CH. 6: DESIGNING CITIES FOR PEOPLE

Curtis PottleJulian Franczyk

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Megacity Population Change Over Time

The Ecology of Cities Evolution of cities related to advances in transport (combustion engine

and cheap oil mobility of people) The amount of food, water, energy, and materials needed in cities is far

greater than the amount of those resources nature can provide. Today’s cities draw resources from far away places

Los Angeles water from Colorado River 600 miles away Japanese wheat and corn comes from places like Kansas The oil required to move resources comes from far away oil fields

Richard Register: we need to fundamentally rethink the design of cities Design them for people, not cars. Integrate cities into local ecosystems,

not impose on them. San Louis Obispo, CA creek restoration invigorated people, decreased

commercial vacancy along creek When Designing Cities, we can take advantage of the local ecosystem

Natural heating of buildings, urban food production, recycled water, etc

Redesigning Urban Transport Mixture of rail, bus, bike, walking transportation routes provides low-cost

transportation, mobility, and a healthy urban environment Rail is geographically fixed and permanent, can develop around them Buses can take people out of cars and put them into more efficient systems BRT system, like a special HOV lane. Some cities charge cars to enter their city centers

Singapore—Debit card system London—Entrance fee, speed up traffic and cut down on pollution and noise Paris—City Bike Rental Program

USA—Complete Streets Movement (streets are friendly to pedestrians and bikes) It is much cheaper to build-in sidewalks and bike lanes the first time rather than add them later

Movement stressing children walking to school (UK 1994, now in 40 Countries) 40 years ago—40%walked. Now—15% walk Safer, energy efficient, and more healthy

Bogotá BRT System

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Return of Bicycles Riding bicycles reduces congestion, lowers pollution, and has health

benefits, also they are easier to park and are affordable 6 Bicycles can fit into the space taken up by one car

Chinese own the greatest number of bikes (increase since economic and social reforms of 1970’s and 80’s.

European ownership rates are higher than those of China United States police departments are employing bike cops Bicycle courier services faster than car delivery Need to promote bicycle friendly transportation systems (trails and street

lanes) Netherlands—27% of trips by bike; USA and UK—1% of trips (More trips by bike than car in

Amsterdam) Netherlands policies make driving expensive and cars hard to buy USA and UK lack such policies, so people drive more

“Attitude that bicycles are backwards and used only by the poor” Connect bicycles and rail commuter systems (parking at rail stops) Electric bikes powered by muscle and battery

Worldwide Production of Bicycles and Passenger Cars

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 20100

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

BicyclesPassenger Cars

Urban Water Use Today:

“Flush and forget” creates a lot of waste water Waste drains into closest bodies of water Creates “dead zones”

In India The average family contaminates 150,000 liters of water per

year Sewer system becomes a “pathogen dispersal system”

In The U.S. Toilets and showers account for half of indoor water use Average toilets use 6 gallons per flush Average Showers use 5 gallons per minute

Redefining Urban Water Use Composting toilets

Low cost, simple, odorless toilets can be connected to a nearby compost facility

Urine can be collected separately and trucked to farms Fecal matter can be converted to a dry, soil-like product

and used as fertilizer Recycling water

Treatment facilities can separate water from sewage This water can be filter, treated for pathogens and reused

as drinking water Creates “closed loop systems” requiring only small

amounts of fresh water for each cycle

Farming in Urban Centers Urban or peri-urban farms supply food for 700 million

urban residents worldwide Originating from small plots or rooftops

In countries like The U.S., Many cities have potential for urban farming Chicago – 70,000 vacant lots Philadelphia – 31,000 vacant lots

Provides a sink for the potential of composting toilets Reduces increased price of produce due to rising oil

prices Also increases intangible benefits such as improved

mental and physical health, as well as higher quality produce

Squatter Settlements Nearly all growth in the upcoming years will

occur in urban centers. In developing nations, this growth will flow into

squatter settlements Favelas in Brazil Barriadas in Peru Gecekondu in Turkey

Life is characterized by a severe lack of services Generally little clean water No health care Small and rudimentary shelters

Reducing or Upgrading Squatter Settlements Encourage rural investment

Industrialization outside of the city reduces density of major cities Reduces population movement into cities to a manageable pace

Create planned squatter settlements In developing cities, set aside plots of land for squatters Remove squatter settlements from high-risk areas such as the

favelas Provide potable water taps Provide bus transportation for workers living in squatter

settlements Provide micro-crediting options so that squatters

can slowly upgrade their situations within the settlement

1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 20350

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percent of World Population in Urban Areas

Share Urban Percent

Year

%

Predicted 30% Increase over 85 Years

Cities for people Creating livable cities involves getting

people out of cars and into nature Provide incentives to bike or take public

transitSubsidize employees for public transit or bicycles

has reduced automobile use in some firms by 17 percent

Declare car-free areas to make walking and biking safe

Make areas of congregation within public transportation appealing

Two Ways to Deal With the Challenges of a City Modify existing cities: “PlaNYC”

130 initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the city15% of cabs have been converted to hybrids200,000 trees have been plantedRaising the energy efficiency of buildings

Create entirely new cities91,000 acre Babcock Ranch in FloridaSold 73,000 acres to the state as a permanent

reserveUse the rest for a business and commercial center

as well as a high-density residential development