11.1 The sustainable city

In this module, the following topics will be addressed: 1) a profile of the sustainable city, 2) technology's influence on the form and pattern of the sustainable city, 3) the connections between the design of our cities and resource use, 4) sharing the earth’s bounty with all of the earth’s inhabitants, 5) the alteration of one’s lifestyle in order to live more sustainably.

Learning objectives

After reading this module, students should be able to

• imagine what a sustainable city will look like and what it will mean to live in one
• understand how technology will influence the form and pattern of the sustainable city
• explore the connections between the design of our cities and resource use
• recognize that sustainability means we will have to share the earth’s bounty with all of the earth’s inhabitants
• think about how one’s lifestyle will have to be altered in order to live more sustainably

Introduction

Sustainability, from science to philosophy to lifestyle, finds expression in the way we shape our cities. Cities are not just a collection of structures, but rather groups of people living different lifestyles together. When we ask if a lifestyle is sustainable, we’re asking if it can endure. Some archaeologists posit that environmental imbalance doomed many failed ancient civilizations.

Montgomery, David, Dirt, The Erosion of Civilizations, University of California Press, 2007

What could the sustainable city look like, how would it function, and how can we avoid an imbalance that will lead to the collapse of our material civilization? This module will make some educated guesses based upon the ideas and practices of some of today’s bold innovators.

Throughout history settlement patterns have been set by technology and commerce. Civilizations have produced food, clothing and shelter, and accessed foreign markets to purchase and sell goods. Workers traditionally had to live near their place of occupation, although in modern industrial times advanced transportation systems have enabled us to live quite a distance from where we work.

In hindsight we can see how reliance on water and horse-drawn transportation shaped historical civilizations and how this equation was radically altered with the rise of the automobile following World War II. While attempting to envision the “Sustainable City” we must discern what factors will influence its shape and form in the future.

Energy

For the last century energy has been affordable and plentiful, limited mainly by our technological ability to use it. Contemporary civilization consumes 474 exajoules (474×10 ¹⁸ J=132,000 TWh). This is equivalent to an average annual power consumption rate of 15 terawatts (1.504×10 ¹³ W).

Energy - Consumption'!A1 "Consumption by fuel, 1965 - 2008" (XLS). Statistical Review of World Energy 2009 ,  BP . July 31, 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-24.

The potential for renewable energy is: solar energy 1,600 EJ (444,000 TWh), wind power 600 EJ (167,000 Wh), geothermal energy 500 EJ (139,000 TWh), biomass 250 EJ (70,000 TWh), hydropower 50 EJ (14,000 TWh) and ocean energy 1 EJ (280 TWh). ^{State of the world 2009, Worldwatch institute, 2009} Even though it is possible to meet all of our present energy needs with renewables, we do not do so because the way in which the market prices our fossil reserves. In the current framework, when a company exploits resources it normally does not account for the loss of resource base or for environmental damage. Gasoline has been cheap in the United States because its price does not reflect the cost of smog, acid rain, and their subsequent effects on health and the environment

Hawken, Paul; The Ecology of Commerce, a Declaration of Sustainability ; Harper Buisness, 1993, p.76

let alone recognize that the oil reserves are being depleted. Scientists are working on fusion nuclear energy; if that puzzle is solved energy will be affordable, plentiful and carbon neutral. See Environmental and Resource Economics and Sustainable Energy Systems for more detail.