Sustainable Urban Developments: Future-Proofing Our Cities

Welcome to one of the most important topics in modern Human Geography! In this chapter, we move beyond just looking at how cities grow (urbanisation) and start focusing on how we can make them last forever, thrive, and be good places to live. This is all about sustainability.


Why is this important? Because cities are massive engines of human activity, but they also use huge amounts of resources and create significant waste. Understanding sustainable urban development is key to tackling global issues like climate change and social inequality.


Quick Reminder: What is Sustainability?

At its heart, sustainability means meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. When applied to a city, it means creating urban environments that are healthy, equitable, and economically viable for the long term.

1. The Impact of Urban Areas: Measuring the Burden

Before we build sustainable cities, we need to understand the scale of the problem. Urban areas have huge impacts, not just locally (within the city) but globally.


1.1 Local and Global Environmental Impacts

The sheer size and density of cities mean they act like huge funnels, drawing in resources and exporting waste and pollution. Think of a city as a giant metabolism:

  • Resource Demand: Cities require huge inputs of water, food, energy (especially electricity and fuel), and building materials.
  • Waste Output: They produce massive outputs: atmospheric pollution (smog, greenhouse gases), solid waste (landfill), and wastewater.
  • Local Impact Example: The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where the city is significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to materials (concrete, asphalt) absorbing heat and energy use from cars and buildings.

1.2 The Ecological Footprint of Major Urban Areas

This is a fundamental concept for measuring urban sustainability. Don't worry if the name sounds complex—it’s actually quite straightforward!

What is the Ecological Footprint?

The Ecological Footprint measures the amount of productive land and sea area (measured in global hectares, gha) required to continuously provide all the resources a population consumes and to absorb the waste it generates.


Analogy: Imagine your city needs land for growing food, absorbing carbon emissions from its cars, supplying timber, and holding its landfill. The Ecological Footprint calculates how many 'Earths' worth of land your city is demanding.

  • Significance: If a city’s footprint is larger than its physical area, it is heavily relying on resources from outside its borders (e.g., importing food from thousands of kilometres away).
  • Key Fact: Wealthier urban areas (often in the More Developed World) typically have much larger ecological footprints than their less developed counterparts, even if they have smaller populations, due to high consumption rates.
Key Takeaway:

The Ecological Footprint is the Geographer's tool for showing how much pressure a city puts on the planet. Sustainable development aims to reduce this footprint, bringing it closer to the city's actual physical size.

2. The Three Dimensions of Sustainability

A truly sustainable city isn't just "green"; it must succeed in three interconnected areas. Think of these as the three pillars supporting the city’s future. The syllabus specifically mentions natural, physical, social, and economic dimensions—we often group natural and physical together under the environmental umbrella.


2.1 Environmental (Natural and Physical) Sustainability

This focuses on protecting and enhancing the natural environment.

  • Focus: Reducing pollution, preserving biodiversity, managing resources efficiently.
  • Features: Clean air and water, efficient energy use (renewable sources), minimal waste production, and protecting green spaces (parks, riversides).
  • Example: Using public transport instead of cars reduces atmospheric pollution.

2.2 Social Sustainability

This ensures the city promotes equity, health, and a strong sense of community for all residents.

  • Focus: Equal opportunities, safety, access to services, and cultural diversity.
  • Features: Affordable housing, excellent public healthcare and education, low crime rates, and community involvement in decision-making.
  • Example: Ensuring new developments include affordable housing quotas so that essential workers (teachers, nurses) can afford to live near the city centre.

2.3 Economic Sustainability

This ensures the city's economy is productive, competitive, and offers stable employment without relying on unsustainable practices.

  • Focus: Long-term financial stability, job creation, and investment in sustainable industries.
  • Features: Diversified job market (not relying on one industry), encouraging 'green' economies (e.g., renewable energy research), and fair wages.
  • Example: Investing in high-tech industries that use less energy and fewer raw materials than heavy manufacturing.
Memory Trick!

Remember the pillars with the phrase: E.S.E. (Environmental, Social, Economic). If any one of these three fails, the entire city structure is unstable.

3. Features of Sustainable Cities and Liveability

3.1 Nature and Features of Sustainable Cities

A sustainable city has measurable characteristics that make it environmentally and socially sound. They aim to be circular rather than linear (take-make-dispose).

