Sustainable Cities and Korean Ecological Traditions

There is a growing feeling that, while Western rational, scientific and technological approaches have contributed greatly to the urbanization of Korea, the undesirable consequences of this pattern of development necessitate a new, more ecologically sound approach reflecting the cultural values of Korean society. The principal aims of this paper are to improve the understanding of the relationships between environmental knowledge, awareness, and action connected with growth and development from a Korea perspective, and to suggest prospects for a new relationship between sustainability and the Korean ecological tradition. To explore this new relationship, this paper begins with a discussion of sustainability and a comparison of Western and Eastern approaches to nature and environment. Then it reviews research on the eco-city which contributed to the inclusion of environmental dimensions into urban land use planning and development. From these broad bases, it examines paradigms and movements that had an impact on the development of the eco-city concept, with particular emphasis on "sustainable development" - the most recent paradigm. It moves on to address the growing interest in the Korean ecological tradition that lies in the same context with sustainability, sustainable development, and the principles of sustainable development. This chapter also provides the reader with how the tradition has been applied at the house layout, eco-techniques and urban planning level. Finally, a brief conclusion is drawn in the final chapter

Wetland restoration to enhance biodiversity in urban areas: a comparative analysis

Wetlands mitigation for any activity can be applied to avoid or minimize damage and restore, enhance, or create wetlands as well. New tools for mitigating and creating wetlands are available, including the Wetland Impact Assessment. This article explores many current issues in wetland mitigation and mitigation strategies, using case studies for illustration. We include some general guidelines for successful wetland mitigation based primarily on existing literature review in several cities. We use comparison and analyses on biodiversity improvement and various wetland functions, including flood-risk management, linking people to nature through urban regeneration, and connecting with the natural environment. Also, restoration, enhancement, mitigation, and creation analyses are included.GAINES J, 2009, MANIFESTO SUSTAINABL, P88KIM KG, 2009, ECOLOGICAL RES UNPUBKIM KG, 2009, ECOLOGICAL RES UNPUB, 2009, LONDON RIVERS ACTION*GREAT LOND AUTH, 2002, MAYORS BIOD STARTKENDLE T, 1997, URBAN NATURE CONSERV, P19SALVESEN D, 1994, WETLANDS MITIGATING, P2

Energy and material flows of megacities

Understanding the drivers of energy and material flows of cities is important for addressing global environmental challenges. Accessing, sharing, and managing energy and material resources is particularly critical for megacities, which face enormous social stresses because of their sheer size and complexity. Here we quantify the energy and material flows through the world\u27s 27 megacities with populations greater than 10 million people as of 2010. Collectively the resource flows through megacities are largely consistent with scaling laws established in the emerging science of cities. Correlations are established for electricity consumption, heating and industrial fuel use, ground transportation energy use, water consumption, waste generation, and steel production in terms of heating-degree-days, urban form, economic activity, and population growth. The results help identify megacities exhibiting high and low levels of consumption and those making efficient use of resources. The correlation between per capita electricity use and urbanized area per capita is shown to be a consequence of gross building floor area per capita, which is found to increase for lower-density cities. Many of the megacities are growing rapidly in population but are growing even faster in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and energy use. In the decade from 2001-2011, electricity use and ground transportation fuel use in megacities grew at approximately half the rate of GDP growth

Report of the work of the expert group on maintaining the ability of biodiversity to continue to support the water cycle

rapport d'expertise pour l'UNEP (Programme des Nations Unies sur l'Environnement)The work of the expert group was based on peer-reviewed scientific or technical literature, supplemented by peer-reviewed examples of practice. Section II provides an overview of the processes that underpin ecosystem functions in relation to hydrology, and how these support the delivery of ecosystem services. Specific examples of these relationships, and how they can be managed in practice, are elaborated for agricultural systems and cities in section III . Social and economic aspects of this topic are largely self-evident and briefly discussed in section IV. Section V discusses the recent international policy landscape, highlighting the profile of this topic in the outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 (Rio+20). It also discusses some institutional constraints to managing the biodiversity-water cycle relationship and identifies simple ways of enabling more rapid uptake of biodiversity-based solutions to water-related problems. Section VI identifies the immediate opportunity available to the Conference of the Parties to strengthen cooperation and partnerships on this subject as a means to enhance implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011-2020)