Sustainable Urban Development

Its increasing importance in cities and San Francisco

San Francisco has a housing problem. It is surrounded on 3 sides by water, and is only roughly 7 miles in length. Although it is a city with much to offer, and an incredibly complex and diverse history, the housing crisis puts a significant strain on the city. But it's not just the housing crisis that calls for change. In order to effectively combat climate change, the city must adapt to improve upon its public transit system, accessibility to services, walkability, general sustainability, and much, much, more. Therefore, it is crucial that we learn the importance of people friendly, urban development and planning, as it will influence how the people SF live.

This Graph helps to show the simultaneous stunted growth of housing, while it shows the continuous rise in job opportunities. This creates a city with a lot of people who need to commute to work, and a few very expensive houses.

What is urban development?

Urban development is the development or improvement of urban areas. This is done in various ways, such as planning and building new homes, businesses etc., preserving historic landmarks, and renovating old or neglected areas.

Why keeping urban development sustainable is important

  • It combats climate change. This is probably the most obvious, but having more greenery to help absorb co2, permeable pavement to mitigate flooding, and an emphasis on public transport instead of driving would all shorten our impact on the environment.
  • It protects natural resources
  • It reduces overall pollution. A reduced number of cars, renovations of current public transit systems, and a lengthening of walkways will give more space for plants, improving the quality of air. Additionally, thoughtful use of recycled building materials for construction projects can greatly reduce the amount of waste produced by cities.
  • It affects the moods of people living in said place. Part of being sustainable is having the city in touch with nature. Humans should not live in a concrete jungle, but with plants, trees, birds, bugs, etc. and living in an environment that emphasizes carbon neutrality and a balance of nature and people will incentivize them to do better.

The Issue

San Francisco and other cities in the United States have a public infrastructure that must adapt to climate change. For one, most parts of the country have car based infrastructure. That is to say, cities that are structured in a way that only think about cars instead of people. This often leads to the development of massive highways, lots, and garages, which all take up huge tracts of land, in turn causes people to rely on cars to get anywhere because places are too far away or are too filled with cars to be safe. Not only does car based infrastructure impact the physical and mental wellbeing of people, but it also pushes out animals who have nowhere to go.

Proper urban development should inherently tie in with being sustainable. After all, the goal of urban development should come down to ensuring a better quality of life for citizens. Pollution affects the general health of an area, lack of greenery affects the air quality, and cars also affect air quality as well as walkability. If a city were not sustainable, and it had trash everywhere and was filthy, with no greenery, and massive highways with nowhere to walk, then it would not be a very pleasant city to be in. Though the issue of massive roads is not as great an issue for San Francisco as it may be for other American cities, SF still faces significant problems of homelessness, dirtiness, and a great deal of the city still being single-double story suburban homes. It does have a high use of clean energy, with the highest being solar and hydropower, but the infrastructure itself could be better suited to cater towards the people. San Francisco already has a comparatively good public transport system, we just need to place more emphasis on it.

Biodiversity Intactness Index: 1970-2050

Biodiversity Intactness Index: 1970-2050

San Francisco is at risk of losing biodiversity. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, spaces that animals rely on for food and shelter can become very limited. Even if there are a few spaces, they are often small and isolated. This impacts migration patterns, further limits resources, and makes animals vulnerable. Moreover, invasive species such as the ice plant and giant reed have taken over most of the areas with less people, which further impacts the animals that need a space to live in.

" Succulents and sun at Fort Funston " by  chad_k  showing a meadow of invasive ice plant

What is being done to promote sustainability?

San Francisco has ambitious goals to make the city a greener, more sustainable space to live in. It plans to have 100% clean energy by 2030, and actively works to transition away from fossil fuels. Due to its size, the city has a pretty good public transport system already when compared to the rest of the US. The city also works to have higher  sustainability standards  focusing on waste reduction,

One way to be more sustainable is to follow the LEED and/or WELL certification rubric when designing a building. LEED uses 7 criteria:

7 Criteria to get a LEED certification, which is scored on points, lasts 2 years, and has 4 levels of Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points)

 WELL  focuses on 7 criteria as well, with some variation to LEED. It emphasizes:

  • AIR
  • WATER
  • NOURISHMENT
  • LIGHT
  • FITNESS
  • COMFORT
  • MIND

Which appeals a bit more directly to the health of the person, especially the fitness factor which considers if it helps people maintain a level of mobility (think stairs, halls, etc. instead of elevators.) In following these criteria, buildings can be more effective at fostering a culture that will encourage a sustainable space for people and the environment.

Conservation Action plan

  • Use public transit when you can - Some places may require a car, but try to use public transit for things that aren't too far away when you can.
  • Buy produce in season more often - This is better for the environment as less fertilizers and chemicals are needed to ripen the product. It is also mostly cheaper when it is in season.
  • Wash only a full load of laundry - Saving your dirty clothes for a full load of laundry will ensure the maximum use from that laundry load.
  • Try sun drying your clothes. This not only saves energy but extends the lifespan of your clothes.
  • Reuse/repurpose water when you can - Use the water you use to wash or boil vegetables to water your plants. Or collect water from your shower when waiting for it to warm up, then use it for mopping, watering non-edible plants, or flushing toilets
  • Go out and volunteer at your local garden - Volunteering at places is a great experience for learning about how plants work. It also allows you to connect with the community and contribute directly to help the environment

Reflection and conclusion

This internship was a great experience for me. I got to learn about all kinds of new aspects to climate change that I didn't really give much thought to before, as well as meeting new people in the workshops online outside San Francisco. The milestones also allowed me to see just how much energy and water I was using in excess, as well as learn to do use ArcGIS which I struggled with but still learned from. Additionally, I got to see different kinds of people, perspectives, and jobs in the environmental field during the webinars, which is not something I typically have the privilege to do. In conclusion, this internship has been a good learning experience for me, and I'm glad I was able to be apart of it.

" Succulents and sun at Fort Funston " by  chad_k  showing a meadow of invasive ice plant

7 Criteria to get a LEED certification, which is scored on points, lasts 2 years, and has 4 levels of Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points)