Chapter 19: Planning for a Sustainable Future

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Chapter 19 Planning for a Sustainable Future

• Big Question How Can We Plan, and Achieve,
• a Sustainable Environment?

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The Ideal Sustainable Environment
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The Process of Planning aFuture

• Environmental planning occurs at every
  levelhouse, city, county, state, nation.
• All societies have usually tried to plan their
  use of land and resources.
• Our society has formal planning processes for
  land use.
• Environmental planning and review are closely
  related to how land is used.

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Environmental Planning in a Democracy

• In a democracy, environmental planning leads to a
  tug-of-war.
• In planning, we need to achieve a balance.
• Who speaks for nature? Who legally represents the
  environment?

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In Planning a Nations Landscapes, How Big Should
Wildlands Be?

• Some argue that nature can be saved only by
  thinking big. The Wildlands Project argues that
  big predators are keys to ecosystems and require
  large home ranges. One proposal is to reclaim
  American prairie, removing towns and cities.

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The Wildlands Project

• The Wildlands Project has created a major
  controversy.
• A fundamental threat to American democracy?
• Good or bad science?

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Our Need for Nature in anIncreasingly Urban
Environment

• Modern humans first appeared in the Pleistocene
  era. Before the rise of civilization, our
  ancestors had to use all of their human senses to
  survive. Our world is becoming increasingly
  urban.
• Fewer people have much direct contact with nature.

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The Need for Nature in Cities

• Recent studies verify our need for nature in
  cities.
• Trees also help to protect us from air pollution
  and heat.
• How much contact with nature do we need?

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The City Park

• Parks have become more and more important in
  cities. Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central
  Park in New York

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Olmsted's Influence in Seattle

• Olmsteds parks were naturalistic, an example of
  design with nature. See the Friends of
  Seattle's Olmstead Parks Web site. For a list of
  Seattle boulevards he designed, influenced, or
  recommended, see the Seattle Parks and
  Recreation's "Park History Olmstead Parks" Web
  page.

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Garden Cities

• A system of countryside and urban landscapes
  with cities surrounded by greenbelts.

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The Ecological Capital of Brazil How a City
Transformed Itself

• Population increased to 1.5 million from 300,000
  in 1950.

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Curitiba

• By 1970, Curitiba was well on the way to becoming
  an example of environmental degradation and
  social decay. The city turned itself from an
  urban disaster into a model of planning and
  sustainability by 1995.

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Curitiba's Transit System

• The public transportation system was a key
  factor.
• More than 1.3 million passengers ride buses each
  day.

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Recycling in Curtiba

• Recycling solved Curitibas serious garbage
  problem.
• The city planned affordable housing and
  attractive parks.

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Regional Planning TheTennessee Valley Authority

• There was a time in the 20th century when
  large-scale environmental planning by the federal
  government was seen as a social good. The TVA was
  a successful experiment in regional environmental
  planning. It was responsible for promoting
  economic growth and social well-being across
  seven states suffering from exploitation of
  timber and petroleum, and severe poverty.

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Environment and Law A Horse, a Gun, and a Plan

• U.S. law has always emphasized individual
  rights--nearly unlimited discretion to use ones
  own property however one wished. But an
  individuals behavior cant infringe on the
  rights of others.
• Another common-law doctrine is that of public
  trust grants and limits governmental authority
  over certain natural areas such as navigable
  waterways.

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Three Stages in the History of FederalLegislation
Pertaining to Land and Natural Resources

• In the first stage, the goal was to convert
  public lands to private uses. For example,
• Homestead Act of 1862
• Rights-of-way to railroad companies
• The second stage saw the beginning of protection
  for public lands.

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Creating Parks

• Congress made Yosemite Valley a California state
  park in 1864, and created Yellowstone National
  Park in 1872.

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The Third Stage

• In the third stage, Congress enacted laws about
  the environment
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1946
• National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) in
  1969

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Legal and Extralegal Processes

• In the 1980s, a new type of radical
  environmentalism arose sit-ins, and sabotage
  (ecotage). Civil disobedience and ecotage make
  groups like the Sierra Club look like moderates.
  They have been successful in defending the
  environment in some instances.
• See the Wikipedia article on the Earth Liberation
  Front.

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Mediation

• Environmentalists are now relying more on the
  law, such as the Endangered Species Act. Some
  first seek peaceful ways to avoid the cost and
  delay of litigation, such as mediation. In some
  states, mediation is required by law.

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Mediation versus Litigation

• The proposed hydroelectric project at Storm King
  Mountain illustrates mediations advantages over
  litigation.

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International EnvironmentalLaw and Diplomacy

• Some issues of concern to many nations are
  addressed by a collection of policies,
  agreements, and treaties loosely called
  international environmental law. Successful
  agreements include the Montreal Protocol of 1987
  to reduce air pollutants that destroy
  stratospheric ozone

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Protection by International Law

• Antarctica is one place where international law
  protects the environment.

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The Challenge to Students ofthe Environment

• To continue to work toward environmental and
  social justice for all the people in the world.
• To enhance the development of sustainability to
  minimize local, regional, and global
  environmental degradation.
• To develop and support international agreements
  to control global warming and pollutants.

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Chapter 19 Planning for a Sustainable Future

• This is the last slide of the last lesson. Again,
  please email eschelp_at_uw.edu if there are any
  questions