8801+Project

=8801 Project=

Project : **SUSTAINABLE URBAN HABITATS**



//The project of Sustainable Habitats involves researching into the current global crisis of unsustainable urban habits, and proposals towards sustainable living:// //- the high costs, the damage to environment, the negative effects on health, connections to high unemployment, crime and conflicts,// //integrated analysis of the problem// //- analysis of different options towards more sustainable habitats and the benefits// //- integration of disciplines towards creation of sustainable habitats:- organic architecture, decentralized farming models, holistic city planning, ecology, economics, politics and health.//

Ecological, economic, and social factors, as well as the change in climatic conditions, resource distribution and globalization will lead 75% of the world's population to live in cities and urban settlements within the next 25 years. Such a trend and the current global state of urban life calls for new planning tools through an //interdisciplinary approach// to understand and reinvent urban habitats to meet the growing challenges.
 * Introduction**

// Tokyo rush hour //

Habitats : Human habitat is the environment in which human beings live, work, play and move about. It is not just a dwelling place- a house - but also the sum of all factors that constitute the total environment. One of the most basic human requirements for survival beside water, food and clothing is shelter. Ever since the existence of human beings, the natural environment has offered numerous settings for human beings to set-up their homes strating with physical natural shelters in caves to modern settlements in megacities. The concentration of greater number of human beings in modern habitats in the from of cities and megacities, which together with them entail the utilisation of energy, material and technology especially after the middle of the last century, has created various forms of environmental chnage that is impacting on human habitats.

//Unsustainable Urban habitats// Modern cities are examples of unsustainable systems





[|Rio's slums/] //- **Video**// //(In Brazil, forests are rapidly destroyed, slums are expanding, and crime has reached an all-time high.)//


 * Interdisciplinary factors affecting Urban Habitats**

The global urban transition witnessed over the last three decades has been phenomenal. While the period 1950�1975 saw population growth divided between the urban and rural areas of the world, the period since has seen the balance tipped dramatically in favour of urban growth. In 2008, for the first time in history, over half of the world�s population lived in urban areas and by 2050 this will have risen to 70per cent.
 * A. Population**



//B y 2030 the UN Population Fund says the number of city inhabitants will be over five billion, or 60% of world population //

//One of the many slums in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil//

Cities function by drawing on the skills and labour of their population; in turn, people are drawn into the city in search of work and opportunities to improve their lives. Many fail to find the employment necessary to give them and their families an adequate income and suffer deprivation and poverty.
 * B. Economics**




 * C. Climate & Environment**


 * The physical environment is a vast natural process system consisting of four major components in the form of atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, which are interlinked with one another. Each one of the components has its own subsystems, which are closely inter-related through their own natural processes that determine the achievement of equilibrium through space and time (Jamaluddin & Ismail 1988). **
 * Interactions between the various subsystems are of vital importance to human beings. Each individual component of the physical environment has the ability to fulfill a variety of human requirements. **

