Sustainable City

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Sustainable City Urban Planning Experiences

• Mee Kam Ng
• Centre of Urban Planning Environmental
  Management
• The University of Hong Kong

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Evolution of the Understandings of Sustainable
Development
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Meanings of Sustainable Development

• 1962, Rachel Carson Silent Spring
• 1972, United Nations Conference on the Human
  Environment in Stockholm, Barbara Ward Only One
  Earth
• 1983, the World Commission on Environment and
  Development was established
• 1987 Our Common Future
• Sustainable development is development that
  meets the needs of the present without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their own needs (WCED, 1987, p.8).

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Meanings of Sustainable Development

• 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment
  and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the First
  Earth Summit
• Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
  Agenda 21
• 1992 the United Nations Commission on
  Sustainable Development was established
• 1996 Habitat Agenda
• 2000 United Nations Millennium Development Goals
• 2002 Second Earth Summit in JohannesburgJohannes
  burg Declaration Action 21

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Why Sustainable Development (SD) ?
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Why SD ?

• The worlds population is now at 6 billion, and
  estimated to grow to 8 billion in the next 20
  years.
• While most countries economies have grown
  economically in the last 20 years, some have
  declined.
• In the developing world, one in every five
  persons lives in extreme poverty and many
  associated social problems result disease,
  disintegration of family, crime and use of drugs.
• 800 million people in the world are still
  malnourished due to poor distribution in more
  remote areas.
• Diseases such as AIDS and malaria have greatly
  affected populations

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Why SD ?

• Since 1971, global energy use has increased by
  70 and is expected to rise 2 per year in the
  next 15 years. This will increase greenhouse
  gases by 50 over current levels.
• The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has
  increased enormously since 1950, with the global
  climate changing drastically.
• Increased atmospheric nitrogen from fossil fuel
  combustion and farming of root crops, which
  release nitrogen, has intensified the occurrence
  in of acid rain
• Natural resources (e.g. soils, forests, fish
  aquatic habitats) continue to decrease in
  quantity due to fires, pollution and human
  influences.
• Loss of biological diversity has resulted from
  human activities such as deforestation and ,
  pollution. 40 of our global economy is dependent
  on biologically derived products.
• Water, soil and air have been strained due to
  high pollution levels.

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Why SD? We are in a Risk Society!

• The aging of industrial modernity the emergence
  of a risk society
• Risk society arises through the ...
  modernization processes which are blind deaf to
  consequences dangers.
• Reflexive modernization self-confrontation
  with the consequences of risk society which
  cannot be addressed overcome in the system of
  industrial society (Ulrich Beck)

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Why SD? We are in a Risk Society!

• Risk society hazards produced by society
  undermine and/or cancel the established safety
  systems of the states existing risk
  calculations.
• Nuclear, chemical, ecological genetic
  engineering risks no time/place limit, not
  accountable, compensated or insured (Ulrich
  Beck).
• Risk Society recognition of the incalculability
  of the hazards produced by technical-industrial
  development
• Compels self-reflection on the foundation of the
  social context review of prevailing conventions
  principles of rationality
• Risk society becomes self-reflexive it becomes
  an issue a problem to itself (Ulrich Beck)

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Why SD? We are in a Risk Society

• Answer to let politics morality gain
  priority over shifting inherently uncertain
  science--a radical (second) modernity a new
  ecological democracy (Ulrich Beck) ? a need to
  build a sustainable community

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Meanings of Sustainable Development
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Meanings of SD
Future impacts
People
People
Resources renewable non-rew
Information capital
City Region
Goods services
Energy water
Wastes pollution
Goods and services
Resource depletion
Carrying Capacity
Source Ravetz, Joe (2000), City Region 2020,
London Earthscan
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Meanings of SDEconomic, Social Environmental
Capital
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Meanings of SDNested Sustainable Development
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Meanings of Sustainable Development

• Basic Principles
• an ethical utilization of natural resources
• an intra- and inter-generational equity
• Derived Sustainable Development Principles

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Meanings of SD principles policies
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Meanings of SD
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Meanings of SD
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Characteristics of SD
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Characteristics of SD
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Characteristics of SD
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Characteristics of SD
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Characteristics of SD
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Why Citizen Participation?

• Plans have a greater chance of being implemented
  when citizens play a meaningful role in shaping
  them.
• They know better what they want!
• Stakeholders must feel ownership of the plan.
• Identifying common values in divergent interests
• Building consensus

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Arnsteins Ladder of Citizen Participation
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The Wheel of Empowerment
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Techniques

• Citizen attitude surveys
• Use of mediator or facilitator
• Citizen training
• Telephone hotlines
• Interactive cable TV
• Open door policy
• Visioning sessions
• Task forces
• Public hearings

• Guided tours
• Workshops/ charettes
• Visual preference testing
• Game simulation
• Citizen advisory board
• Media public information campaigns
• Community planning centres
• Involving youths kids

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Characteristics of SD

• Vitality Variety
• activity nodes
• street activities
• land uses
• texture (relationship of buildings and space)
• grain of street pattern
• visual quality
• relation of buildings to street
• Greening the city
• colour
• shade
• softening
• air pollution absorption
• micro-climate
• aesthetics
• ambience

