The sustainable city may be what saves humanity from itself. Contrary to stats from President Obama, Bill Clinton, and UN officials, city dwellers actually have a smaller carbon footprint that non-urban residents. Many who study urban development have understood this but now new statistics are proving it. With these new numbers showing that urban living has less of an impact on the environment, we must not only focus on our cities but we must evolve them into far more sustainable “homes.” Energy and water efficiency as well as food production and distribution.
By 2050, some 70% of us will live in urban settings, and it will ultimately be well-managed urban environments, with smart, energy-efficient buildings, power systems, transport and planning, that will save us from ourselves. Seeking better ways to do precisely that, a constellation of designers, architects and academics gathered at a conference on “ecological urbanism” at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design earlier this year.
Tags: clinton, environment, harvard graduate school of design, obama, sustainable city, urban environment