Environmental change & Habitats Over the past several decades, scientists' understanding of the complexities of the earth system has evolved to a point where they now recognise that the components of the system are intertwined. A change in one part of the earth's system has repercussion for other parts- often in ways that are neither obvious nor immediately apparent. The damage that society causes to the environment is a product of three factors: the total number of people, how much each person consumes to maintain his standard of living, and how much environmental damage is incurred in producing the goods consumed. Apparently human ability to chaange the environment increases along with their numbers, their quest for achievement of affluence, and their technological and institutional capabilities. In the beginning human beings were hunters and food gatherers- not much impact incurred to the natural environment. When human beings started to plant vegetation plots of land were cleared, but the small number of people did not really have an impact on the environment. The society in transition especially fishermen and farmers introduced new technologies that have some impact on the environment. In modern times, increased urbanization led to greater challenges and utilization of natural resources - food, materials are supplied, mostly from outside urban areas. The sheer number of people living in urban areas to be developed to ensure enough food and other types of goods and services are supplied to the urban population. Increasing number of people means more manufactured goods and services required to provide for their needs, which in turn means more waste material to be discharged into the environment. The concentration of human beings in urban areas compounds the problems. Eventually the dilutive capacity of the air, water, and land in major urban-industrial areas becomes greatly exceeded and a serious pollution problem results. As real income increases, people are able to buy and consume more goods and services, throw then away more quickly to buy something better, travel more miles per year using various forms of transportation, and expand their usage of energy. In the process much more waste material is generated for the society as a whole. Changes in technology have expanded the variety of products available for consumption, increased their quantity through increases in productivity, made products and packaging more complex, and raise the rate of obsolescence through rapid innovation. All of this has added to the waste disposal problem. In addition, the toxicity of many materials was originally unknown or not given much concern, with the result that procedure for the abatement of these pollution problems has lagged far behind the technology of manufacture. The environmental changes facing the planet today are distinguished from previous changes by the scale and pace with whcih they are occuring or likely to occur. Human activities are now a significant force driving changes that lead to enviromental quality deterioration. It is a question of number - population concentration and their activities in mega settlements and the requirement to satisfy their daily needs have led to environmental change. Increasing incidences of air pollution, deforestration, soil erosion, silting and flooding are illustrations of environmental change due to human activities that are impacting on human habitats. Deteriorating quality of environment slowly, but steadily poses a threat to human lives and security.
 * .[[image:http://adinkachisi.uwa.wikispaces.net/file/view/fig.JPG/218253038/703x561/fig.JPG caption="fig.JPG"]] **

Disasters such as volcanic eruption, earthquakes, tsunami, drought, flooding, avalanches, storm surges, tropical storms, and landslides are mostly natural in occurrence and have great impacts on human habitat. In recert years we have witnessed the effects of earthquakes and floods in Japan, Chile, Haiti, New Zealand etc. Environmental change, which starts off with increase in global atmospheric temperature, will affect human habitats in numerous ways. The impact is either temporary or permanent. Changing climate will result in uncertainities that affect agriculture, water resources, human habitats in low lying coastal areas, further soil and coastal erosion, displacement and relocation of flood victims and disruption of economic activities, human health, and even the energy sector. //(Ref. Human Habitat & Environmental Change - Jamaluddin Md. Jahi, Kadir Arifin)//

More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, a trend that is rapidly accelerating, especially in developing countries. In the USA, urban areas are merging into huge megalopitan areas, especially along interstate highways. Cities require and use large quantities of energy and materials, metabolizing them and generating large quantities of waste products and pollutants, resulting in unsustainable environments that adversely affect ecological integrity and diversity and human health and well-being. As many city dwellers are disconnected from the natural world, it has even been suggested that a new species “homo urbanus” is emerging. ( [|http://www.uep2010.com] )
 * D. Pollution**



It is estimated that more than 1 billion people are exposed to outdoor air pollution annually. Urban air pollution is linked to up to 1 million premature deaths and 1 million pre-native deaths each year. Urban air pollution is estimated to cost approximately 2% of GDP in developed countries and 5% in developing countries. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in increasing urban air pollution in major cities, especially in developing countries. Over 90% of air pollution in cities in these countries is attributed to vehicle emissions brought about by high number of older vehicles coupled with poor vehicle maintenance, inadequate infrastructure and low fuel quality. While most developed countries have put in measures to reduce vehicle emissions, in terms of fuel quality and vehicle emission reduction technologies, these measures are yet to be adopted in most cities in developing countries. ( [] )

Millions of people who have moved to cities to find work have swapped indoor for outdoor air pollution. Acute respiratory infection, largely caused by indoor air pollution, was responsible for 36% of all registered infant deaths in Guatemala between 1997 and 2000. Manmade chemicals such as pesticides have an increasing impact on the health of poor people.

Indoor air pollution and urban air quality are listed as two of the world's worst pollution problems in the 2008 [|Blacksmith Institute] World's Worst Polluted Places report.
 * E. Health**



The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution. " [|Epidemiological] studies suggest that more than 500,000 Americans die each year from [|cardiopulmonary] disease linked to breathing [|fine particle air pollution] . . ." A study by the [|University of Birmingham] has shown a strong correlation between [|pneumonia] related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicles. Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents. Published in 2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually. Causes of deaths include aggravated asthma, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies.

