Download What is a Green City? • Implements renewable energy and green

/Ɛ&ƌĞŝďƵƌŐĂůŐĂƌLJ͛ƐEĞǁZŽůĞDŽĚĞů͍ An Exploration of Urban Green Ideas Transportation Issues What is a Green City? ‡ Implements renewable energy and green technology ‡ Mixed land use and population density ‡ Accessible, efficient transportation ‡ Desirable to live in (easy commutes, affordable housing) Why study green cities? Transit Ridership ‡ For the first time in human history majority of Calgary Freiburg people are living in cities, by 2050, 80% will be 74 trips/person/year 330trips/person/year 1 living in cities
Calgary: ‡ Energy consumption and emissions have 1
‡ Lack of transit use reached critical levels ‡ Poor city coverage by transit ‡ Benefits citizens by lowering healthcare and energy costs and increasing human interaction ‡ High personal vehicle use 1 Freiburg: through shared spaces
‡ Large portion of transportation users ‡ Increased CO2 emissions, increases local 2 ozone and particulate matter (PM 2.5 um)
134 Urban Sprawl causes deleterious health effects Comparing Communities 44 64 Why Freiburg, Germany? Typical Calgary
‡ Reputation of being one of the greenest cities 16 Community
0.5 in the world -­‐ low per capita CO2 output Currie Barracks
20 7 17.7 Vauban
Green Chemistry Principles Dwellings per
‡ Prevention of the Green House Gas ʹ carbon People per
hectare of
CO2
hectare
dioxide urban land
emsissions
per person
‡ Design for Energy Efficiency (tonnes/yr)
‡ Focus on CO2 emissions ʹ accessible and Calgary: comparable ‡
Lack of mixed land use ‡
Low density communities Areas of Focus ‡
High CO
emissions per capita 2
‡ Majority of emissions come from Freiburg: 3
transportation and housing ‡
Large proportion of green spaces ‡ The goal: reducing CO2 emissions ‡
Mixed land use, housing choices, and affordability 4 Buildings Calgary: ‡
High energy consumption ‡ Lack of implementation of alternative energy Freiburg: ‡ One of the world leaders in solar energy production Potential Solar Production Comparison 4 Calgary Freiburg 1100-­‐1400 kWh/yr <1000 kWh/yr Albane Barbero, Tia Joles, Angelique Lavigne, Chelsea Rowe and Sandra Shanoada Recommendations Improving Transportation ‡ Expansion of transit to reach more communities ‡ Encourage low emission vehicles through taxation of high emission personal vehicles and increased registration fees ‡ Encourage public transportation use by making driving inconvenient (reduced speed limit, speed bumps) ‡ Make walking and cycling safer and more enjoyable (separate pedestrians and cyclists from moving vehicles, right-­‐of-­‐way for cyclists) through infrastructural changes Limiting Urban Sprawl ‡ Increase options of mixed and high density housings ‡ Integrate more mixed land use into communities ‡ Increase green spaces (community gardens) ‡ Create easy access to public transportation Improving Homes ‡ Retrofits with higher efficiency appliances and insulation ʹ saves on average 22% of 5 energy consumption
‡ Addition of solar panels on housing ʹ 25% 6 energy savings
Conclusions Ton CO2 per capita Introduction 18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
17.7 10.4 9.6 Calgary -­‐ Before
Calgary -­‐ After
Freiburg
Based on 50% reduced personal vehicle use, 22% energy savings from retrofits to homes, and 25% energy savings from solar power as comparable to that of Freiburg Calgary stands to reduce its annual per capita emissions by 41% and has the potential to ďĞĐŽŵĞĂŶĂĚĂ͛ƐŶĞǁŐƌĞĞŶĞdžĂŵƉůĞ͘ References: 1 Miller, Byron. "Green Cities are Great Cities: Making Alberta's Cities Global Leaders in the Fight against Climate Change." In Alberta's Enerdy Legacy -­‐ Ideas for the Future, 133-­‐
154. Canada West Foundation, 2007. 2 Jacobson, M.Z. 2010. Enhancement of Local Air Pollution by Urban CO2 Domes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 44: 2497-­‐2502 3 City of Calgary ʹ Environmental Management. 2006. Calgary Climate Change Action Plan Target 50. City of Calgary. 4 Calgary Climate Change Action Plan: Target -­‐50. The City of Calgary Environmental Management. July, 2006. 5 City of Calgary. (2009). Calgary Transportation Plan. Calgary: The City of Calgary 6 Dr.Dieter Worner. (n.d.). On the Way to a Sustainable City -­‐ Carbon Neutral Urban Development of the city of Freiburg. Retrieved Feb 27, 2012, from http://ecomodelproject.go.jp/upload/110211kokusaikaigi/19Freiburg_en.pdf 7 Bell , J., & Weis, T. (2009). Greening the Grid: Powering Alberta's Future with Renewable Energy . Drayton Valley : Pembina Institute. 8 Row , J., Welk, E., Lempers, N., Cobb, P., Haines, G., Bailie, A., et al. (2011). Options for Reducing GHG Emissions in Calgary -­‐ Research Report Appendices. Calgary: Pembina Institute. 9Toronto and Region Conservation. Getting to Carbon Neutral: a Guide to Canadian Municipalities. Toronto: Toronto and Region Conservation, 2008. Environmental Sciences 502 2011-­‐2012