115
is to have no transit route across the city, distance
traffic should avoid the city. Visitors arriving into
the city are welcome in “park and ride” stations
with huge car parks in the suburbs where cars can
park all day. Well organised public transport helps
visitors to find their destinations. Most roads in
the historical city centre can be covered either on
foot or by (loaned) bicycles. To cover larger distances metro would be fine if there were any.
Finally the effects of an overcrowded urban
environment on humans are discussed below.
Comprehensive studies prove that mental deviations are more frequent in an overcrowded environment than in a loosely built-up place with less
worried lifestyle. Population density in the centre
of major cities could be as high as 20,000–
30,000 people/km
2
. In such environments people
are more irritable and aggressive than people in a
small town or village. Although the social environment is decisive in the development of mental
deviation such physical factors also contribute to
that like the already mentioned noise and limited
space—including the high number of people living in a single flat.
4.1.2.4 Steps Taken for the Sustainable
Development of Cities
If all the threats presented by the urban environment on humans as a biological being are considered it is hard to understand why so many people
move into cities and why the large cities grow
into even bigger mega-cities in the developing
world where most residents are exposed to both
infectious diseases associated with deep poverty
and modern age diseases as well. The only answer
is that the attraction of cities can be explained by
their social functions. People hope for jobs, they
find a wide range of options in educational and
cultural institutes, better amusement possibilities
and services are also of higher standard in cities
than in smaller settlements and infrastructure is
also more developed. Some city dwellers cannot
enjoy the above advantages, moreover, many of
them live in dire poverty in poor countries and
are literally forced into the margins of cities without being able to satisfy their most basic human
needs. According to Lee (2007), around one billion city dwellers live in shantytowns and illegal
dwelling places where conditions are not appropriate to satisfy one or more needs. This by no
means can be regarded sustainable. What can be
done then?
“Sustainable cities” have been in the focus
recently representing the operation of cities that
do not overload their wider environment in the
long term providing a healthy environment for
residents while ensuring undisturbed food, water,
energy and consumer goods. In sustainable cities
homelessness and poverty are eliminated and all
residents can satisfy their human needs.
In order to realise the theory of sustainable
development harmonised action of a lot of people
and institutes supporting their activities are
required. If all these are at hand, still success can
be achieved only in the long term. The main participants include: the legislation of the given
country providing the institutional framework
(laws); local government working out particular
plans, action programmes and organising and
controlling their implementation. It has to be
noted, however, that significantly improving of
the environmental conditions of a city required
decades of very hard and consistent work.
It also has to be noted that achieving sustainability in a city requires different tasks for countries at different development level and financial
conditions and even in the case of cities with different income within a country. Table 4.7 presents some economic and sustainability indicators
of three cities in three countries after Lee (2007).
The most important tasks to be solved in order to
achieve the sustainable development of the three
cities are briefly discussed in the following.
Accra represents poor large cities. The health
of almost half of the residents here is endangered
by direct threats: their drinking water is infected,
insects and rats spread diseases, the city is flooded
in the wet season. In such conditions the city is
very far from sustainable development. The first
step towards sustainable development would be
the elimination of flood risk. Second step would
be the provision of healthy drinking water and
sewage drainage and treatment. These would
require enormous investment that neither the
poor city nor the country is able to provide. Apart
from international financial help, economic
4.1 Changes in the Outer Boundary Zone of the Earth’s Crust
is to have no transit route across the city, distance
traffic should avoid the city. Visitors arriving into
the city are welcome in “park and ride” stations
with huge car parks in the suburbs where cars can
park all day. Well organised public transport helps
visitors to find their destinations. Most roads in
the historical city centre can be covered either on
foot or by (loaned) bicycles. To cover larger distances metro would be fine if there were any.
Finally the effects of an overcrowded urban
environment on humans are discussed below.
Comprehensive studies prove that mental deviations are more frequent in an overcrowded environment than in a loosely built-up place with less
worried lifestyle. Population density in the centre
of major cities could be as high as 20,000–
30,000 people/km
2
. In such environments people
are more irritable and aggressive than people in a
small town or village. Although the social environment is decisive in the development of mental
deviation such physical factors also contribute to
that like the already mentioned noise and limited
space—including the high number of people living in a single flat.
4.1.2.4 Steps Taken for the Sustainable
Development of Cities
If all the threats presented by the urban environment on humans as a biological being are considered it is hard to understand why so many people
move into cities and why the large cities grow
into even bigger mega-cities in the developing
world where most residents are exposed to both
infectious diseases associated with deep poverty
and modern age diseases as well. The only answer
is that the attraction of cities can be explained by
their social functions. People hope for jobs, they
find a wide range of options in educational and
cultural institutes, better amusement possibilities
and services are also of higher standard in cities
than in smaller settlements and infrastructure is
also more developed. Some city dwellers cannot
enjoy the above advantages, moreover, many of
them live in dire poverty in poor countries and
are literally forced into the margins of cities without being able to satisfy their most basic human
needs. According to Lee (2007), around one billion city dwellers live in shantytowns and illegal
dwelling places where conditions are not appropriate to satisfy one or more needs. This by no
means can be regarded sustainable. What can be
done then?
“Sustainable cities” have been in the focus
recently representing the operation of cities that
do not overload their wider environment in the
long term providing a healthy environment for
residents while ensuring undisturbed food, water,
energy and consumer goods. In sustainable cities
homelessness and poverty are eliminated and all
residents can satisfy their human needs.
In order to realise the theory of sustainable
development harmonised action of a lot of people
and institutes supporting their activities are
required. If all these are at hand, still success can
be achieved only in the long term. The main participants include: the legislation of the given
country providing the institutional framework
(laws); local government working out particular
plans, action programmes and organising and
controlling their implementation. It has to be
noted, however, that significantly improving of
the environmental conditions of a city required
decades of very hard and consistent work.
It also has to be noted that achieving sustainability in a city requires different tasks for countries at different development level and financial
conditions and even in the case of cities with different income within a country. Table 4.7 presents some economic and sustainability indicators
of three cities in three countries after Lee (2007).
The most important tasks to be solved in order to
achieve the sustainable development of the three
cities are briefly discussed in the following.
Accra represents poor large cities. The health
of almost half of the residents here is endangered
by direct threats: their drinking water is infected,
insects and rats spread diseases, the city is flooded
in the wet season. In such conditions the city is
very far from sustainable development. The first
step towards sustainable development would be
the elimination of flood risk. Second step would
be the provision of healthy drinking water and
sewage drainage and treatment. These would
require enormous investment that neither the
poor city nor the country is able to provide. Apart
from international financial help, economic
4.1 Changes in the Outer Boundary Zone of the Earth’s Crust