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| The September (2011) Scientific American features a special issue on cities. |
Today, CNN's website prominently displayed this opinion piece by Reiner de Graaf, Partner at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. De Graaf reminds the reader of how unequal development affects sustainable development and adaptation to climate change. For example, he cites that three of fastest growing urban regions in the world, Kabul, Dhaka and Nairobi, have been impacted by environmental hazards. In addition, of the 27 cities predicted to have over 10 million inhabitants by 2020, 21 will be located in the developing world. De Graaf concludes that "...it could well take an ecological equivalent to the U.N. Security Council... to create the realpolitik that climate change will inevitably have to become subject to."
This may paint a bleak picture, however there are many working to improve the urban environment. This interactive image from Scientific American shows some of the environmental solutions being implemented in cities around the (developed) world. Scientific American is devoting its September issue to improving the cityscape- check it out! For more on finding a road to sustainable cities, read this recent blog post from Charles Wolfe in the Huffington Post.
