Sustainable urban infrastructure
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Sustainable urban infrastructure is a term used to describe infrastructure that facilitates a place or regions progress towards the goal of sustainable living. Attention is paid to technological and government policy which enables urban planning for sustainable architecture and initiatives that promote sustainable agriculture.
In theory, a sustainable design can lead to the development of sustainable communities by ensuring that infrastructural knowledge makes improvements that do not deplete natural resources. Consequently the transition and mass adoption of renewable resources features heavily in sustainable infrastructures.
The design emphasis for a sustainable urban infrastructure is on localization and sustainable living. The aim is to reduce individual's ecological footprint according to the principles of sustainable development in areas with a high population density.
The criteria for what can be included in this kind of urban environment varies from place to place, given differences in existing infrastructure and built form, climate and availability of local resources or talents.
Generally speaking the following could be considered sustainable urban infrastructure:
- public transport networks
- Distributed generation and integrated energy demand management initiatives and programs
- high efficiency buildings and other development constraints such as only permitting the construction of green buildings and sustainable habitats with energy-efficient landscaping.
- connected green spaces and wildlife corridors
- Low impact development practices to protect water resources.
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[edit] Merged from Sustainable municipal infrastructure
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The term sustainable municipal infrastructure is used by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Infrastructure Canada, National Research Council of Canada, and Canadian Public Works Association to describe the goal of their FCM InfraGuide project.
To achieve sustainability in municipal infrastructure especially large scale urban infrastructure, they advocate environmental protocols and inclusion of ecological and social indicators and factors in decision making at the earliest possible stage. There is little focus yet on sustainable rural infrastructure though this is a stated goal of the project, as is spreading it to achieve rural development in developing nations.
In their view, sustainability concerns apply to all of "maintaining, repairing and upgrading the infrastructure that sustains our quality of life" including at least:
- municipal decision making and investment planning
- potable water supply
- stormwater and waste water especially minimizing the distance that such water travels to be treated and reused
- roads and sidewalks and their integration with transit systems to achieve smoother flow of people
- environmental protocols and multi-discipline practices to ensure they are respected, e.g. green procurement.
These and other Canadian official entities including the Auditor General of Canada and Service Canada are focused on related efforts such as municipal performance audits, information technology and communications technology, moral purchasing and sharing of "data, information, common infrastructure, technology" and the need to "integrate their business processes" to further reduce duplication and waste, especially e-waste and greenhouse gas emissions a concern under Kyoto Protocol targets that Canada has committed to achieve.
Communities of Tomorrow is a non-profit enterprise in Saskatchewan, Canada that fosters the development and commercialization of innovative sustainable infrastructure solutions for the global marketplace. Sustainable infrastructure is the development of water, sewer, roads, and other infrastructure systems that meet the needs of current and future generations in a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable manner. Communities of Tomorrow brings industry firms together with researchers to collaboratively develop new infrastructure solutions to existing or future problems with the ultimate goal to commercialize them. It’s about building greener and longer lasting infrastructure, such as roads and water systems, to offer the global marketplace.
[edit] See also
- Environmental design
- Green infrastructure
- Landscape urbanism AALU
- New Urbanism
- Regional Planning
- Smart City
- Sustainable urban drainage systems
- Transit-Oriented Development
- Sustainable Implant
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- Cities can Save the Earth: the urban solution to climate change, species extinctions and peak oil
- Canada's National Round Table on the Environment and Economy suggestions re: sustainable urban infrastructure
- Canada's National Round Table on the Environment and Economy Sustainable Cities Initiative
- Communities of Tomorrow industry-research partnership in Regina, Canada
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