2012 Eighth International Conference on Intelligent Environments
Intelligent Sustainable Liveable Cities
Derek Clements-Croome School of Construction Management & Engineering, University of Reading Reading, United Kingdom
[email protected]
Abstract As the urban populations increase we have to think more deeply about how to make cities less stressful and more creative for people to live in. Liveability and quality of life are key factors whilst designing and managing energy, water, pollution and waste systems which are sustainable for the long term. New approaches are proposed with recommendations for achieving these goals.
relationships and be creative via learning. At a deeper level he expressed the dreams and reality aspects of life which can be realised through passive acts and active deeds. The Economist Intelligence Unit Report (EIU 2010) stated that the most liveable cities tend to be those which are midsized and have lower population densities usually in wealthier countries. Vancouver, Vienna and Helsinki are examples. Sustainability objectives are more difficult to achieve in hot highly populated cities like Karachi, Lagos and Harare. Masdar is an example of a modern city being developed in Abu Dhabi and if successful will be the first carbon and waste neutral eco-city when it is completed in 2016-2020 (Tang 2011).
Keywords Liveability; qualityoflife; indicators; innovation; sustainability
I THE CITIES LANDSCAPE Letchworth garden city in 1903 was an ideal planned community as envisaged by the British town planner Ebenezer Howard (1850 – 1928). It is a small compact city that combines the amenities of urban and rural life. A central garden is ringed with a civic and cultural complex, a park, housing, and industry. The whole is surrounded by an agricultural green belt. Traffic moves along radial avenues and ring roads.
The growth in world urban populations is rapid and expected to reach 70% by 2050. Meta or hyper cities with populations of over 20m like Tokyo, Chongqing, Mexico City, Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Jakarta, Karachi, New York ,Sao Paulo and Lagos are emerging; mega cities with over 10m people like Cairo, Istanbul, Paris and London are growing in number too( see Appendix 1). Throughout history cities like Athens, Florence, Rome, Venice, Vienna, Amsterdam and London have been notable centres of culture, wealth creation and innovation which suggests that even though densely populated cities bring environmental stresses and high demands on infrastructures the ‘buzzy’ atmosphere created by so many rich and variegated human contacts is a stimulus for creativity and offers opportunities for innovation (Dodgson and Gann 2011) even though some of these cities do not feature in the top liveable cities as classified by EIU or Monacle (
[email protected]) for example. City life is more likely to be 24/7 than rural life and this also gives a vibrant pulse to the city aura.
Geddes (1854-1932),a Scottish biologist, sociologist and philanthropist was also a pioneering town planner devised various ‘thinking machines’ as a way of studying the human interaction with the environment. The Notation of Life( see Fig 1) planning concept focused on the headings; TOWN, SCHOOL, CLOISTER and CITY IN DEED integrated with the triad of WORK, PLACE and FOLK (Welter 2002).This recognised our need to live and work in places, have social
The dangers of large conglomerates are slums which endanger health; homelessness where the poor cannot keep up with the rich; urban sprawl; traffic congestion; environmental pollution affecting air quality and hence the health of citizens; disconnections between wealthy and poor . Sustainability is about making places sustainable so that they consume minimum resources for future generations and prosperity reflecting much that occurs in the natural world at the same time increasing the quality of life. Quality should not be compromised by size. Planning meta- cities as regions with a number of smaller liveable eco-regions within them should
Figure 1 Notation of Life by Geddes 978-0-7695-4741-1/12 $26.00 © 2012 IEEE DOI 10.1109/IE.2012.65
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lead to a more manageable and sustainable approach which is more likely to avoid the pitfalls of large scale populations concentrated in a relatively small area. Eugene Tsui proposed a biomimetic design for the Ultima Tower – a 2-mile high city to house a million people–using trees and other living systems such as termitaries as his inspiration to reduce its energy footprint. But is this realistic with all the human problems that close living can bring?
