1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Urban Greening can be generally defined as the combined process of growing, conserving and management of different types of vegetation in different areas of the city for social, economic and environmental benefits (Byrne et al., 2014). Urban greening can be synonymously used with the term urban greenspace also considered as a combination of a many green areas in a city, (Roy et al., 2010). These include all types of playing fields, court yards, resident’s gardens, wild vegetation, cemeteries, green roofs, vacant lots, nature conservation sites and areas offering different recreational activities, (Harnik, 2010). Most green areas are made up of vegetated public and private spaces, (URGE Team, 2004).
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It is based on the assumption that, achieving sustainable development lies in achieving a balance between socio-economic development and environmental development (Rydin, 2010). For urban greening to meet the objectives of sustainable development, municipal authorities or local government should craft policies and strategies that should be implemented so as to safeguard the future of green spaces, develop more of them, improve the quality of urban services like air, transport, water and make urban areas more attractive to investors while enhancing the wellbeing of local people (Troy et al., 2007). Flexible planning considers social, physical and population characteristics of a given area (Byrne et al., 2010), in other words, green spaces should be provided to meet social and ecological needs of a city. This is one of the biggest challenges facing many countries like South Africa, where the recently experienced political transformation has brought capital and economic interests onto the forefront of development priorities (Mentis 2010). Through better spatial planning, cities can minimise the resulting urban land use footprints and enable ecological conservation and improvements to be part of the foundation of city development (Henderson, 2013). Sustainable development therefore requires more support from many functions of urban greenness like heat absorption, purification of air and aesthetic value in promoting urban living standards without degrading urban ecology. Also, improvement of green spaces in urban areas requires the contribution of all environmental players to help in educating and raising the awareness of the public on the role of sustainable development in improving quality of life and availability of resources in future. People living in urban areas need to acknowledge and uphold that opportunities brought by urban
The fifth section compares and contrasts the two opposing visions of environmentalism: Livingstone 's “big-city modernism” and Prince Charles 's “agrarian utopianism” (p. 215). After evaluating the contrasting visions, Glaeser supports the urban dense living. The sixth section highlights the challenge of sustainable urban development in developing economies. He compares the carbon emissions per household between China, India and America. The growing car usage including the “Tata’s $2500 car” suggests rise in future traffic jams and carbon emissions (p. 220). The final section
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global scale. The Green Revolution which already sprouted in the early part of the century only need to add a bit more momentum and we will see a bright future for the human race, a future without hunger and starvation ¡V hopefully.It is becoming increasingly difficult for the planet to support its overwhelming population. And since the amount of arable land available is becoming scarce, we must seek ways to dramatically improve crop yields of existing cropland.
An important feature of green roofs is their potential to provide habitation for urban wildlife, therefore many animal species such as rats and ants would benefit from green roofs. Coffman and Waites, (2008) explains that the urban development practices recognised as roof greening offers habitat for wild species within the towns and it also helps rise the home-grown natural diversity. However, roof greening is not a method restoration ecology, but it is method of reconciliation ecology, where entirely new habitation is formed for non-human species. In addition Green roofs certainly delivers some form of habitat, it is also possible that the properties of the roof could harm the wildlife diversity.
An eco-city has a healthy environment, with a high quality of life and a growing economy (City of Melbourne, 2012). The City Gold Coast will significantly reduce its ecological and carbon footprint, while contributing to the fight against global warming. "Eco-planning provides specific benefits for long-term sustainability by ameliorating the environmental impacts of cities in terms of the following objectives; improvement of air, water and soil quality, energy saving, reduction of stormwater runoff and urban heat island effect, aesthetic improvement of the city and enrichment of urban biodiversity" (Dizdaroglu et. al, 2009,
The basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter, fresh water and clean air and other profitable services are the factor that contributes to the rise of ecological footprint in Namibia. One factor that leads to a high ecological footprint is Human migration, since many people migrate from rural to urban area for better chance and the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas and the ways in which each society adapts to the change in which towns and cities become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas this result in the rise of the earth’s population. In other conditions, economic progress can lead to people demanding larger area for farming resulting in a decline of the environmental resources. In many cases, the growth of cities is the cause of the decline in the rural
Cities all over the world are developing. As war ended in 1942, a significant number of people move to the city because they want to improve life. This urbanization process is causing a number of problems and should be met by sustainable development policies. In the beginning, it is important to know the definition of sustainable development. There are some definitions for sustainable development, but simply they say that sustainable development is a development which using resources now and preserving them for future generations (Adams, 1999, p.137). This concept has been agreed internationally at a Rio Conference in 1992 to be implemented by all government policies which mostly known as “Agenda 21” principles (Adams, 1999, p.141). This paper will show that traffic jams and housing problems caused by urbanization can be met by sustainable development policies. The structure of this paper will first explain the situation that leads to traffic jams and housing problems. Next, it will elaborate the sustainable development solutions, implications for the solutions, and evaluations how effective the sustainable development solutions solved the problems.
