Green design is a term which has been closely associated with the environmental debates going on in the world. The fact is that the concept involves the integration of numerous environmentally-conscious approaches that are used in designing structures, objects, and services in the modern world. Some of the key components attached to this approach would include careful utilization of energy resources, conservation of materials, and creation of safe environments.
Urban centers have proved to be more serious in undertaking these programs, thus making it more environmentally friendly to live in cities than in the rural areas. The idea of urban centers being environmentally friendly has become common nowadays, especially with the application of green design principles which can take many forms. This paper examines sustainable city and regional planning as an effective approach which has been applied in most parts of the world to carry out the concept of green living in urban centers.
The concept of sustainable city and regional planning is guided by a number of principles which have been borrowed from the natural environment. These principles include, but not limited to, the aspects of efficiency, renewability, carrying capacity, and reduction of negative impacts. In order to achieve the expected goals of sustainability in cities, urban designers and planners have adopted new planning principles and techniques (Jenks and Burgess, 2000).
For instance, these developers have come up with new ways of organizing the structure of cities to comply with the policies of ecological sustainability. The perfect designing of sustainable landscapes in the urban centers has led to efficient use of land in cities and the surrounding regions. This controlled use of land through urban planning has further led to orderly development of infrastructure and facilities in the cities.
Sustainable city and urban planning has also been effective in reducing ecological impacts that are likely to arise from urban sprawls. As it will be observed, housing demands are likely to rise as more people shift from rural areas to the cities. This has often necessitated for the expansion of the urban cities to accommodate the increasing numbers.
This expansion usually results into more harm to the environment, as new space is cleared off for building purposes. Sustainable land-use management approaches used in putting up structures in the urban centers have significantly minimized this spread of suburban development, thus helping to preserve the ecosystem. In this regard, sustainable city and regional planning has enabled many urban centers in the world to accommodate their carrying capacities without having to stretch to rural landscapes.
Modern urban planners and designers have also managed to cooperate with metropolitan development authorities in ensuring that the benefits of green spaces are realized in the urban centers (Roberts, 1994). This has been achievable through amenities such as greenbelts, nature reserves, animal parks, botanical gardens, and waterways in cities and big towns.
Apart from connecting human beings to nature, these amenities have also served as learning zones for environmentalism and other related disciplines. More importantly, these green spaces have served as good venues for social gatherings owing to their attractive nature.
According to Kenworthy (2006), the idea of sustainable city planning has significantly improved public transportation in the urban centers. The roads in many cities of developed countries have been sustained with bike lanes and walking paths to help ease transportation.
This, however, has helped to eliminate the need for people to own cars, since the above forms of transport are certain to provide transportation which is much cheaper and easier. In this regard, many people will be packed into a single mode of transportation, and this reduces the high levels of emissions that would have been realized if everybody had to use their own car. Things, however, would be much different in the rural areas, where people must use their cars to get to work or when they have to go out to run errands.
Accessibility is the other aspect which makes urban centers more eco-friendly, compared to rural areas. As a matter of fact, accessibility to places of significant interest such as hospitals, shopping malls, and recreation centers is easy in the urban centers. In other terms, it is easier and cheaper for people to access useful resources in cities than in suburbs or rural areas. This can be explained in the sense that people will have to burn less fuel to get to these facilities while in the city, than when they are in rural areas.
The other reason why cities are environmentally friendly is because of their effective approaches to the management of waste. Waste is arguably one of the biggest pollutants of air and environment in the world today. Apart from being the primary cause for water pollution and diseases, waste has also contributed towards the issue of global warming through emission of carbon dioxide and methane, among other greenhouse gases.
In this respect, there is a need for countries to adopt new building designs and strategies that will facilitate effective management of waste in both urban and rural areas. These development strategies have been applied in many developed and developing countries, where the built environment in cities and towns is utilized in a manner which makes the elimination of waste easier. Based on all these facts, it is more environmentally friendly to live in urban areas than in rural areas.
References
Jenks, M., & Burgess, R. (2000). Compact cities: sustainable urban forms for developing countries. United Kingdom: Routledge.
Kenworthy, J. (2006). The eco-city: ten key transport and planning dimensions for sustainable city development. Environment and Urbanization, 18(1), 67-85.
Roberts, P. (1994). Sustainable regional planning. Journal of the Regional Studies Association, 28(8), 781-787.