You need JavaScript to view this

How urban societies can adapt to resource shortage and climate change

Abstract

With more than half the world's population now living in urban areas and with much of the world still urbanizing, there are concerns that urbanization is a key driver of unsustainable resource demands. Urbanization also appears to contribute to ever-growing levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meanwhile, in much of Africa and Asia and many nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, urbanization has long outstripped local governments' capacities or willingness to act as can be seen in the high proportion of the urban population living in poor quality, overcrowded, illegal housing lacking provision for water, sanitation, drainage, healthcare and schools. But there is good evidence that urban areas can combine high living standards with relatively low GHG emissions and lower resource demands. This paper draws on some examples of this and considers what these imply for urban policies in a resource-constrained world. These suggest that cities can allow high living standards to be combined with levels of GHG emissions that are much lower than those that are common in affluent cities today. This can be achieved not with an over-extended optimism on what new technologies can bring but mostly by a wider application of what already has been shown  More>>
Publication Date:
Apr 15, 2011
Product Type:
Miscellaneous
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY; CLIMATIC CHANGE; MITIGATION; URBAN AREAS; SHORTAGES; RESOURCES; GREENHOUSE GASES; GOVERNMENT POLICIES; STANDARD OF LIVING
OSTI ID:
22073515
Research Organizations:
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (United Kingdom)
Country of Origin:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
TRN: GB12OA680
Availability:
Commercial reproduction prohibited. Available from ETDE as OSTI ID: 22073515; See the IIED website for other briefings, publications, blogs, etc., at http://www.iied.org
Submitting Site:
ETDE
Size:
1762-1783 page(s)
Announcement Date:
Mar 21, 2013

Citation Formats

Satterthwaite, David. How urban societies can adapt to resource shortage and climate change. United Kingdom: N. p., 2011. Web.
Satterthwaite, David. How urban societies can adapt to resource shortage and climate change. United Kingdom.
Satterthwaite, David. 2011. "How urban societies can adapt to resource shortage and climate change." United Kingdom.
@misc{etde_22073515,
title = {How urban societies can adapt to resource shortage and climate change}
author = {Satterthwaite, David}
abstractNote = {With more than half the world's population now living in urban areas and with much of the world still urbanizing, there are concerns that urbanization is a key driver of unsustainable resource demands. Urbanization also appears to contribute to ever-growing levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meanwhile, in much of Africa and Asia and many nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, urbanization has long outstripped local governments' capacities or willingness to act as can be seen in the high proportion of the urban population living in poor quality, overcrowded, illegal housing lacking provision for water, sanitation, drainage, healthcare and schools. But there is good evidence that urban areas can combine high living standards with relatively low GHG emissions and lower resource demands. This paper draws on some examples of this and considers what these imply for urban policies in a resource-constrained world. These suggest that cities can allow high living standards to be combined with levels of GHG emissions that are much lower than those that are common in affluent cities today. This can be achieved not with an over-extended optimism on what new technologies can bring but mostly by a wider application of what already has been shown to work.}
place = {United Kingdom}
year = {2011}
month = {Apr}
}