Garden city is a method of urban planning in which self-contained communities are surrounded by greenbelts (invisible line designating a boarder around a certain area, preventing development of the area and allowing wildlife to return and established) containing areas of residences, industry and agriculture.
The dawn of the urban age has given rise to several opportunities to remake and reinvent our concrete jungles for sustainability. At the current speed of urbanization, megacities are being realized across the globe merely within a few decades. A noteworthy example, Singapore, the modern city-state and island country has drawn worldwide attention to its revolutionary change from a developing country to a thriving global nation in a span of about 50 years. Today, Singapore enjoys one of the world’s highest standards of living, economic competitiveness, healthcare and education and despite its dark historic challenging conditions and scarce resources. It is famous worldwide not only as one of the most industrialized state, but also for its greening
With more needs for nature experience and sustainable development in urban areas, increasing importance has been attached to urban open spaces since they play a crucial role to support the ecology system and form a natural network in the cities (Chiesura, 2004; Tzoulas et al., 2007). Urban open spaces include plazas, parks, campus, greenways and other green spaces. They serve as islands of nature, enriching urban landscapes, adjusting the microclimate, promoting biodiversity and providing habitats for other species (Chiesura, 2004; Do, Kim, Kim, & Joo, 2014; Morimoto, 2011). Apart from these benefits, they also show a great impact on urban dwellers’ health, since open spaces offer places for outdoor activities and opportunities for contact with nature (Chiesura, 2004). Tyrväinen et al. (2014) indicated that even short-term visits to urban green spaces have positive psychological and physiological effects on perceived stress relief. People were attracted to urban open spaces for physical activities, social interactions, and a relief from daily life, which benefit their mental and physical health (Thwaites, Helleur, & Simkins, 2005). A large epidemiological study in Britain looked at mortality and morbidity among three income levels in relation to urban residents’ access to green open space (Mitchell & Popham,
In this regard, city authorities all over the world are increasingly adopting energy efficiency measures in a quest to become sustainable into the future. Consequently, this has led to the emergence of the term ‘green cities’ (Aulisi & Hanson, 2004). New York City, viewed by many as an urban, concrete jungle, was recently named the “greenest city" in the United States. This is mainly because most of its residents live in energy-efficient buildings, and use public transport, bicycl...
Surely there exist cities that are determined to transform into more eco-friendly representatives of urban civilization, yet these efforts are typically focused on minimizing the harmful output of cities rather than rew...
...12. “Past Results and Future Directions in Urban Community Gardens Research.” Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 11: 364-373 DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2012.06.007
These motives are behind the current world’s 50% urbanization rate. Among all countries, Canada heads the urbanization process with 80% of its total area (Snell par.7). The ever-increasing urbanization rate is characterized by human-related destructive activities, which lead to creation of urban centers by destroying inherent biodiversity. The rate is increasing each passing day. However, one thing to note is that destructive activities embody the causes of urban biodiversity wicked problem. The easy way of identification provides land conversion, climate change, consumerism, land fragmentation, and invasive species as the main causes of the wicked problem of urban biodiversity. These causes constitute every aspect of urban life. For instance, there is no way that people living in urban areas can do without proper infrastructures (such as houses, roads, and communication lines). All kinds of infrastructure need space, and, in creating it, there is clearance of all natural vegetation and conversion of land to other uses. The result is annihilation of nature and predisposition of climatic changes. The only easy approach to identify an appropriate solution to the wicked problem of urban biodiversity is to decrease the rate of urbanization by
Van Den Brink, Ari. 2000. Land Use Planning in Utrecht. Utrecht: Utrecht Land Reclamation, Improvement, and Consolidation Service.
The Green movement began in the Western World during the 1970’s around the time of the Vietnam War. The green movement is a social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvements to the current health of the environment. The Green movement also promotes the conservation, restoration, and the overall improvement of our environment. Many people disagree with the green movement and its values because they don’t see the immediate benefits from them. However, supporting the green movement by recycling, researching alternative energy sources, and mandating eco-friendly laws will lead to a better, greener, country.