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With a two-metre rise in sea level and no new dikes (left), Vancouver will lose
land in Southlands. With a seven-metre rise (right), downtown and Stanley
Park could become islands. Bing Thom Architects maps (Source: Georgia
Straight)
Day 3: Finishing Up Climate Change and Cities
GEOG 346
BUSINESS ITEMS
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I have that folder of articles to pass around. Take note of any
that might be useful to your area of interest. They should all be
available on-line through the VIU Library.
I have one or two of you who are also in 324. We had an
excellent workshop at the library on research resources. The
ones that we covered were: Web of Science, JSTOR, Google
Scholar, and doing a Library Search through the library
homepage.
When you are in a database article or web page, keep in mind
that you can use “Control-F” to do a keyword search.
Under “Help”, you will also find “Guides and Tutorials,” and can
consult Citing Your Sources, as well as the resource page for
Geography (http://libguides.viu.ca/content.php?pid=220631),
which has all kinds of useful headers. See also Evaluate Your
Sources at
http://libguides.viu.ca/content.php?pid=44315&sid=346543.
BUSINESS ITEMS
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The major project instructions are now up on the
web site under “Courses” at
http://web.viu.ca/alexander2.
There are a couple of items in the folder of items of
interest (not the same folder with the magazines)
that are explicitly about the impacts of climate
change on cities – Vancouver and other Canadian
municipalities, and how well-prepared they are.
Hopefully, I will also have time at the end of class
today to show some short videos about examples of
best practices from Europe that stand as potential
models for Canada. There are also lots of examples
in the two books for which Peter Newman is the
lead author – Resilient Cities and Cities as
Sustainable Ecosystems.
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE (CONT’D)
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says
that, even with an 80% cut in GHG emissions, we will see a
2°Celsius increase in global temperatures. That will likely
result in a loss of 50% of all species, not to mention other
dire environmental consequences.
And yet, as evidenced by the recent Durban conference, we
are seeing no robust action on climate change. Indeed,
Canada has become one of the biggest obstructionist
nations on the planet. One could argue this is equivalent to a
junkie desperately continuing to shoot up or smoking crack
with no thought for what the future will bring.
A former high school student from Coquitlam, now studying
at College of the Atlantic, addressed the conference and had
a huge impact around the world (see article in the December
15th Vancouver Sun; no longer on-line).
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE (CONT’D)
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Despite national government
inaction, some cities are taking
action. The U.S. refused to sign
Kyoto. Nonetheless, 165 U.S.
cities, led by Seattle, agreed to
support it and to implement its
provisions to the extent they
could.
In Europe, cities are doing much
more, as we will see [see also
the book on Post-Carbon Cities
by Daniel Lerch].
Greg Nickle, former mayor
of Seattle
WHY ARE CITIES SO CENTRAL?
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According to Condon, cities are responsible for 80% of GHGs –”by
the way we build and arrange our cities, by all the stuff we put in
them, [and] by how we move from one building to the next.”
After World War II, Canadian and American federal governments
encouraged sprawl through a number of mechanisms: guaranteed
mortgages, tax deductions on mortgage interest, freeway
construction, and ‘red-lining’ of certain neighbourhoods. In
addition, the inefficient creation of infrastructure to service
sprawled subdivisions (water, sewer, roads, police, fire, community
centres, schools, etc.) has been subsidized by the taxpayer.
In addition to the added cost, there is also the embodied energy
associated with such infrastructure which has ecological impacts.
Sprawl led to a drop in urban population densities in Canada from
6803 per square mile in 1960 to 4000 in 2006.Meanwhile Boston
grew from 345 square miles in 1950 to 1736 in 2000, a five-fold
increase in size.
WHY ARE CITIES SO CENTRAL?
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How many of you grew up in the suburbs? Why did your parents
move there? What is your evaluation of the strengths and
weaknesses of suburban environments?
House prices are cheaper, but there are added transport costs
(partly subsidized) and the already mentioned ecological
impacts from infrastructure and additional driving.
In addition, sprawl has facilitated segregation by class, income,
race and ethnicity – though more so in the U.S. in Canada. It
has also facilitated the ‘hollowing out’ of central cities.
WHY ARE CITIES SO
CENTRAL?
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East St Louis has lost
over 50% of its
population and Detroit
has lost close to half.
Much of the city, which
was once a vibrant
metropolis, is now a
wasteland being recolonized by artists and
other intrepid types (see
“Requiem for Detroit?”).
So, if cities are a big part
of the problem, they can
also be a big part of the
solution!
Earthworks Urban Farm, Detroit:
http://www.cskdetroit.org/EWG/
CONDON’S SEVEN RULES FOR SUSTAINABILITY
▪ Condon’s 7 rules are attempts at coming up with
solutions.
 Restore the Streetcar City
 Design an Interconnected Street System
 Locate Commercial Services, Frequent Transit, and
Schools within a Five-minute Walk
 Locate Good Jobs Close to Affordable Homes
 Provide a Diversity of Housing Types
 Create a Linked System of Natural Areas and Parks
 Invest in Lighter, Greener, Cheaper, Smarter
Infrastructure
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WHY ARE CITIES SO CENTRAL?
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Land use patterns and transportation (automobile dependence)
are inextricably linked. From 1997 to 2010, Canada’s vehicle
emissions increased by 35%. The least automobile dependence
major city in Canada is Montreal, and there only 4% of all houses
are single-family dwellings.
In addition to direct production of GHGs by cars, there is the
contribution made by related manufacturing and infrastructure,
which Condon estimates as 40% of the total of all GHGs.