Yianni Contoravdis

TURB 222

10/10/21

Essay 1

As the Earth’s population grows, so do the number of urban cities. With the sustainable

practices we have in place it is only a matter of time until we completely deplete our recourses to

the point where the future generation’s needs cannot be met. With this information, it is

necessary for us to begin to put sustainability at the forefront of our minds and efforts.

Sustainability needs to bee seen for what it is and the first step in showing its importance is to

help others associate value. Value is associated when a relationship is built between entities.

Sharing information on how sustainability impacts the personal lives of individuals, their loved

ones and the city can help dispel the ideas of a “hippy green movement” to the reality that

sustainability is the only way to continue our rapid growth with out irreversible consequences to

the future.

Prior to the Portney chapters, my ideas of sustainability were limited to a scope of just the

natural environment, not including the city in my interpretation. I have heard the terms reduce,

reuse, and recycle, not thinking on how they impact the suburban neighborhood I live in just as

much as it impacts a trail in Yosemite National Park. The core ideas encompassing the

environment, animals, atmosphere, and climate change. I recognize the role of humans and how

we are fundamental to the success and implementation of sustainability. Before the reading I

looked at sustainability as an individual motive and not as a social tool. I feel the term “self-
sufficiency” can collude the idea of sustainability. It is integral to the values of sustainability for

humans to work together in order to ensure prolonged success of sustainable processes. I

mention the value of sustainability and with the small understanding I have on it, I believe they

include equality for both land and humans, the insurance of longevity sought after by protecting

laws, and must allow the opportunity for financial, social, environmental, and political growth. A

concern I have with sustainability is in the feasibility of nation-wide acceptance in the United

States. Many examples of successful engrained sustainability can be found outside the United

States in cities such as Malmö, Sweeden. There, sustainability has been introduced across

country to all arrays of people and land regions. One large aspect of their sustainability efforts is

the conversion to renewable energy. Fossil fuels are a leading cause in global greenhouse gas

emissions, and replacing them with solar, hydro, and wind energy has reduced the countries

GHG emissions by retrofitting low-income homes with renewable energy solutions. Low-income

communities tend to have a lower energy efficiency in their buildings and the reinvestment by

Malmö helped them achieve 20% more efficiency (Fitzgerald, 2020, p.25). However, America

has a long history of pollution and over consumption sewn into the fabric of the land. The

railway coal smoke set the stage for gas guzzling freeways and roads to be built stretching

millions of miles from coast to coast. The American Dream mentality instills the hunger of

wanting to gain more and taking what is “yours”. I feel these perceptions are critical aspects that

must change in order for sustainability to make its way into the minds and hearts of the U.S.

people and government.

After reading the two chapter I believe my understanding has become a lot clearer and I

am also found with new questions. The definition of sustainability provided by the World

Commission on Environment and Development, “development which meets the needs of current
generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

(WCED, 1987) begs the question, whose needs? The reading helped me realize that

sustainability effects every individual in a different way and with this in mind I cannot help but

think that those in positions of power will meet their needs and not those of who are desperately

in need of help and opportunity. Another aspect revealed to me was how involved sustainability

is in our lives. Sustainability in the chapter came across in a multitude of fields. Politics,

community, economy, private and public industry, residency, and the environment all are

touched by sustainability in ways that most do not see. Our actions and decisions that we

subconsciously make can be reflected in our government policies and when not conscious of our

choices, we can create an environment that is not sustainable for our future.

An idea that stuck with me during the reading was introduced early on in the first chapter.

The idea of an areas carrying capacity presents measurable ways to identify what a city is able to

produce while identifying strengths, weaknesses, solutions, and potential problems. The term

looks to highlight the abilities or weaknesses of a city in order to promote the investment of

sustainability. When limitations are set it is only natural for some small push against them.

Sustainability offers a compensation to those who practice conscious sustainable efforts; they are

able to expand their carrying capacity. I am inspired by the new technologies and ideas that will

stem from wanting to create an environment where urban sustainability is at the forefront. I

believe a big factor in the practicality of implementing sustainability is the need to create

responsibility. With new ideas there will be a new found following built on ideas that should

include the help and coordination of others. In order for cities to become self-sufficient, every

cog within them must be working together to turn the tides of pollution and consumption. This

term has stuck with me because it is able to create an incentive for people to change their
practices. By wanting to expand their carrying capacity, the city and its people showed hunger

for growth and willingness to change. This offers me hope as urban ecologists find new ways to

give the people an interactive medium to communicate their feelings and thoughts.

Sustainability is more than a term that applies to basic environmental conditions.

Sustainability is the gauge as to which we can measure a city’s vital signs. Seeing how much

stress they are under, how much more they can handle, where pressures are coming from and so

many other vital signs can be highlighted, measured and solved by sustainability. The

importance of sustainability grows as our global population does yet we do not show the

adaptability to the problem that we require. I believe that creating a sustainable society can come

from its people understanding and appreciating the roles they play in the future of urban

environments. To create this type of environment it is key to learn and share the knowledge we

discover but also aid each other in taking action financially and technologically.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, J. (2020). Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change. Oxford University

Press.

Portney, K. E. (2015). Sustainability (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series) (Illustrated

ed.). The MIT Press.