economic (such as economic revitalization and development);
We need dreams to stimulate other possibilities for the future but the reality of everyday living has to make city plans viable. Cities are heritages for future generations so they have to be adaptable to the rapid social and technological changes taking place. Remember that social change is as rapid as technological change .Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful (1973) writes about appropriate intermediate technology recognising that technology alone does not solve everything especially human issues .The use of innovation should be integrated into the particular setting. The architecture of cities and buildings needs a balance of technology which enables the objectives to be realised but this will include lessons from vernacular architecture usually classified as low technology, besides advances in high technologies.
equity (such as affordable housing and mixedincome communities); and
I.
land use (such as compact, mixed use development); transportation (such as walkability, accessibility, and transportation choices);
community development (such as sense of place, safety, and public health). Quality of Life: Similar to liveability, the term quality of life is a very general one that can mean different things to different people (Forkenbrock & Weisbrod, 2001) and covers a variety of domains (Hagerty, et al., 2001). Broadly, quality of life refers to the general well-being of individuals and societies Maslow (1943) mapped a pyramid of needs which describes the essential factors which define well-being for an individual (see Fig 2). If these are satisfied then broadly speaking a person will be content, happy and more likely to be highly motivated. One can say a person’s sense of well-being is likely to be high if these needs are satisfied. The environment of cities can affect physiological, safety and selfactualisation needs. Even a sense of belonging to a place as well as the social cohesion that city may bring about is important to individuals.
WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE LIVEABLE CITY? The Sustainable Liveable City is:
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A Just City, where justice, food, shelter, education, health and hope are fairly distributed and where all people participate n government;
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A Beautiful City, where art, architecture and landscape spark the imagination and move spirit;
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A Creative City, where open-mindedness and experimentation mobilise the full potential of its human resources and allows a fast response to change;
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An Ecological City, which minimises its ecological impact, where landscape and built form are balanced and where buildings and infrastructures are safe and resource-efficient;
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A City of Easy Contact and Mobility, which protects the countryside, focuses and integrates communities within neighbourhoods and maximises proximity
Liveability is the sum of the aspects that add up to the quality of life of a place, including its economy, amenity, environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing, equity, education and learning, and leadership. For some people, liveability lies in the amount of local green space. Others might measure liveability through the diversity of jobs, range of dining and entertainment options, extent of the public transportation system, or quality of the local schools. Interestingly Thesaurus cites sustainable as one of the possible synonyms for liveable .Broadly speaking the cities should be planned to achieve the following goals:
Fig 2 Maslow Pyramid of Needs II.
PYRAMID OF NEEDS
What are the factors citizens deem important in liveable cities? Mobility, safety, affordability and meeting community needs are paramount. However other factors are important such as job opportunities, cultural activities, welcoming tourists, the amount and quality of green open space. At a fundamental level cities need to provide intelligent structures and infrastructures, social provision, amenities and basic property rights for its citizens. Transport, housing, schools and
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partnered by an effective public transport system. This is easier to achieve in smaller cities. Historic London is known as a collection of villages and you can walk and enjoy these; they are connected to each other by the underground which opened in about 1850 and bus networks. Today there are 9 million passengers a day in London carried by the underground and bus systems. However the maintenance, safety and upgrading are major challenges for historic cities which have become commercially successful.
safety are fundamental. Cities need to be just, fair, clean and accessible to all ages and cultures. Citizens too have responsibilities to look after their urban inheritance. The challenge is to bring all this together into a harmonious whole. III.
LESSONS FROM NATURE
Nature shows us how natural optimisation can be achieved whereas for humans this is not easy in practice. Social insects appear to work effortlessly in teams whereas humans find this difficult. Most of us live in societies where money defines economic growth and this is really in conflict with the needs for sustainable development (Schumacher 1972). In Nature the basic needs are the values, but for man our values are viewed in very different ways by not just different cultures but also by individuals within these cultures. Too often values are sacrificed for short term financial returns.
TABLE I.
1) Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey Criteria Political and Medical and Social Health Environment Considerations Relationship Hospital with other Services Countries Medical Internal Supplies Stability Infectious Crime Diseases Law Water Enforcement Potability Ease of Sewage Entry and Waste Exit removal Air Pollution Economic Troublesom Environment Currency e and Exchange Destructive Regulations Animals and Banking Insects Services Schools and Socio-Cultural Education Schools Environment Limitation on Personal Freedom Media and Censorship
Biomimetics offers us an opportunity to rethink some of our strategies in architecture and how we may tackle sustainable development but we need the public and private active involvement of everyone and to approach this with open minds. Humans possess a biological inclination to affiliate with natural systems and processes instrumental with their health and productivity (Kellert et al 2008 based on Wilson 1984). Open spaces with parks, trees and water features are calming and have a direct effect on our mental and spiritual health ( Chua et al 2004). IV.
MERCER QUALITY OF LIVING INDICATORS
Quality of Living, for the purposes Mercer’s survey, analysis, and city rankings, differs from quality of life. Quality of life may involve a subjective assessment or opinion about one’s personal state and circumstances in a given city, but Mercer’s criteria for Quality of Living are objective, neutral and unbiased. The Mercer objective system measures the quality of living for expatriates based on 39 criteria grouped into 10 key categories. New York serves as the base city (see Table1). Hagerty et al (2001) assessed the validity and usefulness of urban quality of life indexes to public policy using 14 criteria applied to the 22 most-used quality of life indexes around the world. They concluded that quality of life indexes vary greatly in their coverage, definitions, and domains of quality of life and that the indexes generally fail to show how quality of life outputs are sensitive to public policy inputs. V.
MERCER’S QUALITY OF LIVING SURVEY CRITERIA
Public Services Consumer Goods and Transport Meat and Fish Electricity Fruits and Water Vegetables Availability Daily Telephone Consumption Mail Items Public Alcoholic Transport Beverages Traffic Automobiles Congestion Airport Housing Housing Household Recreation Variety of Appliances Restaurants and Furniture Theatrical Household and Musical Maintenance Performances and Repair Cinemas Sport and Natural Leisure Environment Activities Climate Record of Natural Disasters
The outstanding example of public transport often quoted however is the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system (BRT) in Bogata since 2000 which has reduced pollution, car volumes and accidents drastically although car ownership is quite low compared with the US.
MOBILITY
Traffic congestion is nerve wracking and is also expensive. EIU(2010) quotes congestion costs in a 2006 study as US$ 31 billion per year for New York. Dirks and Keeling (2009) estimate these costs worldwide as typically 1 to 3 % GDP.
People want to travel to places but the interconnections between them can be frustrating, time consuming and stressful. Better transport is an almost universal demand for new and old cities. Walkeable cities with lanes dedicated to cycling are more friendly, less polluting and healthier but this needs to be
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VI.
Cities comprise a number of interacting systems and this is where things become difficult. Some systems can be modeled more easily than others. The interactions between other systems have to be effective. To model a transport system is possible but then the impact on business and social consequences is more difficult to forecast. Forkenbrock and Weisbrod (2001) note that transport networks can affect an area’s visual quality, level of traffic noise, social interactions, and community cohesion, all of which can affect an area’s ability to attract new businesses and residents. Interoperability is vital.
CITIES AS SYSTEMS
Several terms are used to describe cities. Here the term intelligent city is used as the all embracing term as this recognises passive low technology approaches as well as the high technology active systems which make the city smart ( Komninos 2011; Clements-Croome 2010). Masdar City is a carbon neutral city being built in Abu Dhabi and uses traditional environmental planning features such as narrow streets and courtyards for sunlight shading alongside advanced technology solutions for transport, water and waste systems (Tang 2010).
