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Urban Planning the Government and a Changing World

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:14:37 +0000

When people think about urban planning, usually what comes to mind is the more clerical and demographic view of the practice. Subjects such as zoning, utilities, residential areas and similar dry, bureaucratic topics are the most prevalent of the thoughts associated with urban planning.

Apart from a few regulations and citations such as issues dealing with parking areas, the government and its institutions never play a part in one’s thoughts about this activity. However, urban planning isn’t all about just paperwork and rubber stamps.

Whether it is apparent to the everyday man or not, their decisions directly affect the towns and cities that they live in. Cities have to grow and change with the world around them, and urban planning reflects this just as much as a new outlet mall or bus stop. Recent changes in the world’s climate and environment has given urban planning a new set of challenges to consider.

Areas once thought to be safe are being proven to be hot zones for temperamental weather. Events in recent years such as the flooding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region as well as the wildfires in the West Coast brought upon by drought conditions run the gamut of natural disasters that a changing world is bringing on cities and towns. Now, government agencies such are stepping in with a slew of new regulations that bring these events into the public mind as well as city board rooms.

Now, cities are being zoned and planned to have easier evacuation routes and contraflows in interstate highways in case of such emergencies. New energy practices and reworked power grids are being planned out to make sure a few downed power lines won’t bring the city to a standstill. Now, legislators and city officials are more sensitive to the conditions of their city, making use of their powers for burn bans and water conservation in the face of drought conditions. While the average person may not see their effects in plain view, urban planning and the government behind it is a force of nature always changing in the background.

Cities Fight to Create New Economy

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:14:05 +0000

During this sluggish economic climate the competition between cities to bring new development has drastically increased. The flight of industry as well as many other service industries from American cities has resulted in rising unemployment and plummeting tax revenue. As a result cities are left to fight for their lives to bring new economic development in order to put people back to work and raise tax revenues.

One of the industries that cities across the country have recently started to target in order to move forward is the development of alternative energy sources. Areas which have been victim to the decline in the steel industry as well as manufacturing have been forced to literally retool themselves. Their solution has been to turn their manufacturing based economy into a high tech economy.

Cities have targeted companies which develop windmills, solar cells, fuel cells, geothermal technology and even hydrogen technology. These industries have been viewed as the future of the global economy and cities are trying to jump on board early. Due to a lack economic situation, investors have hesitated to back these alternative energy companies. In order to ease the way, some cities have offered significant tax breaks to companies in attempt to get these companies to set up shop. The increase in income tax the city will receive from the new employees offsets the tax break given to the company.

New Growth in Struggling Ohio

One of the areas which have been hit hard by the struggling economy is that of eastern Ohio. Primarily a steel manufacturing economy, eastern Ohio has turned its attention towards natural gas. Companies from areas such as Oklahoma and Texas were contacted by city officials to bring their operations to the region. Offices employing hundreds of people have been set up in cities throughout Eastern Ohio to act as base of operations.

Not only are cities enjoying the increase of income tax revenue, but also the revenue from the natural gas itself. Estimates of one million dollars will be flowing to cities and villages general fund from the revenue of natural gas. Steps like these are being used by cities across the country to pull themselves into the new economy.

Social Aspects of Climate Change

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:13:43 +0000

To understand the vulnerability of urban populations to climate change, it is imperative to first understand what constitutes vulnerability. With respect to climate change, vulnerability is defined in terms of three elements:
•The exposure of a system to crises, shocks and stresses.
•The ability of a system to cope with these perturbations.
•The outcomes and risks that accompany poor system recovery.

Urban areas are the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions. The vulnerability of urban populations to climate change as a result of these emissions, are leading researchers and experts to discover new ways to enable these populations to adapt to the changing climate by looking at the availability of resources not only to control these emissions, but also to increase the capacity to cope with the consequences of global warming and climate change. Because urban areas are the drivers of global warming, with a high concentration of industries, transportation and households, these areas also hold the key to develop new ways of understanding the effects of global warming and climate change, and the steps that need to be taken to counter it.

Researchers at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) have tracked an increase in climate-related disasters, including droughts, floods and windstorms. Till recently, the focus of climate change policy has been on mitigating the effects of climate change, particularly in densely populated urban areas, primarily by introducing more stringent measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. While mitigation is crucial to make climate change policy successful, equally important is the development of adaptation measures.

Many factors are responsible for bringing about change and adaptability. Of all of them, political will and the availability of human and financial resources are the most important. When these three important factors come together, they facilitate effective action and reduce the vulnerability of urban populations to the attendant hazards of climate change. Another important factor that impacts adaptability is urban planning and development. When the focus is on planning that is in line with climate change initiatives, the vulnerability of urban populations is effectively reduced.

The Need For Energy Efficiencies in Cities

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:13:16 +0000

Cities are one of the most important part of a country’s economy. The economic health and growth of today’s city is linked to energy consumption and a city that has planned ahead will be resilient to changes in energy supplies and prices. It is the resilience of cities that make a country more energy independent and efficient. The key to creating this type of energy efficiency is through effective analysis of energy consumption and good planning to create better usage of energy. Some of this will involved future construction, while others plans can be implemented with remodeling or the installation of energy savings devices.

The most important area for a city to address is the energy that is being consumed by the city government and the focus in this area is with buildings. A city will first do an energy audit. This is something that will always be done in one form or another to determine what cost savings will be realized and in what time frame. From here a plan will be created and implemented. For buildings, especially older buildings, energy savings begins with conservation. This means better insulation to reduce energy use in the winter and summer time. It also means changing out older lighting systems and switching to low energy usage bulbs and lamps.

