34 Ways We Can Create More Sustainable Cities

The global phenomenon of urbanization is inescapable. Mankind has crossed the threshold
where majority of humanity now lives in cities. While cities are largely responsible to the
growth of the global economy (contributing as much as 60% of global GDP), cities also consume
over 75% of global energy, emit 50-60% of greenhouse gases, and generate over 2 Billion tons
of solid waste every year. Cities have become our greatest achievement and the source of the
biggest threat to our existence. And yet they may also hold the key to society’s salvation.

The crisis of our cities lies in its sustainability. How can we sustain economic progress without
eroding the capacity of our environment to sustain us?

Our cities have historically been shaped by three fundamental factors: how we move, how we
consume and how we interact with each other. If we are to reverse the negative impacts of
cities, we need to address these factors in a significantly different manner. This is not a
manifesto. This list embodies principles and thinking by many other great minds. Sustainability,
after all, requires harnessing collective wisdom to achieve our collective betterment.

1. Think Holistic and Long-Term

Cities, settlements and environmental ecosystems are highly complex organisms with
interrelated parts whose individual and collective behavior are hard to predict.
Nonetheless, sustainability requires a long-term and broad perspective, thinking about
the welfare of future generations as well as global impacts even for the simplest actions.

2. See from the lens of scarcity

It all begins with a change in mindset: that the current increasing prosperity and
apparent abundance comes at the cost of ever increasing depletion and scarcity of the
resources needed to create that prosperity. What is needed is a shift in perspective that
views abundance through the lens of conservation rather than consumption.

3. Consume Less
Increased prosperity and modernization have made our lives more comfortable, but
society’s journey to a consumption society has also strained our resources. Every year,
over 44 Billion Tons of resources are extracted from the earth. These are converted into
the goods that we consume, the roads and buildings we construct, the energy we use,
the material goods we buy. Consumer goods are still largely made of extracted raw
materials, assembled in factories that are not powered by renewables and transported
across the world by ships, trains, trucks and aircraft that are powered by fossil fuels.
Realizing that each item we buy has a carbon footprint can help us be more prudent
with our consumption.

4. Discard less
Most of the things we buy end up being discarded or unused within 6 months of
purchase. High consumption also leads to high waste generation and contribution to
 landfill. Globally, over 2 billion tons of garbage are generated annually. Most of these
end up in landfills or in our waterways and oceans. Recycling, repurposing, donating or
simply consuming less would help.

5. Consume Local
In the global economy, most of the products we consume were assembled in other
countries, made of pieces manufactured in other places, consisting of materials that
were extracted elsewhere. Each point in the manufacturing and distribution process
consumes energy and contributes to carbon emissions. Greening the supply chain also
requires consuming locally grown and / or manufactured goods.

6. Grow your food

Similarly, locally grown food through a domestic vegetable garden, an urban farm or an
aquaponic system reduces carbon emissions resulting from transporting food.

7. Eat Healthy
Livestock agriculture requires vast amounts of land for grazing or for growing fodder as
feeds. They are high consumers of land and water resource and are effluent generators
and contribute to loss of biodiversity. Livestock also produces methane gas which harms
the atmosphere. A healthier diet also means a healthier planet.

8. Be Actively Mobile
Modern society has bred dependence on cars for mobility which means dependence on
fossil fuels. Many short, unnecessary motorized trips can be avoided by using alternative
modes such as walking or biking. Apart from reducing contribution to pollution and
carbon emission, active mobility is also healthier.

9. Move People, Not Cars

Society has to shift from using private motorized vehicles for transport. Apart from their
fossil fuel consumption and pollution, cars take up road space and valuable land for
parking. Investing in more roads will attract more cars. Instead, investment in better
mass transit, pedestrian systems and transport terminals will help alternative modes of
mobility. The P2P is a step in the right direction and has allowed some motorists to leave
their cars at home and take public transport instead.