  • Integrated Transport Systems: Prioritising walking, cycling, and effective, affordable public transit (e.g., high-quality Bus Rapid Transit - BRT).
  • Green Infrastructure: Using 'green roofs' and walls, and preserving/creating urban parks to manage stormwater runoff, cool the city, and increase biodiversity.
  • Waste Management: High rates of recycling and recovery, moving away from landfills and towards a 'zero-waste' goal.
  • Energy Efficiency: Buildings are designed to need less heating/cooling, using smart technology and local renewable energy sources (solar, wind).
  • Localised Food Production: Encouraging urban farms and allotments to reduce 'food miles' and increase food security.

Did you know? In cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, cycling infrastructure is so advanced that bikes often outnumber cars, drastically cutting carbon emissions and improving air quality.

3.2 The Concept of Liveability

Liveability is the non-environmental measure of how good a city is to live in. It’s a crucial feature of social sustainability.


Liveability refers to the quality of life enjoyed by residents, usually judged by a range of factors that contribute to general well-being and satisfaction.

  • Components of Liveability:
    • Stability and Safety: Low crime, political security.
    • Culture and Environment: Access to culture, lack of pollution, green spaces.
    • Education and Health: High-quality schools and healthcare infrastructure.
    • Infrastructure: Efficient transport, good utilities (water, energy).

Sustainable cities are often highly liveable because the strategies implemented (like clean air and safe public transport) directly improve the quality of life.

Key Takeaway:

A sustainable city is designed to be efficient, green, and self-sufficient. A liveable city is designed to be pleasant and equitable for its residents.

4. Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies

Developing sustainable cities is not easy. It requires massive planning, political will, and investment. Let's look at the factors helping and hindering progress, and the actions being taken.


4.1 Contemporary Opportunities

Cities today have several advantages in pursuing sustainability:

  • Density Advantage: Because people and services are concentrated, public transport, district heating schemes, and shared infrastructure become highly efficient and cost-effective.
  • Technological Innovation: The rise of 'Smart Cities' allows for real-time monitoring of energy consumption, waste levels, and traffic flow, enabling faster, more efficient management (e.g., smart waste bins that signal when full).
  • Political Momentum: Global recognition of climate change (e.g., UN Sustainable Development Goals) encourages governments and city majors to act.

4.2 Contemporary Challenges

Despite the opportunities, cities face significant hurdles:

  • Legacy Infrastructure: Older cities (especially in the Developed World) have existing infrastructure (roads, sewers, power grids) that is expensive and disruptive to replace or upgrade for sustainability (e.g., widening roads for BRT systems).
  • Economic Inequality and Social Segregation: Sustainable solutions (like organic food or electric cars) can sometimes be expensive, worsening the gap between rich and poor. Poorer communities often suffer the worst impacts of pollution and lack of green space.
  • Political Short-Termism: Politicians often prioritise quick-win projects (like new roads) over long-term, expensive sustainable projects (like subway lines) that take decades to yield results.

4.3 Strategies for Developing More Sustainable Cities

Strategies can be broadly categorised as either Top-Down (government-led) or Bottom-Up (community-led).

Top-Down Strategies (Planning and Regulation):
  1. Urban Planning and Zoning: Implementing strict building codes for energy efficiency and mandating minimum amounts of green space in new developments (e.g., Green Belts around cities to prevent unsustainable sprawl).
  2. Integrated Transport Policy: Imposing Congestion Charges (like in London or Singapore) to reduce traffic in city centres and reinvesting the revenue into public transport.
  3. Resource Pricing: Increasing the cost of water or waste disposal to incentivise conservation and recycling among residents and industries.
Bottom-Up Strategies (Community Involvement):
  1. Community Gardens and Allotments: Allowing local residents to grow food, which strengthens social cohesion and reduces transport emissions for food supply.
  2. Local Energy Cooperatives: Communities pooling money to invest in and manage local renewable energy sources, giving them energy security and independence.
  3. Recycling and Repair Hubs: Local initiatives to reduce consumption by fixing items rather than buying new ones, promoting the circular economy.
Case Example (Integrating Strategies):

Curitiba, Brazil: Famous for its rapid, affordable investment in its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which functions like an above-ground metro. This is a top-down strategy that provides affordable, clean transport (social and environmental benefits) and is often cited as a blueprint for sustainable mobility in cities across the developing world.

Quick Review Box: Sustainable City Strategy

Goal: Reduce Ecological Footprint and increase Liveability.
How? Focus on the 3 pillars: Environmental, Social, and Economic.
Action: Prioritise public/active transport, green infrastructure, and community equity.


Keep these concepts clear as you move through your revision. Good luck!