The majority of the people in the world now live in cities and that will probably only increase as this century goes on. We need to imagine cities that are sustainable and, even more, regenerative, restorative, ecological.
"The good news is that there are more and more examples from around the world where the principles of regenerative development are being put into practice, and thanks in part to Professor Girardet's work as a ‘Thinker In Residence' in Adelaide ten years ago, South Australia has become a shining example. In Greater Adelaide, a city region of 1.2 million people, more than 26% of the city's electricity is produced by wind turbines and solar PV panels. There are over 200,000 houses in the city with photovoltaic roofs, making some of them into net electricity generators. Efficient energy use is now mandated for all municipal buildings, reducing their carbon emissions by up to 60%. There has been a large-scale retrofit throughout the city to ensure high standards of energy efficiency in people's homes, and a new-build solar village with 110 homes has been designed to the highest sustainable standards. These initiatives have reduced overall carbon emissions from the city by 15% since 2003."In and around Adelaide, nearly 3 million trees have been planted on 2,000 hectares of land, providing carbon dioxide absorption services, as well as countering soil erosion and increasing biodiversity. An ambitious zero-waste policy has been implemented that has enabled the production of 180,000 tonnes of compost a year, made from the city's organic waste. This is then used to improve the fertility and soil structure of 20,000 hectares of land near the city that produces most of the fruit and vegetables the populous consumes. This land is also irrigated with reclaimed waste-water. And to top all of this, Adelaide has the world's first solar powered bus service!"
from http://www.theecologist.org/...