Essay Examples - Environmental Studies Essays
How compatible are sustainability and spatial planning?
Spatial planning and strategic planning are on the forefront of the government's agenda because they are crucial to the long term development of a nation. European community have given a lot of effort to have a unified planning strategy and one of the goals set is sustainable development.
But how are these two topics linked at all?
The objective of this essay is to look at sustainability issues, spatial planning and see how spatial planning can be used as a tool to gear a nation towards sustainable development.
Spatial Planning
Formerly known as Town and Country Planning, spatial planning is the tool with which long term changes to living environment is predicted and managed. According to the European Commission, spatial planning refers to the methods used largely by the public sector to influence the future distribution of activities in space (espon.org.uk). It is undertaken with the aims of creating a more rational territorial organisation of land uses and the linkages between them, to balance demands for development with the need to protect the environment, and to achieve social and economic objectives.
Spatial planning embraces measures to co-ordinate the spatial impacts of other sector policies, to achieve a more even distribution of economic development between regions than would otherwise be created by market forces, and to regulate the conversion of land and property uses.
In simple terms, spatial planning means planning the use of space. At a macro level, it may be the long term planning of future developments of a country in terms of creating new towns or making more land in a particular region more accessible for development. At a micro level, space can be a small community, a street, a residential complex or even a building. It all has to do with what space will be used for the future and how.
A spatial strategy or strategic planning is the approved strategy of a government or community on which the spatial planning will be based. It will set out the main objectives of planning.
Sustainability Definitions
In its broadest sense, sustainability means sustained ability. It means being able to produce and consume for longer, and eventually for ever. In a societal sense, sustainability is the ability to continually benefit resources without endangering their complete depletion. These resources include materials, energy sources, living environment and a wide array of naturally available resources. In a sustainable society, the demands would equal or be less than supply of resources. The process of achieving that state of society is termed sustainable development.
Forum for the Future's definition (regionalfutures.org.uk) of sustainable development is: A dynamic process which enables all people to realize their potential and improve their quality of life in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the Earth's life support system. The UK Sustainable Development Strategy developed in 1999 defines sustainable development as meeting four objectives at the same time:
- Social progress which recognizes the needs of everyone.
- Effective protection of the environment.
- Prudent use of natural resources.
- Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.
Main Themes of Sustainable Development
The approach to achieve sustainability varies from region to region according to the particular realities. However, every approach is built on the same basic principles. The main drive towards sustainability is governed by:
- Energy
- Environment
- Use of resources.
Energy
Energy is a basic requirement for life. Every community depends on energy for its survival and development. Constant population growth and socio-economic development have created an ever-increasing demand of energy. However, energy is expensive and harms the environment. Energy and environment are very closely interlinked. Energy is produced mainly by burning fossil fuel such as oil and coal. It is also produced by nuclear fission of Uranium.
Depleted Uranium are disposed in nature with serious consequences but is continued to be used because of the high demand of energy in developed countries. Burning of fossil fuel produces pollutants, mostly in form of emissions that are rich in Carbon Oxides, Sulphur and other pollutants. These in turn cause environmental problems such as:
- Acid rain
- Global warming
- Air quality
Environment
Many of the environment issues are linked to energy and some have already been discussed in section 4.2.1. The environment is what we live in. The quality of the environment has a direct consequence on the quality of life. Environment directly influences health and well being. However, any type of development is likely to affect the environment. Sustainable development should be one where such that the effects of the environment resulting from development are minimized. In some cases, a development may be cancelled or altered to avoid adversely impacting the environment.
Resources
Energy production consumes fossil fuel. Development in general consumes material that eventually comes from nature. If these materials are consumed faster than Mother Nature can produce them, they will soon be depleted. So, any development should take into account the type and quantity of material being used.
Sustainability via Spatial Planning
Spatial planning or urban planning will affect sustainability whether this is the objective or not. Spatial planning sets out the changes that a city or town is going to experience. It is therefore going to affect the constructions and urbanisation over a period of 25 years or more. A city is not made up of only a collection of houses. A city is a complex system in a state of constant mutation. Key issues of a city life are also issues of key importance for a sustainable development.
The Built Environment
Any urban development is centred on people who live or who will live in that urban area. Buildings are the foundation blocks of any development and everything else is planned according to the type and use of buildings in the area. Buildings not only affect the environment, but are also part of it.
Spatial planning promotes sustainable development by considering the type, size and location of existing and future buildings. It is always easier to start off with a Greenfield site with no previous occupation. This gives the opportunity to plan all amenities in such a way to minimise use of resources including land and maximise environmental benefits. However, in most cases, developments are bound to occur within an existing urban area. It is then essential to take into consideration the local realities of existing buildings and the people already living there.
Even a small development in a region may increase the demand for local amenities. A strategic spatial planning therefore can plan in the long term on the regions where building developments should be allowed. The type of buildings to be allowed, the size and density of buildings as well as the effect of landscape and local ecology should all be balanced. The intended use of buildings should be in accordance with the planned development of the region.