Cities around the world with high exposure to air pollutants have the possibility of children living within them to develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections as well as a low initial birth rate.

([])



More than 50% of the world population live in cities and are responsible for about 70% of total emissions. To reduce the impact of climate change, we urgently need to develop new energy concepts and improve energy efficiency of urban areas, especially in the field of buildings. Fossil fuel is the very source of modern economies and their petrochemical, transport and industrial production systems — and hence also sustain the spatial centers of global civilization: cities and city regions. It is appropriate to refer to contemporary urban areas as fossil cities. As primary energy consumers cities and other urban systems are the largest single sources of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. As hypertrophic urban growth is being fuelled by the fossil-fed economy, the new agglomerations also become the worst offenders in carbon emissions, and the most difficult to retrofit to a renewables-based, zero-emissions behavior. The global need to work towards large-scale savings in fossil energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calls for a systematic integration of renewable energy products, systems and processes in cities and regions — where most human emissions originate. ( [] )
 * F. Energy**

The aims of sustainable energy action planning are optimal energy-efficiency, low- or no-carbon energy supply and accessible, equitable and good energy service provision to users. Plaanning is based on consideration of the broader concerns of the whole economy, environment (particularly carbon mitigation) and society, not just a 'least financial cost' focus. And, it is led by the demand for energy services. Key characteristics of sustainable energy and climate action planning: - all energy sources and energy-related activities are considered as a whole system - carbon mitigation is a key determinant in the development of the plan and choice of project options - the demand for energy services, rather than what energy can be supplied, is the basis for planning - energy conservation, energy efficiency and demand-side management are considered prior to supply-side solutions -environmental and social costs are clearly considered - energy sector linkages with the economy are considered -the plan is flexible and can anticipate and respond to change

Unsustainable urban transportation is directly linked to the growth of urban population and habitats. The Transport sector accounts for nearly one-quarter of global energy-related CO2 emissions. However, this figure is anticipated to increase manifold, as car ownership worldwide is set to triple to over two billion by 2050, along with an increase in road freight traffic and air travel. These trends will lead to increased transport energy use, resulting in higher growth rate in CO2 emissions.
 * G. Transport**

//Sustainable transport// (or //green transport//) refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes [|walking] and [|cycling], [|transit oriented development] , [|green vehicles] , [|CarSharing] , and building or protecting urban transport systems that are [|fuel-efficient] , space-saving and promote healthy lifestyles.

Sustainable transport systems make a positive contribution to the environmental, social andeconomic __ [|__sustainability__] __  of the communitiesthey serve. Transport systems exist to provide social and economic connections,and people quickly take up the opportunities offered by increased mobility. Theadvantages of increased mobility need to be weighed against the environmental,social and economic costs that transport systems pose. Transport systems have significant impacts onthe environment, accounting for between 20% and 25% of world energy consumptionand __ [|__carbon dioxide__] __ emissions. Greenhousegas emissions from transport are increasing at a faster rate than any otherenergy using sector. Road transport is also a major contributor to local airpollution and __ [|__smog__] __. The social costs of transport include roadcrashes, air pollution, physical inactivity, time taken away from the __ [|__family__] __ while __ [|__commuting__] __ and vulnerability to __ [|__fuel price increases__] __. Many of thesenegative impacts fall disproportionately on those social groups who are alsoleast likely to own and drive cars. __ [|__Traffic congestion__] __ imposes economiccosts by wasting people's time and by slowing the delivery of goods andservices. Traditional __ [|__transport planning__] __ aims to improvemobility, especially for vehicles, and may fail to adequately consider widerimpacts. But the real purpose of transport is access - to work, education,goods and services, friends and family - and there are proven techniques toimprove access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts,and managing traffic congestion. Communities which are successfully improvingthe sustainability of their transport networks are doing so as part of a widerprogram of creating more vibrant, livable, __ [|__sustainable cities__] __.

