With a rapidly increasing world population estimated at seven million, we increasingly run into the issue of how to support ourselves in a closed ecosystem. As the population increases, we have less land to use for agriculture and other natural resources.
Today we're going to be discussing the future of cities and urban and suburban sprawl. Many of us have grown up in quaint, quiet suburbs, with a green velvety lawn and an appropriately beige paneling. The environmental damage here is more visible than in the cities. Many developed suburbs such as the one I described above have disposal systems for waste, relatively straightforward infrastructure, a wide-open areas for the dilution of pollution.
However, this is an invisible threat. Despite our complacency, since each building holds less people, that means more energy usage per person. Since all the houses are so far apart from one another, that means more pollution because of transportation. Our reuse of resources is relatively limited, since it's more difficult to transport mass quantities of potentially recyclable items.
Now, what about the opposite situation? Urbanization, or the development of cities. Dubai, India has the greatest population in the United Arab Emirates, and extremely high population density. While this means less environmental impact per person, it is basically a concentrated area of environmental impact, in contrast to urban sprawl, where the impact is spread out.
As of now, neither situation seems particularly desirable. We're stuck in a tricky dilemma because of the American dream where we all want that white picket fence, a wide-open lawn, and a spacious house. On the other hand, cities promise a greater influx of ideas and more opportunity, making it ideal for young adults who are seeking a career. However, they don't inform you that city life (not always, however) can be dangerous, expensive, and there's no guarantee of a job.
Environmentally-wise, there is a way to adapt to both urban sprawl and urbanization. Many different solutions exist, and some are even been applied to today's cities currently.
The High Line is a 1-mile New York City linear park built on a 1.45-mile section of the former elevated New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line. It used to be an old monorail system on the brink of destruction, but wild plants eventually began to grow on the abandoned track. Eventually, it became a full-blown park, an oasis of nature for people who are used to concrete.
On a suburban note, a group called Terreform One, an architecure group that focuses on ecological design, has developed several models of housing that interweave themselves with plants or a material with less impact on the environment.
On a less drastic scale, some colleges such as College of the Atlantic, have become carbon neutral. This greatly reduces emissions and pollution generated, but does not address the issue of a greater energy usage.
Most of the information and examples here focuses on urban design and planning. However, many people, citizens who aren't involved in their home's design besides buying it, are creating eco-friendly pockets in a sea of concrete, or reducing their environmental footprint. How?
By something called urban farming. This is where instead of the mass-product, commercial farms that we see, many homeowners are growing their own herbs, crops and even sometimes raising livestock (mainly chickens) in their own backyard or even apartment building. This will be discussed more in detail in the next blog, but for now, keep in mind a quote by Helen Keller:
"“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everthing, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do.”
It is not merely the scientists working late hours in labs to reduce carbon emissions, or the urban designers and planners creating draft after draft of various buildings. Environmental protection and stewardship is a communal responsibility, and we must all take a part in it.