Cities comprise infrastructures and architecture and each within them have a number of systems which serve people and organizations. This ‘whole’ has boundaries set by Nature herself; time in the sense that the city is for future as well as present generations and what we refer to now as sustainable development; socio-economic value in which quality is sought for a whole life cost; affordability for the people who live and work there. All together this is a complex problem for planners, designers and operators to solve and requires not just technical skills but also a lot of imagination. Lawrence (2010) describes the relation between housing and health for example and concludes that the complexity and intricacy of this cannot be dealt with by standard problem solving approaches and so defines it as a wicked problem an expression originally coined by Rittel and Webber (1973). Certainly cities with all their diversity pose not one but several wicked problems. Lawrence titles his chapter in Brown et al (2010) Beyond Disciplinary Confinement to Imaginative Transdisciplinarity and suggests new ways of thinking which are worth further consideration.
The digital city is a specific term referring to the information and computing technology aspects which are embedded into the design and operation of cities to enable seamless communications for organisations, individuals and communities. Social media, the internet, cloud computing, sensors and mobile phones are creating a digital infrastructure (SMART 2020). Another term as defined by the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI). is intelcities which create a new and innovative set of interoperable e-government services to meet the needs of both citizens and businesses. Cybernetics is the science of control and communication in animals and the machines. The term cyber city describes very much what a digital city tries to do but the prefix cyb is associated with more futuristic ideas such as cyborgs---beings with both biological and artificial (e.g. electronic, mechanical or robotic) parts. The sentient city describes how well the city responds to the needs of individuals and communities. ‘Sentience refers to the ability to feel or perceive subjectively, and does not necessarily include the faculty of self-awareness.’(Mark Shepard, Curatorial Statement, The Architectural League NY, http://www.sentientcity.net/exhibit/?p=3).
We need T-knowledge which has depth but also breadth to take into account the numerous interconnections with other facets Connectivity, interoperability and integration are keywords which humans find difficult to achieve in practice but Nature does not. Checkland (1993) considered emergent properties the most important feature of systems thinking. Johnson (2006) states:
Increasingly we see sensors being embedded in materials including clothing so people become part of a wireless sensor network and not only physiological responses can be measured but also moods and stress levels. Fig 3 is my classification of these various terms.
Emergent properties can be thought of as unexpected behaviours that stem from interaction between the components of an application and their environment. We know that components in systems have properties which when combined with other components into systems exhibit resultant system properties which are not the sum of those for the individual components. Holistic thinking rather than discrete approaches are necessary to deal with this otherwise fragmentation occurs and some systems work but the interdependencies between the systems are lost.
Sustainable Intelligent Cities
Digital (Cyber)
ICT
Sentient
Intel
Web-Based (e services)
Smart
Quality of Life
Green Liveability
Nature
Sensory
Social
Reed et al (2009) compares the various sustainable assessment tools that have emerged over recent years in different countries which apply to individual buildings. The criteria for comparison include energy, CO2 emissions, water, waste, renewable technologies, pollution, ecology, economy, indoor air quality, health and well-being, land use, materials, transport, management and innovation. Many of these apply to cities but the need to consider infrastructures and measures for taking into account integration and interoperability for example would need further consideration.
Environmental
Environmental-Socio-Economic Value
Fig 3 Classificatlion of terms
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Alwaer and Clements-Croome (2010) developed the Sustainable Built Environment Tool –SuBET--which aimed at assisting the stakeholders to select the most appropriate key performance indicators for intelligent buildings. They concluded that the participation of all stakeholders in the establishment of priorities and weightings for them could facilitate the process of recognising regional and cultural diversities thus appreciating the different perspectives of stakeholders about what constitutes the desired performance in buildings. The main difficulties associated with benchmarks include the definition of what is typical, good and outstanding practice. Reed et al (2010) observed that the weighting given to the criteria differ across the various assessment tools which are being developed within and across countries..
