Sustainable Cities for the Third Millennium: The Odyssey of Urban Excellence Voula P. Mega Sustainable Cities for the Third Millennium: The Odyssey of Urban Excellence Voula P. Mega, after a special authorisation by the European Commission PhD in City & Regional Policy and Planning Brussels Belgium [email protected] [email protected] ISBN 978-1-4419-6036-8 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6037-5 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6037-5 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London Library of Congress Control Number: 2010934906 © Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. 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Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) In the loving memory of Panagiotis & Alexandra Megas who dreamt great dreams and first taught me the greatness, integrity and beauty of our world Disclaimer: “The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission. The European Commission cannot be held liable for any use of the information contained in this document.” vii “The city is built politics” (Aristotle, IV ct. BC) “Crossroad of people, the city is also a crossroad of influences” (A. Rimbaud “Illuminations”, 1875) “The global effort for sustainability will be won, or lost, in the world’s cities, where urban design may influence over 70 per- cent of people’s Ecological Footprint”(Global footprint network, 2008) “When you set out on your journey to Ithaca, pray that the jour- ney is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge”(C. Cavafy Ithaca, 1911) ix Preface At the dawn of the third millennium, planet Earth entered a zone of turbulence. The 2008 crisis added economic uncertainty to the threat of global warming and extreme events such as droughts, floods and cyclones, the persisting crisis of pov- erty and the spectrum of pandemics and terrorism. Against this global landscape in an era of fragility, cities, already sheltering more than half of humankind, appear as Janus-faced realities, the best and worst of places, vulnerable but still full of hope and will to overcome the crisis of societal values and progress in the path of sustain- able development. This book addresses the most critical challenges for cities, humanity’s collective masterpieces in danger, and analyses breakthrough responses for sustainable devel- opment, a globalisation with human face and the transition to inclusive post carbon communities. The ultimate wish is that experts, city planners, decision-makers and citizens in search of sustainable cities could find here some sources of information and inspiration to enhance the immense possibilities of cities and embrace the best possible trajectories of change. Cities have crossed some sensitive boundaries and reached critical biophysical thresholds. Many of them are on the brink of potentially irreversible change. Both perpetrators and victims of unbridled consumption, they have a preeminent role to play for recreating a dynamic balance between the quantity and quality of develop- ment and a harmonious symbiosis among nature, humans and artefacts. Sustainable development should be at the heart of the recovery if the death knell of prosperity is to be prevented. Furthermore, sustainable development could give the exiting from the crisis a sense of purpose. This book advocates for strong sustainability, implying that not only the overall urban capital should not be diminished, but also each of its precious components. The environmental (including the life support systems), natural (the physical assets transacted in markets), human (health, education and well-being), social (networks, traditions, culture), including political (the ability of citizens and communities to take control of their future), and human-made (financial and built environment) capi- tal have to be preserved and transmitted. The battle for sustainable development will be won or lost in (or because of) cities. The first reason is simply their sheer size. The extraordinary concentration xi xii Preface of people and activities are the very essence of cities. Furthermore, cities are the only places where people and resources congregate at a point beyond which synergetic effects become more important than the simply additive ones. Although general world figures conceal large differences across countries and regions and should be considered with caution, cities host more than 50% of the inhabitants of the planet, consume more than two thirds of its resources and pro- duce more than two thirds of the global greenhouse emissions. However, the con- sumption of resources and production of emissions per capita is lower for urban dweller than for the rest of the inhabitants of the planet. Cities can drive efforts towards sustainability in a more efficient manner than the rest of the globe. The cultural and social reasons for sustainability to be won or lost in cities are equally important. Cities, beehives of creativity and innovation, have the capacity to engender new values and concepts and introduce structures and patterns, which are quickly disseminated to the rest of the world. There are also fundamental politi- cal reasons. Cities are organised societies that always promoted local democracy and this is a major precondition for advancing towards sustainable development. Finally, cities bear also witness of the will to change and progress. An extraordinary number of symbolic events, awards and emblematic projects reveal a mine of ideas, energy invested in action and a potential still to be realised. This book highlights that to win the battle for sustainable development, cities have to go through a revolution in concepts and actions and sheds light to pathways of excellence and change embraced by pioneer cities. It addresses all dimensions of urban capital, which have to be preserved and enhanced for sustainability, synthe- sised in chapters that correspond to policy fields and themes. Each part invites for trans-border interdisciplinary approaches and tries to answer two interlinked ques- tions: “Where the forefront of excellence lies” and “What cities do to approach and overcome it”. The first chapter examines the world and urban demographic and socio-eco- nomic dynamics. The European archipelago of cities bears witness of more than two decades of visions and actions for urban sustainability. European cities can offer many lessons on their balance-seeking processes in search of sustainable development, extending into all areas of local decision-making. In a context of global crisis, progress towards sustainability requires major breakthroughs and paradigms shifts. More and higher value has to be derived from knowledge, an inexhaustible resource with a high empowerment potential. Cities have to invest more creatively in their intangible assets and breed innovations needed by their body, with its blood, its vital organs and nerves, but also their mind, with its concepts and notions, and their soul, with its emotions and capacity to wonder. Sustainability means, first and foremost, sustaining ability to innovate and progress. The second chapter focuses on key elements of the urban ecosystems and prin- ciples and actions inaugurating new models and patterns of consumption and production. Cities are complex and dynamic, open and vulnerable ecosystems, the only human and socio cultural ones. By analogy to the biological concentration of species in a mutually supportive environment, humans come together in places that Preface xiii optimise their reciprocal benefits. As socio-bio-spaces, cities require an extraordi- nary array of material and labour, they have most complex metabolisms and pro- duce an equally remarkable array of products, waste and emissions. Their role in the transition to a low-, zero- and post-carbon society and economy is crucial. Climate change, the end result of billions of everyday resolutions taken in local environments, will be decided in cities or because of the values and models that cities disseminate in the world. Urban policies should consider all measures in order to radically reduce the ecological and carbon footprints and the environmen- tal shadow of cities. Resource (including waste) management, quality of land, water and air as well as noise, are of extreme importance to cities that become labo- ratories of ecological innovation and provide inspiring examples. Eco-cities are not simply cities with parks, grass roofs, eco-performing public transport, timber frame constructions, improved energy systems and water cycles. They are cities that pertinently integrate environmental, social and economic policy objectives in all their policies and search the most advanced technologies and prac- tices to improve their overall performance, based on strong citizen participation. From eco-buildings to eco-districts and from eco-cities to the only one planet, actions have to be proportionate to the challenges. Throughout the book, the prefix “eco-” is used for both the ecology and the economy and is suggested as symbol for double dividend projects, good for both the environment and the economy.