Urbanisation is a global challenge, but nowhere is experiencing the growth rates seen in the Middle East
More than half the worlds population now lives in cities, and over the next 35 years, that is expected to continue growing, hitting 70 per cent by 2050. By then, there is expected to be more than 9 billion people on the planet, with 7 per cent, or almost 602 million, living in the Middle East and North Africa.
Cities and towns cover only approximately 3 per cent of the worlds landmass, yet are responsible for about 75 per cent of energy consumption and 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. By December 2014, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had reached just shy of 399 parts per million, the highest for at least 800,000 years. Recent emissions growth has also been at its fastest rate in 30 years.
Temperature rise
With populations expanding, it is becoming more important to consider sustainability when designing new communities, particularly as scientists argue that greenhouse gas emissions need to be curbed if the world is to avoid a 2°C temperature rise over the coming century.
Key fact
By December 2014, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had reached their highest level in 800,000 years
Source: MEED
The argument pushed is that urban planners need to put people and their quality of life first when designing new towns and cities. Thinking should include who is going to live in an area, transport options, from where food will come, as well as what leisure activities and job opportunities will be available. When planning sustainable cities, authorities and decision-makers need to consider whether a development is even needed, and if so, why and how it will connect with the surrounding communities.
What matters in sustainability are the outcomes, says Husam al-Waer, senior lecturer in sustainable urban design at the UKs Dundee University. Have you really managed to have an impact [and provide] benefits for people? Thats what matters and what we really need in sustainability. It is about the people who live in the area, not the architects, engineers or decision-makers. Have you really made a difference to peoples daily lives?
Traffic congestion
It is questionable whether sustainable outcomes and people were key considerations in past developments. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh all suffer from chronic traffic congestion, as weak public transport infrastructure and a cultural tendency to use a car for even short journeys have resulted in clogged streets.
Dubai has tackled some aspects of its traffic problems by introducing a metro, improving its bus service to cover 85 per cent of the emirate and, more recently, through the introduction of a tram. It also plans to launch a trolley bus in 2015 to serve the Downtown community close to the Burj Khalifa.
Other major cities will have metro lines operational within a few years. But these networks need to be extensive, so that over time, people naturally choose public transport as their mode of travel like what happens in and around cities such as London rather than jumping into a car.
Car usage
Reducing car miles in the GCC will be a slow process, particularly because cheap petrol prices make car usage an attractive option, even when the roads are busy. The UAE, for instance, has one of the highest per capita carbon footprints, at 30-35 tonnes a year. This is approaching three times the average level in the UK of 12.4 tonnes CO2 equivalent. The UKs Department of Transport estimates that 55 per cent of personal emissions are from car usage. Figures for the GCC are not available, however with cars often being the first choice for travel, that figure is likely to be higher.
Roger Cruickshank, director of strategic transport, Middle East at Atkins, says developers are increasingly layering transport policies so that they cover cars, public transport, walking and cycling. But if more people are to reduce car kilometres, there are two barriers the region must overcome: cultural factors and the weather. A lot of people use public transport elsewhere, but the main barrier here is the weather in summer, says Cruickshank.
Air quality
Swapping car journeys for public transport can also improve air quality. It is estimated that for average-sized engines, a 100-kilometre journey releases about 17.3 kilogrammes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Emissions from an equivalent journey by rail or metro are approximately two-thirds lower.
But with Middle East daytime temperatures during summer months regularly above 40°C, encouraging people to leave the car at home and cycle or walk to a metro station or bus stop is tough. However, urban planners are looking at how they can minimise discomfort by ensuring distances to a bus stop or metro are short, typically distances of 200-500 metres, and that there is plenty of shade on the route.
The ability to move around easily, and walk and cycle safely are key tenets for new urban plans in Abu Dhabi, says Yousef al-Ali, planning manager for Al-Gharbia at Abu Dhabis Urban Planning Council. The emirate has a set of criteria it uses, such as the requirement that developments meet its 2030 Plan. Expectations include that there are open spaces for people to enjoy, facilities such as schools and mosques available, and whether it is in a culturally sensitive location.
Connected communities
[Questions include] is there a strong connection to surrounding communities? Is it adding value to residents? says Al-Ali. We have isolated communities. When they are spread out, you might think this was good for people, but were trying to have connected communities, so that it is easy for people to walk and move. And easier for governments to provide infrastructure. Big distances between facilities prevents walking and [is not good] for health and safety.
A clear theme emerging for sustainable developments is the need to minimise distances travelled wherever possible. This would reduce road congestion, make shorter journeys on public transport more attractive, ensure people could walk to public transport, and benefit the health and wellbeing of residents.
Mixed-use cities
To this end, there has been a level of fragmentation in the GCC, says Al-Waer, who points out that masterplanning should not be about creating silos or allowing communities to be developed around car usage. Cities need to become integrated and mixed-mode, he says.
