Posts Tagged ‘sustainable cities’
Vancouver on course to meet or exceed Kyoto targets
Posted in Models by Daria on December 22nd, 2009
Vancouver, British Columbia, has the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions of any major city in North America and is on target to meet or exceed Kyoto Agreement targets, Mayor Gregor Robertson said. The announcement came December 10, 2009, as the Mayor prepared to leave for the Climate Summit for Mayors in Copenhagen, Denmark. New statistics show the development of energy efficient buildings, increased use of public transit, walking and cycling as well as innovative projects like creating heat and electricity from methane gas captured from the City’s landfill have all contributed to greenhouse gas (GHG) levels last seen in 1990.
“Vancouver continues to show leadership in Canada and North America on greenhouse gas reductions,” the Mayor said. “By making smart decisions for our future, whether it’s the many energy efficient features of the Olympic Village project, our approach to land-use planning, or the city’s transportation options, we are going to meet our Kyoto targets and in the process set the standard for major North American cities.”
Vancouver GHG emissions have been reduced by 11 per cent from their peak in 2000 to 2.7 million tonnes per year. The city is on track to meet Kyoto targets for 2012 of 2.5 million tonnes. Vancouver’s drop in GHG levels is concurrent with a 27 per cent population increase since 1990 and an 18 per cent growth in employment since 1991.
The conventional wisdom is you can’t reduce emissions with a growing population and economy.
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Tags: greenhouse gases, sustainable cities, vancouver
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Walk Score: Walkable Cities Calculator
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 22nd, 2009
Source: Going Solar Transport Newsletter
Walk Score in the US helps “you find a walkable place to live by calculating a Walk Score for any address.” …
The cities at the top of the Walk Score rankings have density, mixed use, transit, short blocks—and almost everything else on the walkability checklist. Most importantly, these cities have lots of destinations near each address, which is the strongest indicator of whether people walk.
The top three cities are: #1 San Francisco, #2 New York, #3 Boston. At the bottom of the list are: #38 Charlotte; #39 Nashville & #40 Jacksonville where “It’s difficult to get by without a car (or even walk to a nearby restaurant) in these sprawling cities. More time in the car means more money at the pump, less exercise, and more pollution.
Tags: community, sustainable cities, Transport
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Sustainable Cities for the Future
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on July 9th, 2009
Image: amirjina via Flickr
Graduate Research Conference: Sustainable Cities for the Future
Globally, economies are facing challenges to future sustainability and are investing in strategies to mitigate, and adapt to, the potential of new climatic realities. People are increasingly moving into urban areas, placing stress on transport and other basic infrastructure. Australia provides an excellent ‘laboratory’ to review the future sustainability of cities, with climate scientists suggesting it will be one of the first countries to be impacted by climate change. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: conference, Research, sustainable cities
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“Know the Number” Campaign & Carbon Counter
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 2nd, 2009
Source: GreenRazor, the GreenPages Newsletter #89
Image: Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors
The Carbon Counter and “Know the Number” campaign is part of a groundbreaking climate change awareness and education initiative sponsored by Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors group with scientific data supplied from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and include all long-lived greenhouse gases covered under the Kyoto and Montreal Protocols (24 gases excluding ozone and aerosols). The Counter, which stands over 21 meters (two stories) serves as a blatant reminder of our continuing damage to the atmosphere.
Tags: climate change, Provocations, sustainable cities
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Re-using Infrastructure for Public Space: High Line, NY.
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on June 29th, 2009
Source: Mason Curry, Metropolis Magazine, Newsletter 06, 2009
Image: High Line by Mason Curry via Metropolis Magazine
New Yorkers have been reading about the High Line for at least three and a half years. The project—which officially opened to the public on June 8—lives up to expectations. It is not only a beautiful and novel urban park, but a remarkably serene and even understated space.
“The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park.” The High Line
Source: Mason Curry, Metropolis Magazine, Newsletter 06, 2009
Tags: green cities, sustainable cities, Urban Design and Built Form
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Healthy Cities Conference
Posted in Events by fedwards on March 10th, 2009
Please see message below from Sophie Secombe, Healthy Cities Conference Secretariat. More information is available at www.healthycities.com.au.