A city can also save energy on the street lighting system by changing the bulbs used. Often a savings can be seen by automating the lighting in certain areas of low traffic. The city light will only come on when motion is detected. Signal lights at intersections can be replaced with light emitting diodes that use less power.

Saving energy serves a city in several ways. The first is the obvious savings in money. Times are difficult enough without a city’s budget been strained by energy costs. A city can also save money on future power plants that would have needed to be constructed without the conservation of energy today. Conservation of energy also leads to a cleaner environment to work and live in. Clean cities are a place in demand which helps keep property values up and attract new business.

Urban Research Symposium

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:12:02 +0000

Cities and climate change have been the primary focus of the Urban Research Symposium since 2009. There is collective agreement among the worlds leading scientists that global warming needs to be prepared for immediately, even urgently in urban areas.

The symposium’s focus has moved forward– to the impact of urban growth on climate change. Supporting the process of measuring and anticipating the changes on the quality of life, related economies and city assets while looking to asses the alternatives.

A study released just recently by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority reports challenging conditions including high temperatures, rises in the sea level, droughts, floods and downpours. The report stated climate change would have a marked effect on every aspect of every region’s economy from farms to businesses to local city streets and even subways by the year 2080.

In the city of New York local temperatures have risen by 2.4 percent over the last 40 years. This is more than two times the average for global temperatures. Sea levels have risen by over a foot according to the study. The global average sea level rise is 7 inches. Projections for temperatures we can expect by the year 2080, according to the data, is from 4 to 9 degrees. Sea levels will rise by up to 23 inches. Some more challenging scenarios were cast that had areas with sea level rises of up to 55 inches– which would devastate many coastal areas.

The New York Research Authority study implies that many states have the potential capacity to attend to these necessary precautions, preparations and strategies to deal with location specific impacts– provided action is taken now. This data is largely indicative of the reasons the Urban Research Symposium was organized. To help draw attention to city planners in a timely manner in order to dispel any controversy and create an impetus for immediate local action. Although the report gives troubling predictions, it says individual states have the potential capacity to address many climate-related risks. By doing so they can minimize impact and maximize all potential opportunities for protection from harm and damage.

Cities and Climate Change

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:11:35 +0000

Climate change is a worldwide phenomenon in which there is a rise in the temperatures. Rise in temperatures can result into rise in sea levels. Extreme weather occurrences may be experienced. They include: floods, Storms and droughts. Outbreak of diseases may also occur. All these catastrophic events may have a negative effect on cities in terms of housing, health, infrastructure, basic amenities and human livelihoods.

However, it is evident that cities are also the major contributors of climate change. This is due to major industrial activities taking place in the cities. The industrial activities results in to the emission of large amount carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If adequate measures are not taken in to place at national, regional or international levels, the world cities can be adversely be affected especially due to the green house effect that results from the depletion of the ozone layer. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every stakeholder to ensure that necessary measures are taken to save the cities.

It is impressive that many cities worldwide are now using renewable energy and safer production techniques to preserve the environment. There are also many regulations that have been put in place by many cities to curb this problem. They include the use of energy-efficient housing and vehicles with reduced CO2 emissions.

There are several publications that provide useful information on how to conserve the environment of cities so as to prevent environmental degradation that can ultimately result into climate change. They also contain support mechanisms that many cities can adopt to fight climate change.
It is worth mentioning that international bodies that are dealing with the environment and climate change have engaged cities in campaigns against climate change and have assisted them to reduce green house gas emissions. This has been done through trainings, workshops, provision of awareness promoting materials and climate change international meetings.

Therefore, it is advisable that everyone should take personal responsibility of conserving the environment so that climate change is gotten rid off. This can result in to reduction in the occurrence of diseases and increased agricultural activities hence food security.

The Relationship Between Climate Change and Society

ursadmin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:55:45 +0000

The climate in the current age appears to be changing. This would come as a surprise to few as the world is unfortunately quite aware of the recent events that indicate this change. The sea level and global temperature are rising. The oceans are warming and the ice sheets are melting. Human inhabitation of the Earth is exponentially reaching new heights. It is an impossible task to say for sure whether the chicken or the egg came first as far as cause and effect go. However, it is undeniable that both the environment and society interact, causing change in both.

As mentioned, a major factor that plays into the changing environment is the growing population in the world. With exponential increases occurring globally, all areas will be affected in some way, though some will be affected to a greater degree. For example, coastal areas around the globe are undergoing a vast change in this current age. This is due to the shift of civilization towards the coast in the recent era. It is said that almost half of the worlds population resides near the coast at this time. This has led to significant changes in land topography. In order to accomodate the growing coastal population, the land has been shaped to become suited for houses, among other things. It can be argued that this has led to the increase in extreme events, which have vastly occurred on the coast. However, without substantial proof, it can only be said that an interaction exists to some unknown degree.

On the other hand, circumstances exist where the interaction becomes much more apparent. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is a prime example. This is a period of time in New Orleans history where the crime rate had drastically risen and was at a peak. Subject to this particular circumstance, individuals who had previously been crime-free became criminals. Some people were driven to commit murder, while others resorted to robbery. The environment itself had, in this case, greatly affected the lives of many individuals, causing them to react in a way that they would not have done previously. Many other examples of this kind of interaction have occured in the past if you look for the information.

The interaction between society and the environment, as well as the science behind it, is something that is ever-changing. There will always be something to learn for those who are interested. It is clear, though, that we are currently moving in a particular direction.