Searching for a sustainable solution for Urban Development to protect the future

aBSTRACT

Many people do not realize that the city they live in has a huge impact on the world they live in. In the United States there are many cities that are starting to look at more sustainable solutions for expanding their cities. Some cities are doing more than others to reduce the impact that urban development has on the environment around them. Many cities are looking at how they can support urban development in the way that they handle electricity, water, and other impacts. Cities are looking to become more efficient and waste fewer resources that are starting to become depleted. Finding ways that they can use fewer fossil fuels to produce power to the people that depend on it. Renewable energy sources have been a huge source of reducing the impact of urban development. Another impact that cities are trying to combat is water runoff. As more asphalt and concrete is poured the water that runs off is reaching streams and rivers with more toxins in them and impacting the ecosystems that have been around for millions of years. If we continue to expand urban development with the solutions we have now and cities cannot find sustainable solutions for urban development, there will not be a future for the world that we know it.

Introduction

As people are living longer the number of homes that are needed also increase and that becomes a problem for cities all over the world. Population density becomes a huge factor when a city is looking to expand its development. Cities impact on the land around them is also increased as more land is developed for homes. As more land is developed into homes habitats for animals are being destroyed and ecosystems are changing, and no one is really stopping that. But cities are doing what they can to limit their impact on the world by working with environmentalist and civil engineers to see how and where they can develop land that will have the least impact.

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Background and Review

Background

Urban Development is the process of developing land or the current infrastructure to improve the area for living and to boost the economy. While many people think that urban development is good for the economy and the overall well being of people in society, they often forget the impacts that urban development causes. Every change that is made to the earth has an impact. Removing trees to build homes causes more areas to be grassland and causes soil to erode. Homes being built near the oceans destroy the root system that holds the sand from eroding away which in turn causes homes to sink and possibly fall into the ocean.

Review

When cities develop land, they take away grass and soil which is the earths natural filtration system. As more asphalt and concrete is poured for roads water has a harder time reaching soil that then can filter out the toxins that are also added into the water because of cars, salt, and other chemicals that are put on lawns. As land is developed the “loss of highly productive farmland, affects energy demand, alters the climate modifies hydraulic and biogeochemical cycles, fragments habitats and reduces biodiversity” (Seto, 2011). Land being developed does not just affect the land it effects the entire ecosystem that we live in.

Cities are looking into ways that they can continue urban development while reducing the impact that development has on the land and ecosystems. Many cities work with environmentalist and civil engineers to look at where and how they want to develop a particular area of land and then the engineers and environmentalists go in and survey the land to see what possible impacts that developing might have on the area. “…cities such as Ann Arbor, Michigan; Chicago; Cleveland; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Toledo, Ohio, are implementing strategies such as installing green infrastructure; upgrading aging water, electric grid, and public transportation infrastructure; supporting home energy efficiency and weatherization; and strengthening community engagement and social cohesion” (Cathleen, 2016). For example, how building houses might affect ground run off and change a nearby river or lake. Also looking to see if there might be endangered species living in that area. Cities want to reduce the impact that they have on the land and they want to do it right. Hiring experts is a great way to go as those experts can shed light on things that city boards would otherwise miss.

Image: https://www.nordforsk.org/calls/call-proposals-sustainable-urban-development-and-smart-cities

Results and Conclusion

Results

Cities and states are looking to reduce the impact that developing land has on the earth. While people may look and see expanding a city is a good thing, on the flip side there is only so much land to go around once the land is gone it is gone. People are also seeing cities expanding as a negative as they see the impact that development has on the earth and the land around them. Putting stricter laws in place on development or where development can and cannot happen would be a huge step in the right direction to reducing that impact.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cities are looking into ways to reduce the impact that they have on the land as they continue to develop. Using outside vendors to come and look at the plans on what they want to develop and where they want to develop is a huge step in reducing the impact urban development has. Also looking at the causes such as roads and clear-cutting areas has on the land also bring to light the major affects it has like reducing biodiversity, destroying eco-systems, and destroying habitats for animals. Everyone has a voice in where and what a city develops it is up to us as citizens to make our voices heard.

https://www.thecivilengineer.org/news-center/latest-news/item/2242-evaluating-the-impact-of-urban-development-on-flood-risk

Citations

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