x x x
Remediation x Minimising Ecological Impacts x Construction: Processing Ecological Value x Ecosystem Enhancement Compact Development x Land Use and Ecology x Innovation Mobility Smart Location x Street network x Public Transport Proximity x and Frequency of Existing Infrastructure x Public Transport Provision of x New Structure Low Carbon Transport x Systems Parking Minimisation x Bicycle and Pedestrian Network x Proximity to Community Services Travel Survey Mobility Innovation Pollution x Air quality and Odours x Noise and Light Pollution x Electromagnetic Fields x Pollution Innovation
x x x x x x x x
Holistic decision-making requires a judgment about the relative importance of different impacts within the overall performance of the options being considered. This approach leads to very large and complex systems, which require large quantities of detailed information to be assembled. This causes further difficulties which can be overcome by using the analytical hierarchial processing technique (AHP) for example (Saaty 2000).
x x x x x
Eliminate Potable Water for Site Irrigation Reduce Water Consumption for Daily Use Waste and Strom Water Management Smart Metering Water Water Innovation Energy and Climate Change Urban Grid Optimisation Reduce Heat Island Effect Energy Efficient External Lighting Energy Efficient Building Renewable Energy Generation and Use Energy Metering and Energy Strategy Climate Change: Vulnerability and Adaptation Energy and Natural Resources Innovation
Alwaer and Clements-Croome developed with Hilson Moran the SuBET master planning tool which can be used to articulate the subjective qualities felt by different stakeholders as well as the objective measures in the design and operation of buildings and infrastructures within cities. SuBET can help to create greater integration and involvement between all the 2SuBETGroupsandIndicators(social,culturalandeconomic) stakeholders involved. The indicators broadly cover environmental, social and economic issues. In detail they can be classified at various levels ranging from the micro scale (e.g water, energy and maintenance,) or urban and regional planning aspects on a meso scale (e.g land use, site selection, transport and planning considerations), to national regulations and aims, deforestation on a macro scale (e.g greenhouse gas emissions) and issues on a global scale (e.g climate change).Table 2 summarises the SuBET indicators.
x x x x x x x x
The selection of sustainability indicators is based on a whole life model which focuses on People (owners; occupants),
x x x x
Products (building quality, materials; fabric; Structure (facilities; equipment; services); and Processes (automation; systems; maintenance; post-occupancy evaluation)
commissioning;
x x
Material, Recycling & Waste Reuse of Structure, Infrastructure and Materials Design for Disassembly, Adaptability, Re-Use or Recycling Local Sourced Materials Sustainable Sourcing of Biological Products Storage of Recyclable Waste Hazardous Materials Site Waste Management Plan Material, Recycling Innovation Usability Quality of Street Space Access to Public Space Universal Accessibility Diversity of Uses & Housing Types Housing Density Space and Standards
and the interrelationships between them in accordance with the phases of planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, recycling and disposal . TABLE II.
Land and Ecology Site Selection: Reuse of Land and Protecting Productive Land
SUBET INDICATORS
x x x
x x x x x x x
x x x x x x
1 SuBET Groups and Indicators (environmental)
x
x x x x x x x x
Water Responsible Water Supply Flood Risk Water Quality
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Cultural ad Perceptual Amenity and Wellbeing Community Cohesion Community Involvement Current Local Reputation Neighbourhood Safety Community and Health Sustainable behaviour Social Inclusive community
Costs and Economics Viability of New Infrastructure Housing Demand Affordable housing Local Prosperity Potential/Availability for Employment Local Food Production Maintenance: Minimisation of the Whole Life-Cycle Cost Skills and Knowledge of Operating Staff Place Making
Landscape Design Scale, Massing and Height Local Materials, Frontage and Details Integration and Reuse of Historical Buildings Active Frontages Visual & Physical Connectivity
Another approach to deal with holistic design is integral sustainable design proposed by DeKay (2011).These are his words on Integral Sustainable City Design and Planning.