In the development boom in Dubai, for instance, communities were built that are not mixed-use for the target resident market, and with minimal public transport options, people were forced into their cars to travel to work.
Around the GCC, there has been some disconnect in planning, says Cruickshank. But newer communities are trying to overcome this by developing mixed-use areas that are closer to major transport hubs.
Sufficient density
Community location is important, but so too is the density of people and housing units. Sustainable communities are not generally low density, because this does not make good use of facilities, space or energy. In Europe, there are good examples of mixed-use, mixed-density communities, such as Freiburg in Germany, a town so green it now attracts eco-tourists and has become the major centre for solar research on the continent, and the Vinex housing programme in Holland. Here the government wanted 455,000 homes built, of which 285,000 had to follow four simple rules:
- Be compact to preserve the countryside
- Be close to existing cities to minimise car travel
- Be developed around existing or new public transport
- Be close to shops and employment opportunities
Density is tricky. It has to be high. Not really, really high, but sufficiently high to make everything viable, from banks to schools and everything else, says Samer Bagaeen, principal lecturer and associate professor in urban planning at the University of Brighton.
The difficulty is convincing people to live in areas with sufficient density, he adds. Youll find people who live on the fringes of cities will say no to high densities. Not even to medium densities, because they see it as disruptive to their way of life.
The desire to reduce the carbon footprint of the region is clear, and governments are pushing for rapid change that benefits the environment and can attract professionals to live and work in their cities. Overcoming the summer heat and humidity is a challenge, as is encouraging people to use forms of transport other than the car. But the attraction of sustainable cities is that they present an opportunity to create community spirit, a thriving economy and a place where people really do want to live, work and play.
Who drives change?
In countries such as the UK and Germany, change has been driven as much locally as centrally, but in the GCC it needs to be led by leaders and governmental departments, otherwise it is unlikely to happen. This includes the introduction of regulations. Although opinions differ on whether regulations should be mandatory or voluntary, the weight of opinion leans towards the former.
Clear, mandatory rules provide the market with certainties and raise standards, says Janus Rostock, regional design director for the Middle East at Atkins. It should be driven by government. If it comes from the authority itself thats the right way to do it. We are finding that technology is moving quite fast and rules and regulations arent necessarily being updated at the same pace, says Rostock.
Al-Ali agrees: Legislation is important for the enforcement of planning processes. It also acts as a guidance tool to inform future developments.
Goals to guide sustainable developments
One difficulty with sustainability is the term itself it is broad-reaching and open to interpretation. In light of this, schemes such as One Planet Living are used by some companies to better understand what clients mean when they say sustainable.
One Planet Living comprises a list of 10 goals and principles that can be used by the construction industry to help guide clients on their priorities for a new development.
Janus Rostock, regional design director for the Middle East at the UKs Atkins says it allows companies to prioritise sustainability goals. Its holistic in its approach and covers all the areas we want to look at, he says. We always use it to have informed discussions with people.
Sustainability focus
One Planet Living was set up as a way to help those designing and building communities to make them more sustainable. It has been designed for use by architects, town planners, developers and the construction industry to help them adopt more sustainable practices.
The principles can be adapted by an individual organisation to best meet their requirements. Companies can work with their clients to meet all 10, or cherry pick those that are most important.
Flexible goals
Set up in the UK by the Switzerland-based Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and an environmental organisation called Bioregional, the principles aim to encourage organisations to view a community as more than just buildings and their materials, and to consider the needs of the residents, such as how people will get around, albeit minimising private car use, energy requirements and the impact on the local environment.
Sustainability needs to be adapted to the place and people that are there, says Rostock. Its not one size fits all, its prescriptive in a good way. You can say what the most important elements are in a development.
10 principles for creating a sustainable development | |
Principle | Goal |
Health and happiness | Encouraging people to lead active, sociable, meaningful lives to promote good health and well-being |
Equity and local economy | Creating bioregional economies that support equity, diverse local employment and international fair trade |
Culture and community | Respecting and reviving local identity, wisdom and culture; encouraging the involvement of people in shaping their community and creating a new culture of sustainability |
Land use and wildlife | Protecting and restoring biodiversity, and creating new natural habitats through good land use and integration into the built environment |
Sustainable water | Using water efficiently in buildings, farming and manufacturing; designing to avoid local issues such as flooding, drought and water pollution |
Local and sustainable food | Supporting sustainable and humane farming, promoting access to healthy, low-impact, local, seasonal and organic diets, and reducing food waste |
Sustainable materials | Using sustainable and healthy products, such as those with low-embodied energy, sourced locally, made from renewable or waste resources |
Sustainable transport | Reducing the need to travel, and encouraging low and zero-carbon modes of transport to reduce emissions |
Zero waste | Reducing waste, reusing where possible and ultimately sending zero waste to landfill |
Zero carbon | Making buildings energy-efficient and delivering all energy with renewable technologies |
Source: One Planet Living |
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