Sustainable Cities defined

There are numerous definitions of what a sustainable cty really means, however all of these have similar threads and lines of thought.

Regional Environmental Centre: “improving the quailty of life in a city, including ecological, cultural, political, institutional, social and economic components without leaving a burden on future generations”.

International for Sustainable Cities: “A sustainable city enhances the economic, social, cultural, political and environmental well-being of current and future generations”.

A number of other definitions can be found on REC’s site: Sustainable cities

Visual Exploration

A visual mindmap of the issue and my organisation’s brand essence.

Mission for a Vision

Vision  A world where humans are able to live in harmony with their natural environment.

Mission  To create sustainable cities and promote a sustainable lifestyle among their residents by educating the public and collaborating with governments, developers and businesses to develop and implement sustainable design infrastructure into the cities and provide a forum for discussion on emerging technologies and issues.

Issues to tackle

To develop a better idea of the companies mission and vision i have selected a few of the issues my organisation will attempt to tackle.

• Deforestation and the destruction of the Amazon
• Destruction of natural resources
• Carbon footprint
• Throw away society
• Ill- informed citizens about recycling, reducing use, global warming etc
• Unsustainable infrastructure of cities

These issues can be corrected to some degree by:

• Petitioning governments to implement laws and policies regarding infrastructure and business sustainable and ethical practices.
• Encouraging the use of renewable resource by manufacturers and businesses
• Collaborating with governments and developers in creating better public infrastructure, amenities, services and better urban design in general (sustainable urban design)
• Setting targets to attain a carbon neutral society, where human footprint on Earth is zero
• Educating people and promoting a sustainable and healthy lifestyle

Sustainability issue

Over half of the world’s population call a city their home…

It is not surprising then to know that today’s cities consume 75% of all resources and  create 75% of all the waste. They contribute to more than half of all our CO2 emissions and there’s no sign of a quick relief. This is primarily due to the fact that cities the world over have developed over many decades, even during the periods of history where the environment was a low priority. Some have grown from little settlements to major economic, social and political centres in a little than 200-150 years. Yet such a quick growth was not sustained by our knowledge of the environment and our disastrous effects on it. Humans have long lived a lifestyle that is unsustainable and we are now reaping the consequences as a result of climate change.

In the light of this my community organisation is going to focus on the development of sustainable cities and a sustainable way of life among its residents. It will do this by working and collaborating with governments and businesses alike to develop a sustainable infrastructure and practices. It will also encourage the public to live a sustainable lifestyle and try to improve the standards of living.