10. Aggregate and diversify activities

We often hear of how mixed use is more sustainable. The advantage stems from putting
together diverse activities to allow easier access between them. If you live close to
schools, shops and leisure activities, then you can move around for basic needs without
having to use your car.

11. Work from Home

The 5-day, 9 to 5 work week is a remnant of the Industrial era—a dated work tradition
which is now less relevant for many jobs and which now creates congestion in our
 roads. Want to help reduce traffic on weekdays? Allow people to work from their
homes.

12. Embrace Density

City life, with its density and mix of uses is far more sustainable than the suburbs with
their large single-family homes with large lawns in gated villages. For one thing, density
offers alternatives to driving a car.

13. Integrate Nature with Buildings

Biophilia is man’s natural yearning for connection with nature. We are healthier, happier
and more productive when surrounded by natural landscapes, plants, trees and
sunlight. Our built environment need not happen at the expense of the natural
environment. Planting trees in our developments and Incorporating vegetation in our
buildings and indoor spaces will help offset carbon emissions and create positive
psychological effects on buildings’ occupants.

14. Go Passive
Buildings are the highest contributors of C02, generating as much as 39% of emissions,
higher even than transportation. Embodied energy in concrete, the manufacture of
steel, the transport of materials, the use of air conditioning, heating, lighting and other
energy-intensive equipment, account for this. Buildings that are climate-adapted and
designed to minimize heat gain, that rely on natural shading and ventilation and on
natural and passive systems for lighting and cooling or those that use natural, renewable
materials are more environment-sensitive.

15. Put nature to work

Many of nature’s energy sources are renewable, if not unlimited: the sun, the earth,
wind, waves, tides. These sources can be tapped for alternatives to fossil fuels, even at
the scale of the individual home. A solar collector or wind turbine to power homes
would conserve non- renewable energy sources.

16. Invest in the Outdoors

Someone once said that the best cities are one where people prefer to stay outdoors. It
is a nice ideal for our cities: one that would prompt us to invest more in the outdoors:
rather than turn our backs to it.

17. Go Native
Using plants that are endemic to a current location helps preserve a location’s
biodiversity. Foreign trees and plants can introduce disease and pests to native species
which could harm sensitive ecosystems.

18. Strive for wellness

 There is a strong correlation between healthy lifestyle and environmental sustainability.
Habits that focus on wellness such as, eating less meat, physical activity, avoiding toxic
environments, supporting organic products also help the planet.

19. Downscale
The era of McMansions, SUVs, and other symbols of wealth have shown their
contribution to environmental degradation. Right-sizing our homes, purchases, cars and
overall lifestyle can be a new level of elegant living. Less can be more.

20. Adopt a simpler lifestyle

A mindset of scarcity demands a lifestyle of simplicity and less materiality. Abundance
can be redefined measured in terms of wellbeing rather than simply material
accumulation. Minimalism and the deliberate choice not to live big, even if one can well
afford to, is the more responsible and elegant lifestyle.

21. Evaluate air travel

Affordable airfare has democratized foreign travel, enabling richness of experience to
many individuals and a boost in economy to many locations. They, too, however,
contribute significantly to air pollution and fossil fuel consumption. More environment-
conscious individuals have reduced their carbon footprint by reducing long-haul air
travel, opting domestic destinations for vacation or using alternative travel modes such
as by train, or they simply have adopted simpler forms of leisure.

22. Avoid conspicuous consumption

In an age of scarcity, a redefinition of luxury is necessary. : one that emphasizes
responsibility, inclusivity and care for the planet. Luxury has always been equated with
excellent materials, excellent workmanship, durability, long term value and good taste—
elements that are not incongruous with sustainability. Perhaps luxury products can
evolve the taste of consumers to now shift towards longevity and ethical consumption.

23. Support green products and organizations

Many green rating systems for products and buildings are available. These include
Berde, LEED, Green Star and many others. These products help consumers make
smarter and greener choices in their product purchase and in the choice of location for
their homes or offices.

