An Overall Plan for Sustainable Living 43carbon emissions. Other nations, however, have not rec-
ognized the urgency of the global climate problem. We
need a global consensus to address climate change.
Recommendation 5:
Design Sustainable Cities
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, in approxi-
mately 1800, only 3 percent of the world’s people lived in
cities and 97 percent were rural, living on farms or in small
towns. In the two centuries since then, population distribu-
tion has changed radically—toward the cities. More people
live in Mexico City today than were living in all the cities of
the world 200 years ago. This is a staggering difference in
the way people live. Over 50 percent of the world’s popula-
tion now lives in cities, and the percentage continues to
grow. In industrialized countries such as the United States
and Canada, almost 80 percent of people live in cities.
City planners around the world are trying a variety of
approaches to make cities more livable. Many cities are
developing urban transportation systems to reduce the
use of cars and the problems associated with them, such
as congested roads, large areas devoted to parking, and
air pollution. Urban transportation ranges from mass
transit subways and light rail systems to pedestrian and
bicycle pathways.
Investing in urban transportation in ways other than
building more highways encourages commuters to use
forms of transportation other than automobiles. To
encourage mass transit, some cities also tax people using
highways into and out of cities during business hours.
When a city is built around people instead of cars—such
as establishing parks and open spaces instead of highways
and parking lots—urban residents gain an improved
quality of life. Air pollution, including the emission of
climate-warming CO 2 , is substantially reduced.
Water scarcity is a major issue for many cities of
the world. Some city planners think that innovative ap-
proaches must be adopted where water resources are
scarce. These approaches would replace the traditional
one-time water use that involves water purification before
use, treatment of sewerage and industrial wastes after use,
and then discharge of the treated water. For example,
certain places, such as cities like Singapore, recycle some
of their wastewater after it has been treated.
Effectively dealing with the problems in squatter
settlements is an urgent need. Evicting squatters does
not address the underlying problem of poverty. Instead,
cities should incorporate some sort of plan for the even-
tual improvement of squatter settlements (}ÕÀiÊÓ°£x).
Providing basic services—such as clean water to drink,
transportation (so people can find gainful employment),
and garbage pickup—would help improve the quality of
life for the poorest of the poor.- What is the global extent of poverty?
- What are two ecosystem services provided by
natural resources such as forests and biological
diversity? - What is food insecurity?
- How is stabilizing climate related to energy use?
Deforestation? - What are two serious problems in urban
environments?
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Manila, in the Philippines, is a city of contrasts, with gleaming
modern skyscrapers and abjectly poor squatter settlements.© Peter Treanor/Alamy