If a new community is to be developed in a certain part of a town, developing industrial buildings in the same region goes against principles of sustainability. Spatial planning of a region can really help to get the best out of a given development in the long term. Such a plan must also adhere to a larger scheme of strategic planning run at a higher level (national or European).
Energy
The reduction of fossil-fuel-based energy is a key issue for environmental sustainability and can be greatly assisted by the informed and strategic development of energy planning at an early stage (Pitts, 2004). As explained in section 4.2.1, energy production and utilisation is a major contributor to pollution and environment degradation. In UK for example, (Nicholls, 2002) energy consumption in buildings account for 45% of the total UK energy consumption.
Energy is used principally to create a comfortable indoor environment. Space heating, ventilation, lighting and cooling are currently highly energy consuming. Spatial planning at a micro level can help reduce the energy demand of buildings by applying innovative methods of design and construction. Sustainable construction methods is a topic of its own and is beyond the scope of this essay but it should nevertheless be mentioned because of its impact on the global energy demand in any region. This should be acknowledged at a macro level.
Spatial planning can be used as a tool to promote energy-efficient buildings. Government policies and incentives can be very helpful is regulating the use of energy in new buildings. Existing buildings can also be improved by applying the wide spectrum of architectural and mechanical technologies now available.
For instance, following the Kyoto Protocol, the government has introduced a Climate Change Levy. Industries and businesses are now charged a levy for the amount of energy they use, depending on the type of energy they use. Renewable sources are exempt. Spatial planning is responsible to forecast the energy demands. It has to meet those demands and well as manage and minimise those demands at the same time. Energy-efficient energy distribution systems for new developments should also contribute to sustainable developments.
Transport
An urban development consists mainly of buildings but also the links between the buildings. People have transport needs and they have to be planned for during the spatial planning process. Transport needs can be expressed as:
- Connectivity
- Convenience
- Comfort
- Convivial
- Conspicuous
If these needs are understood and planned for, the urban area is likely to be more successful in its strive for sustainability. The local transport policies must match the planed developments. The transport system must be planned for future expansion in development and population and thus expanding demands.
Means of transport are major contributors to energy use and pollution. Therefore, a well-thought of transport policy can help reduce the demand of transport. In several cities in UK, a public transport policy has proved to be efficient in making people leave their cars at home. The congestion charge of London is one of them.
Many cities have adopted a comfortable and affordable means of public transport that meets the criteria listed before. Manchester, Sheffield and more recently Nottingham have opted for trams. Weekly and monthly passes make it affordable to regular users who now prefer to use the tram to go work. Well-planned cycle routes have also proved useful in reducing the number of cars on the roads.
Water
The use and also disposal of water pose two main concerns for planners. Water is a scarce resource in many parts of the world. It is renewable in the form of rain but this is not currently being maximised. The capacity of drainage systems in many regions are often exceeded in periods of storm or continuous heavy rainfall. Instead of draining all that excess water away, it should be collected for use.
Unfortunately, the current system of water supply has the same quality of water being used for drinking purposes as for gardens. Collecting and treating water to potable quality is energy consuming and expensive. Also, a lot of water is wasted due to bad planning and improper use.
Spatial planning can design into a new development the concept of separate supply for potable and non-potable water. That would not only reduce the demand on water treatment plants but also give opportunity to reuse of domestic water for other purposes such as washing and irrigation.
Wastes Management
The modern society is a very consumption driven society which generates a lot of waste. Waste disposal is a real concern. Spatial planning can incorporate waste recycling and reuse in the planned new developments. Re-use of disposal grounds are possible and have to be planned for. Recycling also poses challenges for wastes collection and separation. Planning can bring about separate collection systems that facilitate recycling.
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Conclusion
Although apparently different fields of discussion, spatial planning and sustainable development have a lot in common. In fact, the core principles are the same one could say that the very raison-d'etre of spatial planning is to promote sustainability principles. This is done by forecasting demands and planning for it. As well as trying to meet those demands, spatial planning is used to manage them and contain them. Some of the major issues involved in planning have been touched and ways of achieving sustainable development in those key areas have been discussed.
References
http://www.espon.org.uk/spatialplanning.htm
http://www.regionalfutures.org.uk/newsdigest/SPintheregions_page1953.aspx
Nicholls, Richard, Low Energy Design, Interface Publishing, 2002
Pitts, Adrian, Planning and Design Strategies for Sustainability and Profit, Architectural Press, 2004
EUROPA, http://europa.eu.int, 2002.
Grandjean, E. and Gilgen, A., Environmental Factors in Urban Planning, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 1976.
Haughton, G. and Hunter, C., Sustainable Cities, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1996.
Romaya, S. and Rakoti, C., Building Sustainable Urban Settlements, ITDG Publishing, 2002
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