Some environmental concerns in city development

The rapid pace of urbanization and the deterioration of the environment in many areas requires effective legislation aimed at promoting the maintenance and creation of a high quality environment, both built-in and bio-physical. The functioning of the environment is better understood today and there is an ethics and dedication to environmental protection in the ranks of urban and regional planners to the growth. The task of protecting the environment is only contained in one article in the Land Use Planning Ordinance, but it is further explained in the 'Structural Planning Manual'. In essence, there is little difference with the Old Town Ordinance. Successful environmental protection, therefore, is not in the legislation itself, but in the way it is applied. Unfortunately, there is some degree of overlap in the responsibilities of different government departments in this regard. A distinction must be made between the outdated concept of preservation versus the dynamic concept of conservation. Preservation tries to keep human beings out of nature while conserving constructive symbiosis between man and his environment. In the application of the Ordinance, not only should we look at two-dimensional spatial planning, but to location creation that will integrate the interdependence of man and his environment. Environmental impact assessment is essential as part of the planning process, but it should not be mandated by legislation, because then the studies will become an end in itself. Persons from relevant disciplines, especially biophysics, designers and holists, must be part of the planning team (from the start of the planning process), but city planners who know the full extent of the process must take the lead. The authorities responsible for drafting and approving structural plans should give more clarity about the environmental expectations from the plans. However, we must guard against Long Marks, such as those given in the 'Manual', as it leads to excessive descriptive planning reports that are of no use. More importantly, the planning process establishes functional norms that measure the current environment and expected impact

Methodology for inventorying greenhouse gas emissions from global cities

This paper describes the methodology and data used to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributable to ten cities or city-regions: Los Angeles County, Denver City and County, Greater Toronto, New York City, Greater London, Geneva Canton, Greater Prague, Barcelona, Cape Town and Bangkok. Equations for determining emissions are developed for contributions from: electricity; heating and industrial fuels; ground transportation fuels; air and marine fuels; industrial processes; and waste. Gasoline consumption is estimated using three approaches: from local fuel sales; by scaling from regional fuel sales; and from counts of vehicle kilometres travelled. A simplified version of an intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) method for estimating the GHG emissions from landfill waste is applied. Three measures of overall emissions are suggested: (i) actual emissions within the boundary of the city; (ii) single process emissions (from a life-cycle perspective) associated with the city's metabolism; and (iii) life-cycle emissions associated with the city's metabolism. The results and analysis of the study will be published in a second paper.Urban metabolism Life-cycle analysis Climate change