Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
An ecocity is a people-oriented city, not a car-
oriented city. Its residents are able to walk, bike,
or use low-polluting mass transit for most of their
travel. Its buildings, vehicles, and appliances
meet high energy-efficiency standards. Trees and
plants adapted to the local climate and soils are
planted throughout to provide shade and beauty,
supply wildlife habitats, and reduce pollution,
noise, and soil erosion. Small organic gardens and
a variety of plants adapted to local climate condi-
tions often replace monoculture grass lawns.
Abandoned lots, industrial sites, and pol-
luted creeks and rivers are cleaned up and restored.
Nearby forests, grasslands, wetlands, and farms are
preserved. Much of an ecocity's food comes from
nearby organic farms, solar greenhouses, community
gardens, and small gardens on rooftops, in yards, and
in window boxes. People designing and living in ecoc-
ities take seriously the advice Lewis Mumford gave
more than three decades ago: “Forget the damned mo-
tor car and build cities for lovers and friends.”
The ecocity is not a futuristic dream. Examples of
cities that have attempted to become more environmen-
tally sustainable and livable include Curitiba, Brazil
(described in the Case Study that follows); Waitakere
City, New Zealand; Leicester, England; Portland,
Oregon; Davis, California; Olympia, Washington; and
Chattanooga, Tennessee.
City
center
Route
Express
Interdistrict
Direct
Feeder
Workers
Figure 7-26 Solutions: bus system in Curitiba, Brazil. This system
moves large numbers of passengers around rapidly because each
of the five major spokes has two express lanes used only by buses.
Double- and triple-length bus sections are hooked together as needed,
and boarding is facilitated by the use of extra-wide doors and raised
tubes that allow passengers to pay before entering the bus (top left).
Case Study: Curitiba, Brazil—One of the
World's Most Sustainable Major Cities
One of the world's most livable and sustainable major
cities is Curitiba, Brazil, with more than 2.5 million
people.
The “ecological capital” of Brazil, Curitiba decided in
1969 to focus on mass transit. Today the city has the
world's best bus system. Each day it carries about 60%
of Curitiba's more than 2.5 million people (up from
300,000 in 1950) throughout the city along express
lanes dedicated to buses (Figure 7-26). Only high-rise
apartment buildings are allowed near major bus
routes, and each building must devote its bottom two
floors to stores, a practice that reduces the need for res-
idents to travel.
Bike paths run throughout most of the city. Cars
are banned from 49 blocks of the city's downtown
area, which features a network of pedestrian walk-
ways connected to bus stations, parks, and bike paths.
Because Curitiba relies less on automobiles, it uses less
energy per person and has less air pollution, green-
house gas emissions, and traffic congestion than most
comparable cities.
Trees have been planted throughout the city. No
tree in the city can be cut down without a permit, and
two trees must be planted for each one harvested.
The city recycles roughly 70% of its paper and 60%
of its metal, glass, and plastic, which is sorted by
households for collection three times a week. Recov-
ered materials are sold mostly to the city's more than
500 major industries, which must meet strict pollution
standards. Most of these industries are located in an
industrial park outside the city limits. A major bus line
runs to the park, but many of the workers live nearby
and can walk or bike to work.
The city uses old buses as roving classrooms to
give its poor people basic skills needed for jobs. Other
retired buses have become classrooms, health clinics,
soup kitchens, and day-care centers. The day-care cen-
ters are open 11 hours a day and are free for low-in-
come parents.
The poor receive free medical, dental, and child
care, and 40 feeding centers are available for street chil-
dren. The city has a build-it-yourself system that gives
each poor family a plot of land, building materials, two
trees, and an hour's consultation with an architect.
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