// ([]) // Video //[|CONTESTED STREETS - documentary trailer]//

All over the world, the automobile has completely and pervasively reshaped the urban form, by conforming it to its needs. The unrelenting desire for the freedom, convenience and flexibility that the auto brings have largely overridden other concerns about the quality of urban life. With no end in sight to the increase in car ownership and use, the accommodation of auto mobility directly requires an ever larger share of urban space and economic resources. Its high personal and public costs are degrading urban amenities, community quality, local accessibility, air quality, personal safety, social benefits, and therefore, sustainable regional land values and sustainable regional economic growth. Recent advances in transit and information technology, the advent of intermodal planning, new land-use planning concepts and new evidence of successful non-auto urban forms around the world can be combined to create a prototype for an efficient and equitable new urban form. ([|www.linearcity.org/rufo/pts-01.htm]) Compact settlements can reduce travel and encourage energy-sparing modes of travel, such as mass transport and cycling.

//1. Residential, Commercial and Recreational facilities// - Modern urban planning emerged in the latter part of the 19th century, largely in response to rapidly growing and polluted cities in Western Europe, brought about by the industrial revolution. The adoption of urban planning in this part of the world as a state function can be attributed to the rise of the modern interventionist state. Urban �visions� proposed by the leading pioneers of urban planning in Western Europe and the US in the late 19th century were to shape the objectives and forms of planning, which in turn showed remarkable resilience through the 20th century. Planning was seen as a technical activity in the physical planning and design of human settlements, with social, economic or political matters lying outside the scope of planning. Planning involved the production of master plans, blueprint plans or layout plans, showing a detailed view of the built form of a city once it attained its ideal end-state. The legal tool for implementing these visions was the landuse zoning scheme. Over the years, a range of different terms have been used to describe plans. While the origins of master planning were strongly influenced by values in developed countries, this did not prevent these forms of planning from spreading to almost every part of the world in the 20th century. Given its weaknesses, master planning has been replaced in some parts of the world by processes and plans that are more participatory, flexible, strategic and action oriented. But in many regions, particularly in developing countries, master planning and land-use zoning, used together to promote modernist urban environments, still persist. Urban areas are now highly complex, rapidly changing entities, shaped by a range of local and global forces often beyond the control of local plans and planners. There is now a large disjuncture between prevailing planning systems and the nature of 21st century cities. These outdated forms of planning persist in so many parts of the world. The most obvious problem with master planning and urban modernism is that they completely fail to accommodate the way of life of the majority of inhabitants in rapidly growing, largely poor and informal cities, the climatic changes, ecology, and sustainability. The possibility that people living in such circumstances could comply with zoning ordinances designed for European towns is extremely unlikely. Inappropriate zoning ordinances are instrumental in creating informal settlements and peri-urban sprawl. It could be argued that city governments are producing social and spatial exclusion as well as environmental hazards, as a result of the inappropriate laws and regulations which they adopt. A further aspect of planning which needs to change in many parts of the world is the way it has been located institutionally. In many countries, urban planning is not well integrated into governance systems and tends to operate in isolation from other departments and from the budgeting process.
 * H. Urban planning and Designing**

- Worldwide, the building sector accounts for 40% of energy use. In many countries, specially developed countries, buildings are the largest contributers of CO2 emissions. For example, the 160 million buildings of the EU are estimated to account for over 40% of Europe's energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. However, for developing countries, the share of buildings in total energy use and emissions is comparably lower. For example in China, emissions from the building sector account for approximately 10% of the total GHG emissions. //2. Sanitation and water supply// The need for efficient waste & waste water treatment. GHG emission reduction through improved management of solid waste. Modern purification technology can turn household wastewater into drinking water. But wastewater can also be used to produce biogas if combined with household biowaste, and biogas can be used as vehicle fuel or in heating and electricity generation. The bioresidue left after fermentation to biogas is an agricultural nutrient that can reduce the use of artificial fertilizer. Digestion of biodegradable waste, septic sludge, wastewater sludge and similar products may also be a feasible option for small-scale energy production. ([|www.symbiocity.org]) //3. Governance// The fragmentation of administrative jurisdictions within urban areas results in lack of correspondence between administrative and functional territories, and inhibits cross-sectoral policy integration.

