To counter climate change, the future of urban planning and design needs to be reconsidered said speakers at the Reuters Impact conference, discussing ways to help buildings and cities advance.
“It’s about reminding ourselves that we all have a shared responsibility to ensure that we use less resources,”Sadie Morgan
“It’s about reminding ourselves that we all have a shared responsibility to ensure that we use less resources,” said Sadie Morgan, the architect who chairs a government watchdog group that oversees the Quality of Life Foundation.
When designing new structures, for example, architects should think about how buildings might be removed and recycled at the end of their life cycle or else converted, Morgan said.
Urban planners can create more places where people will be able to meet and socialize with one another without the need for cars.
But dramatic changes to how cities function — like reshaping how cars are used — could not just come from architects and require policymakers’ work, she said.
Globally roughly 56 per cent of the world’s population lives in cities, but urban areas account for roughly three-quarters of global CO2 emissions.
Buildings and transport are among the biggest generators of urban emissions – including emissions from cars, building, heating and cooling as well as lighting.
Cities continue to be a significant part of the efforts to slow down climate change; the United Nations estimates that by 2050 some two-thirds of the population will be living in urban areas.
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