Sustainable development
What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development is defined as balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment. A common definition of sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental protection, economic sustainability, and social justice’ (The international association of public transport (UIYP), 2012, par. 1.).
It includes both the concern for the carrying capacity of the natural resources and the social challenges faced by humanity. Brundtland Report also known as ‘our common future’1 says that it contains within it two concepts:
1. The concept of needs, precisely the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given
2. The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.
In the above definitions depicts the world as a system connecting the space and time. With this understanding we are in a position to know the effects of pollution in the world such that air pollution in the US will affect the equality of air in Asia and that oil spillage in the Indian Ocean will affect the fish stocks in the Atlantic.
The view of the world as a system over time help us to understand that decisions made affect a life time from generation to generation. The agricultural practices that our parents did will continue to affect the next generations as well as the policies put in place.
Cultural diversity is another policy propagated by sustainable development. It is used to achieve not only economic growth but also achieve more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence, (the universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO, 2001).
Literary analysis and the research process (cause and effect)
A sustainable city is also known as the eco-city. It is a city designed with the ideology of the effects of the environment in mind. The inhabitants are committed to minimize the inputs of energy, water and food. They also try to minimize waste output such as heat, air pollution, and water pollution.
Some of the drivers of sustainable city planning include:
The destruction of the flora and fauna by natural disasters such as the hurricanes. When the hurricane destroyed the Hialeah Park, it was restored back to its feet and now more energized.
The dereliction of land by workers. When land which had previously used more so to acquire some raw materials mostly is left to be after exhaustion. The land need not to be left that way.
A site used for depositing garbage. Most garbage sites are left unattended to which increases pollution of the environment. They also happen to be environmental hazards as deaths can be resulted from open ditches, breeding grounds for disease causing vectors among others.
The cause for sustainability includes the main one: to reduce pollution of the environment. Through sustainable planning the main goal is to ensure that pollution is minimized. This is attained through sue of environmental friendly sources of energy such as the solar and the wind mill.
Climate change is another factor that may cause a state to have sustainable practices. When the climate changes and weather effects become different from normal, the people become cautious of it and start to prevent further changes.
Conservation of the environment for future generations. This is seen as a way of enabling them also to have a real taste of the environment that we experience. We are therefore advised to practice sustainable methods.
My first photo is of a land by a construction site .the place had been used as a store of construction materials such as the concrete and the stones. After the materials were over the land was left as a dumping site. I would advise that the garbage be removed and then the place be cleared. It can then be grown grass and can therefore be used as a playing ground for children, if trees are grown then it can be used a park for leisure purposes.
The second photograph is a representation of a land that had been previously used for agriculture. The house at the back ground is a remnant of the greenhouse. Though the land does not seem to be fertile, it can still produce.
Organic fertilizer and use of irrigation could be used to revive the great glory. As the Hialeah Park house was restored after it was destroyed by the hurricane. In its renovations, the park was made to be green certified and possess the best land scape ever of the flamingos. The landscaped gardens contain the native flora and fauna.
References
Lowe, Ernest A. 2001, “Eco-industrial Park Handbook for Asian Developing Countries”. A Report to Asian Development Bank, Environment Department, Indigo Development, Oakland, CA
Oke, T. R. (1982). "The energetic basis of the urban heat island," Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 108: 1–24
Pløger, John, 2001, "Public Participation and the Art of Governance," Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 219–241. opkins University Press, 1996
Register, Richard (1987). “Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future,” North Atlantic Books
Vasquez, Michael. March 20, 2009, "Hialeah Park's new permit requires racing within a year," Miami Herald, Friday Retrieved on May 27, 2009
Wheeler, Stephen (2004), "Planning Sustainable and Livable Cities," Routledge; 3rd edition
World Commission on Environment and Development, "Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development
Yiftachel, Oren, 2006, "Re-engaging Planning Theory? Towards South-Eastern Perspectives," Planning Theory, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 211–222.
