Although the topic of today was energy, concentrating on a more specific idea felt more suitable, especially since our class has been discussing the start of cars and highways this whole week. After reading Lester Brown’s Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, the chapter on ‘Designing Sustainable Cities’ really stood out. The problems of sustainability we face today are big, so we must think big. Big cities are becoming extremely polluted. Parking lots take over vast amounts of space and so they question if cities are being designed for cars or people. An amazing example of one person really thinking big was the mayor of Bogota, Columbia in 1998, Enrique Penalosa.
Enrique Penalosa wanted to improve life for the 70% of citizens who did not own a car in the city. “Under his leadership, the city banned the parking of cars on sidewalks, created or renovated 1,200 parks, introduced a highly successful bus-base rapid system, built hundreds of kilometers of bicycle paths and pedestrian streets, reduced rush hour traffic by 40 percent, planted 100,000 trees, ad involved local citizens directly in the improvement of their neighborhoods” (Brown, 205). This created a sense of pride in the city of Bogota that had become a safer and more beautiful place from these improvements. Penalosa claimed, “Parks and public space are also important to a democratic society because they are the only places where people meet as equals.…In a city, parks are as essential to the physical and emotional health of a city as the water supply” (Brown, 205). He believed that instead of giving the budget cuts to the parking lots, which are made for cars, they should be given to the parks that are made for children.
I have added the video showing how Penalosa improved the Bus Rapid Transit system in Bogota and some videos that are other great examples of ideas on improving the energy used and the sustainability in different towns. Do you have any great ideas on how to improve the sustainability in your town? Or Champaign? Feel free to answer this question or comment on this topic in any way you can. I have also added the link to Lester Brown’s chapter on Designing Sustainable Cities if you want to read more.
Brown, Lester R. (2006). Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc. (Ch. 11, p.204-224). http://www.earth-policy.org/images/uploads/book_files/pb2ch11.pdf
Bus Rapid Transit- Bogota, Columbia
William McDonough on Ecocities in China
Interesting post. Good for Bogota! When you mentioned Bogota's government planting 100,000 trees, it made me wonder what effect planting trees would have on our environment in the US. We all know from elementary school science class that trees soak up CO2 (a greenhouse gas). How many trees would the US have to plant for the air quality to be improved? This is just an about.com article, but it gives ten things that trees are good for. Maybe planting one tree for each person in the US would do the trick! http://forestry.about.com/od/treephysiology/tp/tree_value.htm
ReplyDeleteI like how you stated, “we must think big.” I never realized how vehicle-oriented our culture had actually become, but after taking this class and taking in my local surroundings, I’ve realized that our entire community is based around transportation – specifically personal cars.
ReplyDeleteEnrique Penalosa seems like a great example of someone who was thinking “big” when he made tremendous changes to his community in Columbia. I think many of us often underestimate the change that can be produced by a relatively small modification to our daily routines. The alternative transportation that Mr. Penalosa introduced not only made communicating in his town much easier, but it also had a positive effect on the local environment and the general well being of the townspeople.
Though hearing about these stories always makes me feel better about where we’re headed, I also can’t help but think how far the U.S. is behind in sustainability issues. While other nations and communities are introducing exciting possibilities such as high-speed rail or better mass transit systems, we seem to remain content with enhancing our large carbon footprint. I often think of how the U.S. used to be considered the best developer of technologies that would positively effect the world. It seems that we’ve drifted away from that, and it will take radical changes for our country to once again reassume that post.
Bogota seems like an excellent example of a community taking collective action to not only improve their environment but also the well-being of each and every citizen. It would be great to see more examples like this happen closer to home.
ReplyDeleteThe EPA currently supports a Green Communities movement (http://www.epa.gov/greenkit/index.htm) however I couldn't find any examples of communities taking advantage of any of these resources. Like the case of Bogota, it seems the most efficient way to change a cities environmental impact would be to elect environmentally-sound officials who chose to pursue policy that not only help the environment but make the community nicer to live in for everyone. In communities like Champaign, I think its best to start small, things like increased availability of recycling centers and creating incentives for businesses to use more energy efficient production methods.
- Michael Trajkovich