VII. INNOVATION TRENDS Cities are long term and need to be adaptable to deal with the continual change in technology as well as society itself. Forecasting futures is difficult but trends are evident. Nanotechnology is making major impacts in many industries. In architecture the building fabric via the materials of which it is made is being revolutionised by nano-materials. Wireless sensor networks are linking people to their environments in an increasingly personal way. ICT is advancing smart systems for power networks such as smart grids. 3D printing and Building Information Modelling are examples of how design and management processes which are changing and helping to deal with all the complexities they present besides giving users an opportunity to participate in design.
The Integral approach, as outlined by Wilber and others, engages the primary perspectives of Self, Culture, and Nature (or Art, Morals, and Science) at multiple levels of complexity. In particular, it takes a developmental approach to the perspectives of the multiple worldviews present in contemporary culture. Such pluralistic cultures are a combination of Traditional, Modern, Postmodern, and Integral values that use different methods to understand the world. The explorations in Integral Sustainable Design intersect these primary perspectives with four levels of complexity to generate many 'prospects' on design (DeKay 2011). The value of such an approach to the design and planning of cities is threefold: x x
x
The World Economic Forum's (WEF's) Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has compiled a list of the top 10 emerging technologies it believes will have the greatest impact on the state of the world in 2012.
A methodological pluralism discloses multiple readings of urban issues and proposes a broad palette of potential solutions; An Integrally-informed approach offers a practical framework for making sense of the dignities and disasters of each prospect on the city and offers a means of finding what is workable about each view; Understanding the languages, concepts, values, injunctions, epistemology, and methods of multiple prospects gives designers and planners a powerful utilitarian tool to communicate with and design for a diverse audience of stakeholders.
1. Informatics for adding value to information The quantity of information now available to individuals and organizations is unprecedented in human history, and the rate of information generation continues to grow exponentially. Yet, the sheer volume of information is in danger of creating more noise than value, and as a result limiting its effective use. Innovations in how information is organized, mined and processed hold the key to filtering out the noise and using the growing wealth of global information to address emerging challenges.
To look at city design briefly, an Integrally-informed approach to sustainable cities would ask the following fundamental questions: 1) From the Perspective of Experiences: How can city form be shaped to engender experiences by individuals of Nature and it forces? 2) From the Perspective of Cultures: How can city form be shaped to manifest meanings that are shared by local cultures of Nature and its living processes ? 3) From the Perspective of Behaviors: How can city form be shaped to maximize performance by efficient uses of resources and minimized pollution? 4) From the Perspective of Systems: How can city form be shaped to guide flows of ecological processes and fit human activity to ecological contexts?
2. Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering The natural world is a testament to the vast potential inherent in the genetic code at the core of all living organisms. Rapid advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering are allowing biologists and engineers to tap into this potential in unprecedented ways, enabling the development of new biological processes and organisms that are designed to serve specific purposes - whether converting biomass to chemicals, fuels and materials, producing new therapeutic drugs or protecting the body against harm. 3. Green Revolution 2.0 - technologies for increased food and biomass Artificial fertilizers are one of the main achievements of modern chemistry, enabling unprecedented increases in crop production yield. Yet, the growing global demand for healthy and nutritious food is threatening to outstrip energy, water and land resources. By integrating advances across the biological and physical sciences, the new green revolution holds the promise of further increasing crop production yields, minimizing environmental impact, reducing energy and water dependence, and decreasing the carbon footprint.
An Integral view helps us to heal the fragmentations of mere diversity and reconstruct a new emergent, collaborative, and more complex view and solution to the problems of the city. (Mark DeKay March 2012)
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rapid-power delivery from novel supercapacitors based on carbon-based nanomaterials. These technologies will provide the energy density and power needed to supercharge the next generation of clean energy technologies.
4. Nanoscale design of materials The increasing demand on natural resources requires unprecedented gains in efficiency. Nanostructured materials with tailored properties, designed and engineered at the molecular scale, are already showing novel and unique features that will usher in the next clean energy revolution, reduce our dependence on depleting natural resources, and increase atomefficiency manufacturing and processing.