24. Return to simpler forms of entertainment

Electronic gadgets have become a new dependency. Many of us are owners of multiple
phones, tablets, computers and other devices that admittedly have improved
convenience and access to information. These too, however, consume energy and their
rapid obsolescence lead to toxic electronic waste. Frequent upgrading to the latest
models can be minimized and a return to conventional forms of research and
entertainment can be pursued (e.g., reading books or walking in the park)
25. Use low consumption fixtures and appliances
Technological advancement in materials, manufacturing and engineering now offer
products that consume less energy and water and generate less waste and carbon
emission. Alternative products that use less fossil fuel are also emerging in the market
place and have joined the mainstream as real alternatives to the status quo.

26. Think of downstream impacts

Modern life has detached us from the downstream effects of the conveniences we
enjoy. We are not aware or care very little about where our garbage goes or where our
storm water flows. The negative consequences of modern living are somebody else’s
problem: “Someone will take care of it” or “It will take care of itself”. And then we look
for someone to blame when things go awry. Sustainability is an individual as well as
collective effort.

27. Treat at the source

Garbage, stormwater, sewage, can all be treated at the source and it is often the best
mitigation against environmental chaos. Composting, segregation and recycling,
rainwater collection can all be done at the domestic level to reduce downstream
burdens and to allow individuals to contribute towards sutainabilty.

28. Share
Society’s concept of ownership is evolving. Shared commutes, shared spaces, shared
services, shared knowledge, co-working, co-living, and other concepts that deploy
excess capacity of vehicles, spaces and services to benefit more individuals are now
common, thanks to technology. These contribute to more efficient and optimal use of
products and to sustainable forms of consumption.

29. Measure progress

The best way to assess if we are achieving positive change is to establish a baseline,
measure and track progress using relevant metrics. Baseline information on domestic
energy, water consumption and waste generation with specific improvement targets
over time would establish sustainable goals.

30. Build communities

The resilience of our cities requires the collective and concerted effort of its citizens.
Ultimately, cities can prepare for, endure and bounce back from calamities and shocks if
the people are organized as cooperative units. This requires solid governance, but more
importantly, it is rooted on community.

31. Pursue Inclusivity

The gap between the affluent and the rest of the world have increased despite overall
growth in global economy. Former third-world nations are now emerging as major
economic engines, eradication of extreme poverty has progressed, yet wealth remains
disproportionately distributed. Sustainability cannot exist amid inequity. Practices that
 promote exclusivity, the segregation of people along income levels, the creation of
opportunities primarily for those who already have access to them need to change.

32. Create Places

Human interaction fuels the exchange of ideas that move society forward. The implicit
role of cities is to facilitate that exchange through the creation of places that engender a
sense of community, the sharing of knowledge, the interaction of individuals for
collective good. Plazas, parks, coffee shops and public places have traditionally been
places of both intellectual discourse and accidental meetings that spark ideas.

33. Build Human Capital

While populations in urban areas have dramatically increased, the rate of population
growth have been declining. Smaller family sizes appear to be a consequence of
opportunity, prosperity and education found in cities. In some developed countries,
population growth has been in decline, leading to questions on future competitiveness,
productivity and progress of such nations. Human capital investment in terms of
education, healthcare as well as the nurturing of communities, families and children will
ensure the continuity of society.

34. Believe in our capacity to innovate

Cities embody humanity’s greatest achievement yet also pose the biggest threat to
man’s existence. Over the ages, cities came to points of near collapse: war, famine,
epidemics, energy shortages, environmental disasters. But they somehow manage to
overcome these. Cities have proven to be highly resilient and this is because cities are
the wellspring of human ingenuity. The concentration of people in cities facilitated not
only the exchange of goods, but more importantly the exchange of ideas and
innovations necessary to propel society forward and overcome its challenges. Thus,
cities and the people that comprise it are our best hope. The solution to creating a
sustainable future for our cities will ultimately be found within cities themselves.

The author is founder and principal of Joel Luna Planning and Design, a masterplanning and
property development consultancy practice with extensive experience in planning mixed use
developments and townships. www.jlpdstudio.com