Traffic and transport public access to
non-polluting transport connectivity of public
transport modes and routes pedestrian
accessibility pedestrian permeability pedestrian
experience
Form of new development Sympathetic to
topography Compatible with the desired character
of the area Public space appropriateness of
location opportunities for conferred
life quality connectivity appropriateness of
purpose
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Characteristics of SD
Existing buildings Physical condition safety appea
rance special individual quality (historic,
architectural, or cultural merit) special group
quality (contribution to streetscape,
townscape) Use Compatibility with
area Compatibility with immediate adjacent
uses Contribution to needs of area Contribution
to character of area Re-use potential rehabilitati
on conservation recycling to other uses
New Building scale layout form appearance use
materials
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How to
Develop Hong Kong into a Sustainable City ?
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How to Develop HK into a Sustainable City ?
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How to Develop HK into a Sustainable City ?

• Vitality Variety
• activity nodes
• street activities
• land uses
• texture (relationship of buildings and space)
• grain of street pattern
• visual quality
• relation of buildings to street
• Greening the city
• colour
• shade
• softening
• air pollution absorption
• micro-climate
• aesthetics
• ambience

Traffic and transport public access to
non-polluting transport connectivity of public
transport modes and routes pedestrian
accessibility pedestrian permeability pedestrian
experience
Form of new development Sympathetic to
topography Compatible with the desired character
of the area Public space appropriateness of
location opportunities for conferred
life quality connectivity appropriateness of
purpose
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How to develop HK into a sustainable city?
Existing buildings Physical condition safety appea
rance special individual quality (historic,
architectural, or cultural merit) special group
quality (contribution to streetscape,
townscape) Use Compatibility with
area Compatibility with immediate adjacent
uses Contribution to needs of area Contribution
to character of area Re-use potential rehabilitati
on conservation recycling to other uses
New Building scale layout form appearance use
materials
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What are the Costs of
DevelopingHong Kong into a Sustainable City?
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Costs of SD in Hong Kong

• Whose costs?
• Fiscal costs? Hidden costs? Long term costs?
  Short-term costs? Monetary costs? Social costs?
  Political costs? Economic costs?
• Three major stakeholders in SD the government,
  the private sector, the general public
• At different geographical scales local,
  city-level, regional, national, global
• Costs and benefits are relative One mans meat
  is another mans poisonthe cost of cleaning up
  may be too high for a factory but the unaccounted
  costs as a result of pollution could be a lot
  higher

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Costs of SD in Hong Kong some examples

• Utilizing the environmental resources in an
  ecologically ethical way may mean
• Economic capital
• Controlled growth
• Fewer development projects
• Fewer jobs? However, maybe engaged in other
  productive activities
• A less materialistic and consumption-oriented
  society (lowered living standards? Yet what is
  quality living standard?)
• Exit from the world class city league?
• Social capital
• Less convenience
• Families having more time together
• A lot of needs are satisfied through social
  networks rather than marketsmoral economy
• More spiritual rather than materialistic
  endeavours
• Environmental capital
• Less pollution
• Sustainable resources for future generations
• Fresh water, air etc.
  
  
  
  

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Costs of SD in Hong Kong some examples

• Recycling industries
• Economic capital
• Government subsidies?
• Self-sustaining? Capital costs, operating costs
• Providing jobs (low paying though)
• Pushing ecological modernization from design to
  disposal
• Social capital
• Nurturing social capitallabour intensive and
  educational process
• Community drive social capital accumulation
• Environmental capital
• Minimizing wastes (resources), turning wastes
  into useful inputs to industries, etc.

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Costs of SD in Hong Kong some examples

• Diversity in human resources, culture, urban
  environment
• Economic capital
• Needs investment in nurturing human capital
• More resources into designing and providing
  spaces for all sorts of activities
• Cannot do things by fiscal calculations alone
• However, cultural turn of capitalismglobal
  tourism, cultural tourism etc.
• Social capital
• More vibrant and convivial society
• Happier individuals recognizing their unique
  potentials?
• Environmental capital
• Better quality of the built environment
• Expression of tastes in urban landscape

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Costs of SD in Hong Kong some examples

• Sustainable planning process
• Economic capital
• Needs money and human resources in organizing
  events for public participation
• Time consuming and may delay implementation
• Social capital
• Building trust among stakeholders
• Gelling different groups together and allow
  mutual education learning by doing and learning
  how to reach consensus
• Environmental capital
• Allowing politics and morality to take over
  uncertain science the case of Harbour
  reclamation

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Sharing of Experiences
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Conclusion

• Sustainable development requires everyones
  efforts and creativity
• SD is not just a concept to be learnt. SD is a
  way of life, a commitment to social justice among
  fellow human beings and a respect for mother
  nature.
• SD perspective carries a long term view and
  requires us to seek comprehensive assessments of
  social, economic and environmental costs of our
  actions, be it government policies, programmes
  and projects the private sectors production
  activities or the communitys individual and
  collective choices in their everyday life.