9. Personalized medicine, nutrition and disease prevention As the global population exceeds 7 billion people - all hoping for a long and healthy life - conventional approaches to ensuring good health are becoming less and less tenable, spurred on by growing demands, dwindling resources and increasing costs. Advances in areas such as genomics, proteomics and metabolomics are now opening up the possibility of tailoring medicine, nutrition and disease prevention to the individual. Together with emerging technologies like synthetic biology and nanotechnology, they are laying the foundation for a revolution in healthcare and wellbeing that will be less resource intensive and more targeted to individual needs.
5. Systems biology and computational modelling/simulation of chemical and biological systems For improved healthcare and bio-based manufacturing, it is essential to understand how biology and chemistry work together. Systems biology and computational modeling and simulation are playing increasingly important roles in designing therapeutics, materials and processes that are highly efficient in achieving their design goals, while minimally impacting on human health and the environment.
10. Enhanced education technology New approaches are needed to meet the challenge of educating a growing young population and providing the skills that are essential to the knowledge economy. This is especially the case in today's rapidly evolving and hyperconnected globalized society. Personalized IT-based approaches to education are emerging that allow learner-centerd education, critical thinking development and creativity. Rapid developments in social media, open courseware and ubiquitous access to the Internet are facilitating outside classroom and continuous education.
6. Utilization of carbon dioxide as a resource Carbon is at the heart of all life on earth. Yet, managing carbon dioxide releases is one of the greatest social, political and economic challenges of our time. An emerging innovative approach to carbon dioxide management involves transforming it from a liability to a resource. Novel catalysts, based on nanostructured materials, can potentially transform carbon dioxide to high value hydrocarbons and other carbon-containing molecules, which could be used as new building blocks for the chemical industry as cleaner and more sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals.
This not a definitive list but does express a collection of views from a body of people with a wealth of experience.
7. Wireless power
VIII. LESSONS FOR AN URBANISING WORLD
Society is deeply reliant on electrically powered devices. Yet, a significant limitation in their continued development and utility is the need to be attached to the electricity grid by wire - either permanently or through frequent battery recharging. Emerging approaches to wireless power transmission will free electrical devices from having to be physically plugged in, and are poised to have as significant an impact on personal electronics as Wi-Fi had on Internet use.
Some of the lessons that emerge from the planning and development of Curitiba in Brazil for other cities include: x
Top priority should be given to public transport rather than to private cars, and to pedestrians rather than to motorized vehicles. Bicycle paths and pedestrian areas should be an integrated part of the road network and public transportation system.
x
A sustainable city is one that uses the minimum and conserves the maximum. This pragmatic application of demand management and recycling is exemplified in Curitiba by solid waste recovery, re-use of old buses as mobile schools, preservation and use of historic dwellings, and employment policies where poor people are employed in the waste separation plant and as teachers of environmental education courses.
x
There can be an integrated and environmentally sensitive action plan for each set of problems.
8. High energy density power systems Better batteries are essential if the next generation of clean energy technologies are to be realized. A number of emerging technologies are coming together to lay the foundation for advanced electrical energy storage and use, including the development of nanostructured electrodes, solid electrolysis and
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x
Solutions within any city are not specific and isolated but interconnected. The action plan should involve partnerships between responsible actors such as private sector entrepreneurs, non-governmental organizations, municipal agencies, utilities, neighbourhood associations, community groups, and individuals. x
x
x x
Creativity can substitute for financial resources. Ideally, cities should turn what are traditional sources of problems into resources. For example, public transport, urban solid waste, and unemployment are traditionally listed as problems but they have the potential to become generators of new resources and solutions. Creative and labour-intensive ideas can, to some extent, substitute for capital-intensive technologies.
x x x x x x x
Social, environmental and economic solutions can be integrated into holistic approaches. A combination of public-private partnerships, transparency and participation promoted coresponsibility. The experience of Curitiba demonstrates that solutions, not only problems, can be seen in an integrated way (Roman and Saundry ( 2008). IX.