There are only 2 weeks remaining until the Healthy Cities Conference being held at the Holiday Inn, Surfers Paradise 25th – 27th March 2009. The Conference will be a platform for Government, Academics and Industry sector professionals to consider health, sustainability, natural resource management, climate change, urban design and the implications for public policy. The future will present some exciting challenges, what do we need to meet these challenges and how will it effect the way we live and work?
Tags: Events, Health, healthy cities, seeking, sustainable cities
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On the state of sustainable cities
Posted in Research by fedwards on March 6th, 2009
The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #99, 24 February 2009, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar newsletter provides an excellent commentary on sustainable transport issues. The original article is by John Whitelegg, Canberra Times, 4/2/09. It outlines the states of several world cities such as London, Beijing and Sydney.
“The world’s great cities are at a crucial tipping point in their development. London is finding it difficult to cope with the growth in demand for public transport, Beijing has serious air pollution and the infrastructure of US cities is collapsing. Australia’s cities are rightly regarded as some of the finest urban environments in the world but they, too, are in trouble.
“The Sydney city region is typical. Its traffic levels are among the highest in the world, its air pollution routinely breaches World Health Organisation standards, and its planning and metropolitan governance are not fit for the purpose. Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne have fuelled traffic growth with an excess of highly expensive new highways and a failure to recognise global trends in so-called demand management. London has its congestion charge, Toronto will not build new roads and many other cities are heavily into high-quality public transport, walking and cycling strategies. Australia is being left behind.
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Tags: city design, healthy cities, sustainable cities, Transport, urban design
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Peter Garrett and Malcolm Turnbull to speak at Green Cities 09!
Posted in Events by fedwards on February 16th, 2009
Australia’s most innovative and influential green building companies will come together from 1-4 March to hear from two of the nation’s most experienced green politicians. Will your company be there? Don’t miss a rare opportunity to join our leading green thinkers at Green Cities 09, and hear from Peter Garrett, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, and Malcolm Turnbull, Leader of the Opposition.
Register online at www.greencities.org.au.
Tags: business, Events, green cities, sustainable cities
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The Climate Group Plans To Develop Low Carbon Cities In China
Posted in sustainable cities by fedwards on January 28th, 2009
Please find an abstract from a news story posted on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development website. More and more sustainable cities can only be a good thing!
The Climate Group Plans To Develop Low Carbon Cities In China
ChinaCSR, 19 January 2009 – The Climate Group has announced plans to develop 15 to 20 low carbon cities in China in the next three to five years to encourage the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and address the problem of climate change. The Climate Group said in a report released in Beijing that China would miss the best opportunity to retain its technology advantage and core competitiveness in the world market if it lets slip the opportunities brought by the global financial crisis.
Wu Changhua, director for Greater China of The Climate Group, said that as a path for development, the core aim of a low-carbon economy is to increase energy efficiency and change the energy structure. She said that this would mean cleaner, more efficient and lower green house gas emission for China. Wu added that besides big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, the Climate Group would mainly target second-tier and third-tier cities in China for the low-carbon initiative as these smaller cities provide more opportunity for development.
To read the full story visit the World Business Council for Sustainable Development website.
Tags: China, green cities, low carbon cities, sustainable cities, urban sustainability
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New Report Tracks Progress on Sustainability in Britain’s Biggest Cities
Posted in Research by fedwards on January 21st, 2009
The Sustainable Cities Index tracks progress on sustainability in Britain’s largest cities, ranking them on environmental performance, quality of life and future-proofing. It enables city leaders to track their progress against a set of indicators relating to factors which councils are able to influence. Bristol has ousted Brighton and Hove to become Britain’s most sustainable city, with Plymouth third. The report reveals a clear north-south divide particularly on quality of life, but Newcastle has managed to buck this trend coming in fourth. The project has been endorsed by Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association: “Forum for the Future’s Sustainable Cities Index has driven real change by inspiring cities to adopt more ambitious sustainability strategies and by providing a framework against which they can benchmark their efforts.â€
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Tags: Britain, Research, sustainable cities, urban sustainability
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