The Importance Of Sustainable Development In Sustainable Cities

There is an ever-changing process taking place, changing livability as we know it. Human migrations are taking place, where people switch from living in rural to urban communities in search of an improved quality of life. Sorensen and Okata (2011), find that 50% of the world’s population currently lives in an urban setting (p. 1). Large metropolitan areas are becoming densely compact creating mega cities, where populations exceed more than ten million people (p. 6). Problems with sustainable development are found in both developed and developing countries alike. Large cities in developing countries have experienced great amounts of urbanization with a lack of environmental protection, creating problems such as: health hazards, pollution and waste management issues. Evans (2002), explains that these cities are not supplying basic

Environmentally, sustainable cities are ecologically friendly by using alternative sources of energy such as solar or wind power. Economically, governments should share a similar decision-making process by sharing the same ideologies. Sorensen, Marcotullio, and Grant (2004), find that a good decision making process consists of planning and control at the municipal and national political levels which would allow local level functions to become reinforced. Socially, sustainable cities are classless, meaning that there are no social divisions which serve as limits; leading to a more equal society. One of the many ideas would be using mixed housing to remove the class divisions between people. Also, city streets would be walkable, with businesses and services located at close proximity to promote health and serve as an alternative to using cars for transportation. The writers differ in their analysis when examining the approaches to reaching sustainable cities. This section will analyze four important ideas on how cities can become more