Designing cities for people * Problem: Quick growth of city population over the century. The air is no longer safe to breath. Respiratory diseases increasing. * Recommendation: Designing cities for people not for cars. New urbanism approach: * in Colombia, Mayor’s support for 70% with no cars vs. 30% car owners * Ban street parking, improved old and created new parks, bicycle ways, plant trees, * Parks and public places are important for democratic society, everyone is equal there. * Brazil, pioneered the inexpensive, commuter-friendly alternative transportation system (bus, bicycle, walk)
The ecology of cities * Problem: In cities securing water, collecting food and disposing waste is a challenge. Before they relied on surrounding, but today they go far. Beijing planning to get water from 800 miles away, Tokyo is getting its food from other countries. * Recommendation: Register writes: e.g. buildings can be designed to be heated and cooled partly by nature. As oil price rises, farming can go to vacant lots and rooftops,” flush and forget” becomes costly.
Redesigning Urban Transportation * Recommendation: Combination of rail and bus lines, bicycle and pedestrian ways is the best for low-cost transportation and healthy environment of cities. * Charging car to enter the city with sensor cards and increasing the taxes yearly. * Paris * Access to high-quality public transportation * Create express lane for buses and bikes and reduce for cars * City bicycle rental program. Successful and Inspiring! * Challenging the lifestyles, kids driving to school linked to obesity problem. * This countries are less dependent on oil production downturn (rail, bike, walk, less cars)
Return of Bicycles * Benefits: reduces congestion, lowers air pollution, obesity, increases fitness, no carbon dioxide emission and cheap. * Encouraging ways: Each freshman in Wisconsin and Maine gets free bicycle, if agrees to leave the car at home. Creating bicycle-friendly system, educating cyclist and motorists. Integrating bicycle parking. Electric bicycles no direct fossil fuel consumption.
Reducing Urban Water Use * Problem: Water is unsafe to drink. “Flush and forget” system(waste of resource and costly) * Recommendations: toilets can be linked to compost and used as fertilizer and sold. * Water recycling and treatment is easy after solving sewage water waste. * Save water, water-efficient showers and appliances.
Farming in the city: Many cities have their own farming of vegetables, fish, poultry etc. But in some countries (US) urban gardening is not developed. Urban gardening has regenerative effect (body and soul)
Local farmers sell their produce near cities.
Upgrading Squatter Settlements or illegal occupying of the land. How to help: * Migration: improve conditions in countryside, encouraging industrial investments in small towns. * Existing squatters: provide simple services like running water, composting toilets (controlling the epidemic of deceases)
Cities for People * Contact with nature. People recover faster when connected to nature. * Car-free areas * Make subway attractive * 2 ways of dealing with problems * 1.Comprehensive plan to improve city’s environment: * 2. Build a new city. Florida, Abu Dhabi (Masdar city) * Terre form studio proposal: * 1 gradually eliminates cars. * 2 convert half of the city streets into parks and gardens, playgrounds. * Planting trees, pedestrian/bicycle friendly streets.