Cities for a small planet by Richard Rogers

How can we be better citizens? Simply, we can use the resources given to us wiser. Almost everything on the earth is a renewable resource, but there is a time attached to each. Therefore, there has to be a balance of resources.

The earth that we live in is basically a closed system. The main thing that comes in is sunlight. The sun is responsible for a majority of the energy that we have. It provides energy in the form of heat that also produces winds and currents. Its energy is absorbed by plants and is either turned into fossil fuels or eaten by animals. We eat those plants and animals and use the fossil fuels for power.

According to the UN in 2010, the world population will be at 6.84 billion. That is hard for me to relate to. I can’t even fathom that many people. Population rates are growing quite fast especially in developing countries. Technology and medicine are getting better (reducing the death rate) while families have more children who can help with their jobs. Population is growing the fastest in cities.

Cities in the past were viewed as dangerous places to live. The city was where the factories, pollution, and noise were. But they also offered the most opportunity for the underprivileged. “It has been estimated that 30 to 60 per cent of the residents of most large cities in developing countries live in ‘informal settlements’ or shanty towns.” They don’t have access to many things that we take for granted – trash collection, clean water, sewage treatment.

Compared to the 10% of the world’s population that lived in cities in the 1900s, now more than 50% of the population does and it is projected to rise to 75% by 2050. Careful planning of cities (especially in poor countries) is crucial for the wellbeing of all. If they do not have the resources to properly dispose of waste or to get clean water, it affects everyone. Everything has an effect on something else in the system. The world is like a body and we are its cells.

One of the best examples of a well planned city is Curitiba, Brazil. By the way the design of the bus stop is very nice.