above to become a reality.  According to Williams et al (1996), the influence of the compact city on social equity depends upon the form it takes. While cities with a large proportion of high-density housing in the form of terraces and flats, combined with a large quantity of locally provided services and facilities had the highest levels of social equity, access to facilities and reduced social segregation, in other areas such as residential infill housing there is little evidence of any improvements in social equity. The impact of the compact city on economic aspects of sustainable development is also quite mixed. According to Williams et al (1996) it appears that the compact city model has a more positive socio-economic impact in inner-city areas or town centres, where perceived safety has improved as well as the profitability of business and trading activities (such as entertainment facilities, restaurants, bars and clubs), than in the residential suburbs of the city. The compact city model will also reduce the need to travel and will increase the feasibility of public transport, thus reducing emissions and contributing to environmental sustainability. Possibly the most successful argument for compact cities, however, is that urban intensification represents the most sustainable use of land. Urban compaction not only conserves the valuable areas of countryside from urban development, but also increases the potential for regenerating the inner-city areas left derelict from the post-industrial era. However, critics also point out that such intensification of land use will result in massive living space reduction and house price inflation (Burton, 2000). Another problem with the compact city model is that the form conflicts with the trend of suburbanization that has ‘characterized urban development in advanced societies for the past half-century’ (Pacione, 2001). Although theoretically compact cities can be seen as a sustainable urban form it is clear that ‘some aspects of intensification, in some places, have contributed to sustainability, whilst others have clearly not’ (Williams, 2000; 44).

In conclusion, it is clear that the concept of sustainable urban development is a very broad and complex one. This is illustrated through the lack of an agreed global definition, where sustainable development means different things to different people in different countries at different stages of development. It is clear from the current level of urban metabolism that increased action will have to be taken to reinforce the goals of sustainability, as the detriment at both the local and the global level is proving highly unsustainable at present. From the examples explored in this essay, it seems apparent that certain aspects of sustainable development are being attained in certain parts of the world, but not necessarily in harmony with other aspects. Since this is the goal of sustainable development I can only conclude that sustainable urban development cannot be achieved in full, however invaluable contributions can certainly be, and are being, made to the separate dimensions of sustainable urban development.

Bibliography

Texts

Haughton, G. and Hunter, C. (1994) Sustainable Cities; Jessica Kingsley, London

Hinrichsen, D. (1989) The ‘Brundtland Report’ Explained; Earthscan, London

Jenks, M., Burton, E. and Williams, K. (eds.) (1996) The Compact City: a sustainable urban form? E & FN Spon; London

McLaren, D. et al (1998) Tomorrow’s World: Britain’s Share in a Sustainable Future; Earthscan, London

Pacione, M. (2001) Urban Geography: A Global Perspective; Routledge, London

Roseland, M. (1998) Towards Sustainable Communities: Resource for Citizens and Their Governments; New Society, Gabriola Island

Thomas, L. and Cousins W. (1996) "The Compact City: a successful, desirable and achievable urban form?" in M. Jenks, E. Burton and K. Williams (eds.) The Compact City: a sustainable urban form? London, pp.53-65.

WECD (1987) Our Common Future; Oxford University Press, Oxford

Williams, K. et al (2000) Achieving Sustainable Urban Form; E & FN Spon, London.

Journals

Simon, D. (1989) ‘Sustainable Development: Theoretical Construct or Attainable Goal?’ Environmental Conservation vol.16 no.1: 41-48.

Burton, E. (2000) ‘The Compact City: Just or Just Compact? A Preliminary Analysis’ Urban Studies  vol.37 no.11: 1969-2006

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