CRI-Q#7 - Urban planners are looking at ways to make cities greener. What needs to be done to make cities greener?
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Q#7 - Urban planners are looking at ways to make cities greener. What needs to be done to make cities greener?
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Q# 7- Urban planners are looking at ways to make cities greener. What needs to be done to make cities greener?
Don’t forget to leave your name , organization name, and your location_\!/
Get rid of cars. Absolutely seriously!
It can’t be done over night but can be with resolute work steadily heading in that direction it can be done and will solve climate, employment, food security, death on highways, oil addiction and many other problems all in one strategy.
How: support expanding city car-free areas, convert car-streets to streets for people, replace asphalt with transit and between-city rails, parking lots with parks and food gardens, parking buildings with car-free housing and commercial buildings.
Replace design for hurry-up-and-drive lifestyle for slow-down-and-relate-to-people-or-nature lifestyle. Shift from scattered development of mainly single separated uses to “balanced development” of higher density in centers of mixed-use vitality.
Richard Register, President, EcoCity Builders, Oakland California U.S.A. http://www.ecocitybuilders.org
Increasing and preserving urban greenspace, especially areas with trees, including street trees, helps ameliorate the climate and reduce pollution and also to improve human health through encouraging outdoor exercise and reducing mental stress. All cities should have a green infrastructure plan, with provision for wildlife, flood mitigation, recreation and may other benefits, and should protect areas of natural vegetation.
Cities should develop dual water systems, collecting and storing stormwater to irrigate the green areas and for flushing toilets. Public transport should replace short car journeys, but also walking to school and work should be encouraged. As far as possible children should attend local schools, so develop good quality education throughout the public education system. Think in an integrated fashion about the multiple benefits of every change and ensure that future options are not precluded by unwise actions today.
Ian Douglas, Emeritus Professor, The University of Manchester School of Environment & Development, http://www.manchester.ac.uk
Encourage public transportation. More parks and trees. Build more green buildings and buildings with green tops. Encourage household and commercial energy efficiency.
Brian Ho, Director, China, CSR - ASIA
Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility in the Asia Pacific Region
Engaging with the issues as they emerge
From an architect point of view on making cities greener is designing a more flexible building, it means make the building easy to change purpose of use , to be able to cope with multi-functional activities and even to be moved. Generally speaking, building is a building, make it simple and easy to be modified with our changing life style.
Jianxin Nie, Director, SDG Shine Design Group Suite A, Wendu Water City International Hotel, Beijing http://www.sdg-cn.com
Build more trees and green landscape, especially along the strees.
Encourage public transportation and make it more convenient and comfortable.
Redesign the roads and streets as well as the parking lot, make them friendly to bicycles. Set up more and more bike renting places near subway stations and bus stations.
Make public promotion to let more and more citizens know about reducing carbon footprint.
It will take a long time to lower the carbon release and make it greener in a city. But it is better to take steps than do nothing.
National Geographic Traveler organizes a special award named “Sustainable Travel Award” this year and the awarding ceremony will in on March 25th in Shanghai. This award aims at the good practice for sustainable travel in China. We hope to let more and more people know about the good practice and let travellers know how to protect the destinations while traveling.
We have just stepped out, hope to get great support from the public. We will do it every year.
Tracy Chu, Asst to Editor in Chief, National Geographic Traveler - Beijing http://www.ngtraveler.cn
Build more trees and green landscape, especially along the strees.
Encourage public transportation and make it more convenient and comfortable.
Redesign the roads and streets as well as the parking lot, make them friendly to bicycles. Set up more and more bike renting places near subway stations and bus stations.
Make public promotion to let more and more citizens know about reducing carbon footprint.
It will take a long time to lower the carbon release and make it greener in a city. But it is better to take steps than do nothing.
National Geographic Traveler China organizes a special award named “Sustainable Travel Award” this year and the awarding ceremony will in on March 25th in Shanghai. This award aims at the good practice for sustainable travel in China. We hope to let more and more people know about the good practice and let travellers know how to protect the destinations while traveling.
We have just stepped out, hope to get great support from the public. We will do it every year.
National Geographic Traveler China
Beijing
http://www.ngtraveler.cn
In the view of LIVCOM, the green is not just the surface meaning of greening, in addition to a simple increase in urban green space, we noticed that:
1. The definition of greening should be the restoration of vegetation, as well as ecological sustainability, not only planting vegetation on the ground. The self-healing and self-cycle of Vegetation environment are much more meaningful than the laying of turf. In the LIVCOM competition, this is the necessary condition.
2. Beneficial vegetation should be planted as the only choice for vegetation. For example, the plant species that beneficial to ecological restoration and/or that help to exclude plants risk to human health. Meanwhile, it is promoted to cultivate deciduous trees in most areas. Such large-scale plant can block the sunshine and reduce building energy consumption during the summer, reducing urban heat island effect; while in the winter sunlight irradiate into building conveniently, which could help to reduce the heating energy consumption. To Plant low grasses which needs no lawn mowing, in order to reduce soil moisture loss and human factors that cause damage to the environment, as much as possible to maintain the natural environment.
3. The construction of rainwater collection system and reclaimed water recycling system is also one of the most important features for LIVCOM cities and communities. Recycled rainwater and treated reclaimed water can maximize the satisfaction of irrigation water for vegetation and the maintenance of water usage. It can be realized saving water and helping vegetation cover to a long-term environmental and sustainable development at the same time.
4. City Green Roof is not only for saving lands, as an important measure, it is also reducing building energy consumption and increasing greens. In the LIVCOM cities and communities, roof greening exists as a rigid standard, requiring the roof to achieve the minimum green area.
Billy-Li Xiang , General Manager / Director, Jia Cui (China) Environment and Development Promotion Center, Shenzhen, China. http://www.livcom.org