Beyond these measures we need to review the education and training we offer planners, architects,engineers and others who are responsible for the development of cities. The stakeholders have varying approaches and levels of attainment in their education and this leads to very separate cultures which are devisive. There have been some attempts to have integrated learning between architects and engineers but too few. The changing roles are described by Cooper and Symes (2011). The integrated team needs a systems integrator for example.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Plan, design and construct with an integrated team and one with strong visionary leadership so that all stakeholders develop a commitment to the project and want to fulfil the environmental, social and economic aims. Use a Systems Integrator to ensure all the stakeholders are integrated into the project with the following skills: x x x
XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
experience of how systems can be integrated; an ability to think strategically and innovatively across disciplines; logistic skills; good leadership and communication skills.
I would like to acknowledge the inputs to my thinking from Professor Mark DeKay(University of Tennessee);Dr Husam AlWaer(University Dundee);Matthew Kitson (Hilson Moran);Professor Mark Deakin (Napier University).
The choice of a systems integrator depends on these skills rather than disciplines. x x
x x
x
Use a whole life performance approach to ensure that quality as well as whole life costs are taken into account. Aim for simplicity rather than complexity in operation. Connectivity is important so there is interoperability between the infrastructures, the systems and the people using them Plan and design for flexibility and adaptability. Think of the city and the systems within it including the buildings as organisms responding to human, social and environmental needs. Plan the facilities management so the city and communities are cared for. Design beyond the expectations defined in Regulations. Keep abreast of the relevant fields of knowledge. Learn from other sectors and disciplines. Learn from Nature.
XII REFERENCES
Systems and holistic thinking are key (Elliott 2009; Gharajedaghi 2006)). Assess the impacts of infrastructures and buildings on occupants and communities nearby using a combination of assessment tools (Al-Waer and Clements-Croome 2010)-. Peoples behaviour has a large effect on not only the consumption of energy and water but also on the ways in which resources are used. Wireless sensor technologies are rapidly becoming applicable in monitoring the performance of systems and infrastructures besides increasing human awareness of their impact on systems performance. Coherent data management systems are important to give feedback on the performance of the systems throughout the city.
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Rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Megacity
Country
Tokyo Japan Guangzhou China Seoul South Korea Shanghai China Delhi India Mumbai India
Annual Continent Population Growth
Asia Asia Asia Asia Asia Asia North Mexico City Mexico America New York North USA City America South São Paulo Brazil America Manila Philippines Asia Jakarta Indonesia Asia North Los Angeles USA America Karachi Pakistan Asia Osaka Japan Asia Kolkata India Asia Cairo Egypt Africa Buenos South Argentina Aires America Moscow Russia Europe Dhaka Bangladesh Asia Beijing China Asia Tehran Iran Asia Europe & Istanbul Turkey Asia United London Europe Kingdom Rio de South Brazil Janeiro America Lagos Nigeria Africa Paris France Europe
34,300,000 25,200,000 25,100,000 24,800,000 23,300,000 23,000,000
0.60% 4.00% 1.40% 2.20% 4.60% 2.90%
22,900,000 2.00% 22,000,000 0.30% 20,900,000 1.40% 20,300,000 2.50% 18,900,000 2.00% 18,100,000 1.10% 17,000,000 16,700,000 16,600,000 15,300,000
4.90% 0.15% 2.00% 2.60%
14,800,000 1.00% 14,800,000 14,000,000 13,900,000 13,100,000
0.20% 4.10% 2.70% 2.60%
13,000,000 2.80% 12,500,000 0.70% 12,500,000 1.00% 12,100,000 3.20% 10,197,678 1.00%
Source: Th. Brinkhoff: The Principal Agglomerations of the World, 2011 Other sources define megacities as urban agglomerations instead of metropolitan areas and in 2010 there were 25 megacities by this definition.
XIII APPENDIX World's 26 megacities in rank of population at 2011 including 10 metacities
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