relevant in megacities. There are complex, researchable interactions among human
and natural systems at diverse scales—from the home site to the entire city.
One dimension of a coupled systems outlook is the study of how experiences of
nature promote human health and wellness and can even achieve disease prevention
(Hartig et al. 2014). Encounters with nearby nature, in the most every day of settings
and circumstances, enable positive physiological and cognitive responses in individuals and can improve the living conditions of households, neighborhoods, and
communities.
This chapter is an overview of the progression of city systems and relationships
with nature. The standards of planning and design of built systems within megacities
are undergoing rapid changes in response to global, national, and local ecological
and social concerns. The fairly universal standards and performance expectations of
gray infrastructure are giving way to local innovations that meet local needs and
ecologies. Within these emergent systems are opportunities to generate co-benefits
that address both necessities (such as the provision of potable water) and intangible
or indirect consequences (such as human stress reduction from nature encounters).
The intangibles can move city systems from being sanitary to sustainable and
perhaps even to inclusion of the sacred as a life enrichment. Perceptions of sacred
and other meanings that are imbedded in metro nature can foster commitments to
sustainability and stewardship.
8.2 The Sanitary City
Consistent and comprehensive provision of everyday, essential goods and services is
a goal of megacity agencies. Infrastructure networks are intended to meet the
constant, fundamental demands and needs of the cities. City systems that provide
potable water and electricity, remove refuse, and process wastewater are essential.
When they function well, they are below the consciousness of most city residents. If
not in place, or not functioning well, everyday life is filled with challenges and timeconsuming work arounds.
Historically, Edwin Chadwick proposed the “sanitary idea” in England in the
mid-nineteenth century. The notion stressed the importance of the physical environment, and the role of decaying organic matter as the source of disease. Sanitary
engineering solutions emerged, focused on rapid and efficient disposal of urban
waste, and providing clean water. Such infrastructure technologies emerged during
the nineteenth century as a companion enterprise to industrialization in many parts of
the world (Melosi 1990, 2008). Effective technological innovations in transportation, communications, energy, and environmental services (water, wastewater processing, and garbage disposal) often enabled economic growth and
contributed to the physical transformation of city planning and development.
While commercial industries differed from place to place, infrastructure innovations diffused rapidly, leading to globally accepted practices of urban modernization.
Ever more elaborate and more effective water delivery and sanitation systems
136
K. L. Wolf
and natural systems at diverse scales—from the home site to the entire city.
One dimension of a coupled systems outlook is the study of how experiences of
nature promote human health and wellness and can even achieve disease prevention
(Hartig et al. 2014). Encounters with nearby nature, in the most every day of settings
and circumstances, enable positive physiological and cognitive responses in individuals and can improve the living conditions of households, neighborhoods, and
communities.
This chapter is an overview of the progression of city systems and relationships
with nature. The standards of planning and design of built systems within megacities
are undergoing rapid changes in response to global, national, and local ecological
and social concerns. The fairly universal standards and performance expectations of
gray infrastructure are giving way to local innovations that meet local needs and
ecologies. Within these emergent systems are opportunities to generate co-benefits
that address both necessities (such as the provision of potable water) and intangible
or indirect consequences (such as human stress reduction from nature encounters).
The intangibles can move city systems from being sanitary to sustainable and
perhaps even to inclusion of the sacred as a life enrichment. Perceptions of sacred
and other meanings that are imbedded in metro nature can foster commitments to
sustainability and stewardship.
8.2 The Sanitary City
Consistent and comprehensive provision of everyday, essential goods and services is
a goal of megacity agencies. Infrastructure networks are intended to meet the
constant, fundamental demands and needs of the cities. City systems that provide
potable water and electricity, remove refuse, and process wastewater are essential.
When they function well, they are below the consciousness of most city residents. If
not in place, or not functioning well, everyday life is filled with challenges and timeconsuming work arounds.
Historically, Edwin Chadwick proposed the “sanitary idea” in England in the
mid-nineteenth century. The notion stressed the importance of the physical environment, and the role of decaying organic matter as the source of disease. Sanitary
engineering solutions emerged, focused on rapid and efficient disposal of urban
waste, and providing clean water. Such infrastructure technologies emerged during
the nineteenth century as a companion enterprise to industrialization in many parts of
the world (Melosi 1990, 2008). Effective technological innovations in transportation, communications, energy, and environmental services (water, wastewater processing, and garbage disposal) often enabled economic growth and
contributed to the physical transformation of city planning and development.
While commercial industries differed from place to place, infrastructure innovations diffused rapidly, leading to globally accepted practices of urban modernization.
Ever more elaborate and more effective water delivery and sanitation systems
136
K. L. Wolf