A systems approach to sustainable urban development
It is predicted that by halfway through this century over 70 per cent of the world’s population will be living in cities (United Nations 2013, p. 53). That’s a lot of people to house, feed, protect, move around, provide employment to, and educate. What is clear from the first week of readings for this course* is that tackling population growth sustainably is a complex systems problem that needs to be tackled in a holistic manner. I hope we are up to it.
Sustainable development in urban areas requires a balance of economic development, social development, environmental management and effective urban governance (United Nations 2013, p. 54). Yet attaining these sustainably and equitably seems impossible for Sydney, especially as the concept of a systems way of thinking is seemingly beyond many politicians with their siloed way of managing policy development.
I was surprised to read in one paper that when the Kyoto Protocol was developed in 1997, cities were not mentioned**. Hebbert and Jankovic say this ignorance is due to what they term ‘sectoral logic’ : that is, approaching greenhouse gas calculations from the perspective of a government department or minister’s portfolio (Hebbert & Jankovic, 2012). In 1997 the sectors that make up a city—energy, industrial processes, solvents, agriculture and waste—were specifically called out as having an impact, but not cities as a whole (United Nations 1997, p30–31).
In their book The Systems View of Life, Fritjof Capra and Pier Luigi Luisi introduce Goethe’s view of ‘morphology’ which they relate to systems thinking “a pattern of relationships within an organised whole” (Capra & Luisi 2014, p. 9). They go on to say that living systems “can be understood only within the context of the larger whole…Analysis means taking something apart to understand it; systems thinking means putting it into the context of a larger whole” (p. 66).
Although we are now measuring the impact of cities on the environment, including their impact beyond the city’s boundaries (see above), there are few cities that have begun to shape a policy direction that tackles climate change from a systems perspective. Departmental targets are poorly linked, incentives in one portfolio produce negative results in others, short-term gains for the few are promoted over long-term sustainability for all. As a result we are far from achieving “development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Brundtland, 1987).
Perhaps, though, there is some hope. Rather than waiting for national governments to act, many cities in what’s called the C40 are tackling climate change using a consumption-based approach that focuses on the sectors that cities have control over (utilities, capital, transportation, food, government services), rather than focusing on areas which they cannot significantly influence (carbon intensive manufacturing and transportation of goods manufactured overseas, for example) (C40, 2018). According to C40, cities can achieve 51% of their Paris Agreement emissions reductions through this sector-based action (C40, 2015).
Cities such as Sydney have access to C40-designed tools that can help them adjust their approach to tackling climate change, including how to alter city policies as they relate to carbon intensive consumer activities. Through these tools and because of their proximity to their constituents, cities might just have the best chance of helping us change behaviour and halting the worst effects of climate change.
*In 2019 I am studying Sustainable Development & Urban Environment as part of my Graduate Certificate of City Planning at UNSW. This Medium blog is a requirement for course assessment.
**I checked. The only places that ‘cities’ are mentioned in the Kyoto Protocol is as part of the word capacities!
***Sydney’s profile on C40 says that our serious climate risks are from extreme heat, thunderstorms, wind, sea level rises and fire.
REFERENCES
United Nations (1997). Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, accessed 23 February 2019 <https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1998/09/19980921%2004-41%20PM/Ch_XXVII_07_ap.pdf>
United Nations (2013). ‘Chapter III: Towards sustainable cities’ in World economic and social survey 2013, Sustainable Development Challenges. United Nations, New York
Brundtland, G. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, accessed 23 February 2019 <http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf>
C40 (2018). Consumption-based GHG Emissions of C40 cities, accessed 23 February 2019, <https://c40-production-images.s3.amazonaws.com/researches/images/68_C40_GHGE-Report_040518.original.pdf?1529597233>
C40 (2015). Deadline 2020, accessed 23 February 2019, <https://c40-production-images.s3.amazonaws.com/researches/images/68_C40_GHGE-Report_040518.original.pdf?1529597233>
C40 Sydney membership profile, accessed 23 February 2019, <https://c40-production-images.s3.amazonaws.com/researches/images/68_C40_GHGE-Report_040518.original.pdf?1529597233>
