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Career planning

Sustainability in an Urban Century

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Sustainability in an Urban Century

 From this week’s resources, I have learned that addressing the critical challenges from increased urbanization determines the creation of sustainability in the entire universe. The skyrocketing urbanization poses significant problems such as pollution and encroachment on the coastline leading to adverse effects of climate change and global warming (Elmqvist, 2019, p. 267-273).  For example, the Bayview marina urban development in Darwin in just located along the coastline. The urban century has witnessed an increasing percentage of the population migrating to the urban areas. For instance, in Australia, the people living in the cities today are 86%, and in 2050, 91% of Australians will be living in the cities. I also learned that urbanization problems require transformative solutions to curb the future occurrence of similar issues and their impacts on the universe. Sustainability is significant in ensuring the next generation will have a place to live. Besides, sustainability in the urban century will ensure there is equitable distribution of resources hence preventing civil wars among the urban dwellers.

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Sustainability will create a balanced ecosystem and prevent problems of climate change and diseases (Hall et al., 2000). Many countries in all the continents are experiencing flooding of people in urban areas. The migration causes pressure on the available resources. Sustainability can be explored through various means. There should be social programs that will ensure the available resources are equitably shared among all people, such as housing, healthcare, and housing. Besides, adopting agro-food methods of agriculture to ensure food security.

The topic is impactful as it gives insights on how we can explore ways of ensuring sustainability is achieved around the globe. I have also gained knowledge about the reasons why there is no sustainability due to urbanization and the trends of the increase in the number of people migrating to the cities. The knowledge gained is beneficial for my personal and career development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Elmqvist, T., Andersson, E., Frantzeskaki, N., McPhearson, T., Olsson, P., Gaffney, O., … & Folke, C. (2019). Sustainability and resilience for transformation in the urban century. Nature Sustainability, 2(4), 267-273.

Hall, P. G., Hall, P., & Pfeiffer, U. (2000). Urban future 21: a global plan for twenty-first-century cities. Taylor & Francis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topic 2:  Cities in Human History

From this week’s readings and resources, I have learned how cities have evolved from the 18th century to the urban century. Human beings have been in existence for the past 100,000 years. However, the construction of permanent settlements has occurred between 10,000 to 12,000 years. In the 18th century, there were walking cities were characterized by high population density, stressed on exchange space, and used grids in establishing structures oriented for walking. Food, energy, and water were the essential supplies of a city. Night soils and other wastes were recycled, and only 3% of the population lived in the towns (Newman, 2003, p. 48-58).

I have also learned about the transit cities that existed in the 19th century, where the urban population increased to 10%. The inventions in the transport system, such as passenger rail, in the 1820s, streetcars were drawn by a horse in the 1850s and vehicle-powered by electricity lead to the expansion of urban centers.  The transit cities replaced the walking cities as industrialization intensified ((Newman, 2003, p. 48-58). The transit cities have now been replaced by the automobile cities, which had increased industrial activities. Many people migrated to the cities, and the mode of transport changed to affect the migration. These cities are polluted and dirty. People no longer walk or use the electric streetcars; petrol cars replaced them. There is heavy dependence on the non-renewable forms of energy and recycling practiced.

The topic has been impactful as I have come to appreciate the traditional forms of transport and the characteristics of the classical cities. I have gained knowledge of how the conventional cities were self- sustaining and how the world can achieve urban sustenance through the insights of the past cities. Knowledge is vital for my personal and career development.

 

References

Newman, P. (2003). Walking in a historical, international, and contemporary context. Sustainable transport: planning for walking and cycling in urban environments. Abington Hall, Abington, 48-58.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topic 3: Cities Today: Key Challenges

From the week’s readings, I have learned that modern cities face many challenges due to massive urbanization events. The challenges include the growth of slum settlements. As many people move from rural to urban areas with no sufficient resources to sustain city life, they start putting up informal settlements that result in slums. Poor housing, insecurity, inadequate clean water, poor sanitation, and insufficient space characterize the slum areas (Abubakar et al., 2018). Besides, there is heavy pollution of the environment. The disposal of wastes into rivers, smoke from industries, and combustion of fuels cause a lot of damage to the environment. The pollution leads to the development of respiratory diseases leading to high expenditures on medication.

Moreover, there is also an uneven distribution of resources. The governments do not distribute resources such as finances, employment opportunities, and development projects evenly between the informal and formal settlers. This leads to the eruption of the civil war because of the resource distribution. Besides, urbanization has and continues to contribute to climate change and global warming. People are cutting down trees, establish settlements along the coastline, pollute the water resources (Burt et al., 2019).  The threatening activities have led to a change in climatic patterns, floods, food insecurity, and global warming, which comprehensively threaten the existence of living things on the universe.

The topic has been impactful as I have gained knowledge of slum areas and other urbanization challenges. I have gained knowledge of the attributes of a slum area. Besides, education is vital for my career and personal development.

References

Abubakar, I. R., & Aina, Y. A. (2018). Achieving sustainable cities in Saudi Arabia: Juggling the competing urbanization challenges. In E-Planning and Collaboration: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 234-255). IGI Global.

Burt, J. A., Killilea, M. E., & Ciprut, S. (2019). Coastal urbanization and environmental change: Opportunities for collaborative education across a global network university. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 26, 100501.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topic 4: Cities and Climate Change

From the week’s resources, I have learned that urban climate is attributed to high surface air temperature, low relative humidity, and weaker winds compared to suburban and rural areas. Urbanization and other human activities contribute to climate change in different ways.  The materials used for construction in cities such as concrete, tiles, bricks and asphalt have various thermal and radiative properties. The properties modify the earth’s hydrological properties by increasing the imperviousness of the earth’s surface. There will be reduced evaporation and infiltration of rainwater, increasing surface runoff (Ren, 2017). The tall buildings in cites also influence the high absorption of heat from the sun strengthening of the convection of air hence stagnating the climate. The changes in surface temperatures and the hydrological balance cause an increase in the heat and equally a difference in the environment (Ren, 2017).

From the week’s readings, I have learned that climate changes lead to massive flooding associated with the destruction of properties and drought, leading to food insecurity and starvation (Tong et al., 20l6). Besides, there will be global warming, scramble for resources, displacement, migration, and energetic and cyclones. Urban areas can mitigate gaseous greenhouse emissions to the atmosphere by recycling the wastes, using renewable sources of energy such as biogas, electricity, solar, wind, and geothermal, adopting green transport systems such as walking, cycling, sharing cars, and using animal-driven carts. Besides, the urban population can adapt to climate change through irrigation programs, planning for emergencies, improving water drainage systems, and elevating buildings.

The topic has been impactful as I have understood how the activities we engage in contributes to adverse climatic changes. I have gained knowledge on how to help the city population adapt to the climate changes and mitigation measures to changes in climate. The knowledge and skills will contribute to personal and career development.

 

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References

Ren, G. Y. (2017). Urbanization as a major driver of urban climate change. Advances in Climate Change Research.

Tong, S. T., Yang, H., Chen, H., & Yang, J. Y. (2016). Hydrologic impacts of climate change and urbanization in the Las Vegas Wash Watershed, Nevada. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 7(3), 598-620.

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