Sustainability
What are the cutting edge ideas of the future that will get us to a zero impact footprint? What do we need to do to make this happen?
Cities currently account for just 2% of the earth’s land surface, but are responsible for:
- 54% of the world’s population
- 60-80% of global energy consumption
- 75% of carbon emissions and
- More than 75% of the world’s natural resource consumption
...and with urbanisation, our urban populations only continue to grow.
Source: Urban Resource Flows and the Governance of Infrastructure Transitions, Elsevier
Cities are complex systems and play a major role in ensuring the environmental sustainability of our planet.
Sustainability is the quest to ensure we don’t take more than we can give back. But are we doing all we can to achieve this? Achieving true sustainability will take more than installing solar panels on every roof. It will require a shake-up in the way we source, consume, and dispose of our resources, and a re-think about how we design our cities so that they are truly adaptable and efficient.
Where are we at with designing water, energy and climate sensitive cities? Is it possible for cities to achieve zero-waste? What are we doing to protect the biodiversity and green spaces within our cities for future generations?
Through my travels, I aim to unearth the brightest minds’ thinking about what it will take to make our world truly sustainable - whether it be via new technologies, new design philosophies, social programs, or governance policy. My main focus areas will be sustainability ideas around water, energy, and producing zero-waste, but who knows what else I’ll discover along the way?