Crime and Violence Across the developing world, cities are growing at breakneck speed. Already more than half of the global population lives in cities, and over the next 25 years, developing country cities are expected to absorb nearly all of the world’s population growth. This rapid urbanization has brought with it immense social and economic disruption, and with it, increased crime and violence in many cities. For millions of people around the world violence, or the fear of violence, is a constant reality. In many cases, the scale of urban violence can eclipse those of open warfare; some of the world's highest homicide rates occur in countries that have not undergone a war, but that have serious epidemics of violence in urban areas.
 * I. Social Issues**





//- Some important aspect of sustainability in a city / urban area include:// //a. energy consumption and its relationship to greenhouse gas production// //b. water consumption and its relationship to sewage, drainage and water pollution and the effect of sequestering river flows to provide the urban water supply on the ecology of their catchments, and// //c. solid waste production, its minimisation and its recycling// //- Integration of water supply and sanitation within a holistic approach to water resources development, management and utilization :// //It is essential that the formulation and implementation of time-bound targets for the provision of water supply and sanitation for forthcoming years be carried out within the framework of an integrated approach to water resources management. The Commission on Sustainable Development, at its fifth session, underscored the importance of dealing with water supply and sanitation in the context of an integrated approach to water resources management and utilization. Although some progress has been reported towards achieving that objective, the management of water resources in most countries alike remains highly fragmented.////d. Habitats construction either a single shelter or vast settlement either in the coastal region, along river, hill slopes or mountainous areas, depends on the natural environment. Human beings are capable of changing the environment depending on the stages of human advancement. However the environment often retaliates if the changes exceed the optimum level of environmental endurance.// //- The number of city dwellers has grown much faster than population, with over half the population now urban. If trends continue, the urban share of population could grow to as much as 75% by 2050, swelling cities by nearly four billion people, or the equivalent of 400 cities the size of Buenos Aires, Delhi, or Osaka. On average, people who live in urban areas receive more income, have fewer children, have better access to education and live longer than their rural counterparts. But cities are also places of extreme contrast in wealth and opportunity. For the poor of many cities, urban life is more difficult and less healthy than life in the countryside.////The challenge that faces the planners, designers, builders and financiers of expanding cities is also an opportunity. The urban transition is about creating urban settlements that make efficient use of land and infrastructure, and require less material and energy, while providing decent living conditions. The new vision would unify concerns with ** habitability, efficiency and environment **, concerns that are currently fragmented in different agencies and disciplines. Then, the need to replace much of the current infrastructure over the next two generations could become an opportunity to create habitable cities that are resource efficient and ecosystem conserving .////The transition to sustainable urban environments is an immense challenge. The magnitude of the task would be abated to the degree that the demographic transition reduces overall population. Also, a Great Transition could diminish urbanization rates by developing more attractive rural alternatives. Communication and information technology would create more flexible options for remote work, reducing the growth of cities. Urban and town settlement patterns that place home, work, commerce and leisure activity in closer proximity would reduce automobile dependence and strengthen communities. The elimination of the urban underclass, and the strengthening of social cohesion would support the transition to diverse, secure and sustainable communities. (Great Transition, pg 59)//
 * Integrated Insights & Lessons**


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**LONG TERM PROJECTS**

-Examining of current models towards sustainable curriculum and education -Integration of many disciplines towards a sustainable curriculum and submission to stake-holders for contributions Sustainability curriculum for schools, colleges and adult education:- -sustainable economics -sustainable development & technology, industry & manufacturing -sustainable energy -sustainable living -sustainable ecology & environment -sustainable food production & agriculture -sustainable governance & politics -sustainable transport & communication -sustainable habitats, urban & rural planning, contruction and architecture -sustainable health & wellbeing -sustainable population
 * A. Habitat 2 - Rural Sustainability **
 * B. Sustainable Curriculum & Education **