“Green cities”
Introduction: (what are green cities?)
*The purpose of this article is to share the concept of green cities, discuss their positives and negatives, and ultimately decide whether living in a green city is the right decision.*
Green cities promote energy efficiency and renewable energy in all their activities, and extensively promote green solutions; they are also referred to as sustainable cities, eco-cities, or green cities. And are commonly referred to as the triple bottom line(TBL) because they focus on attaining 3 significant sustainable developments. Firstly, green sustainability is utilizing environmentally friendly products and services that reduce pollution, and your carbon footprint. Secondly, social sustainability is a proactive way of managing and identifying business impacts on employees, workers in the value chain, customers, and local communities, for example, providing quality education, affordable housing, physical & mental medical support, justice, and peace. And finally, economic sustainability is a broad set of decision-making principles and business practices aimed at achieving economic growth without engaging in the harmful environmental trade-offs that historically accompany growth such as reducing poverty, cost of living, and intelligent growth.
The history of green cities:
The concept of green cities has been around for a long time, but they weren't always referred to as “green cities”.
Richard Register first coined the term eco-city in his 1987 book Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future, where he offers innovative city planning solutions that would work anywhere. Although the first green city was built in 2013 in Agartala, India.
Nowadays, Green cities are on the rise. In the next 30 years, cities worldwide will be forced to change in ways never seen before. Sustainability will no longer be an enticing feature; it will be the driving force behind any major city. Sustainable cities of the future will be bigger, greener, and more intertwined with technology.
Green cities around us:
Alexandria, Egypt
In 2019 Alexandria joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) flagship urban sustainability program27. And officially become a green city by adopting an ALTERNATIVE FUEL POLICy, reducing greenhouse gases, releasing eco-friendly electronics vehicles, and many more similar projects.
Vienna, Austria
Over 50% of the city is made up of green areas and almost half of the city’s inhabitants use public transport religiously. Vienna’s city-planning strategy has allowed for an abundance of city parks, walking paths around the city, and a national park on the outskirts of the town.
The line, Saudi Arabia
THE LINE IS THE UPCOMING BIGGEST SAUDI PROJECT. Currently, under construction, The line is an eco-friendly city with No roads, cars, or emissions, it will run on 100% renewable energy and 95% of the land will be preserved for nature. Unlike traditional cities, people's health and well-being will be prioritized over transportation and infrastructure. Only 200 meters wide, but 170 kilometers long and 500 meters above sea level.
Effect of green cities on our society: (positives & negatives)
Positives:
Wellbeing
Not only are trees and plants wonderful to look at in a city, a green view is so much more than just decoration. A green environment improves the quality of life. Patients recover much faster in a green environment, residents of green neighbourhoods make less use of healthcare facilities, and employees of companies surrounded by green feel much happier. In addition, a city park will encourage people to exercise and relax there, which will improve their health.
Climate
Green trees and plants will prevent atmospheric damage, both on a global and on a local scale. Climate change will cause extreme heat and drought, alternated with excessive rainfall. This will make high demands on the urban environment. Trees and plants in a city can provide a cooling effect in case of a heat wave.
In the case of extreme rainfall, a planted soil will have a better water storage capacity than asphalt and concrete. It has been suggested that cities could prevent flooding by constructing so-called ‘wadis’. These planted areas, situated below surface level, can be temporarily flooded during excessive rainfall, preventing overloaded sewers. But public green places, like parks and gardens, contribute to a healthy urban climate as well.
Economy
For managers and officials wondering if the proceeds of an investment in urban nature can outweigh the inevitable costs, a calculation model has been developed by order of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. ‘TEEB-Stad’ (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in the city) is an analytical tool, based on a social cost-benefit analysis. It gives a better insight in the results of measures like extra trees or green roofs on public health, saving energy or water storage.
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity represents the degree of the variety of plants and animals. The various species on our earth keep nature balanced. Many different plants, trees and shrubs in the city will stimulate biodiversity. The more variation in vegetation, the more variation in the animal life it will attract.
A wide range of pollinating insects and many different plants will be a food source for birds and other animals. Pollinating insects are an important link in ecosystems. In other words, they are essential for biodiversity.
SOCIAL COHESION
A green environment actively contributes to the quality of life. People are happier and feel better in green surroundings. Besides, green places like parks and public gardens invite social interaction and exercise. People meet each other for a chat in a park, or join hands to maintain a green playground in the neighbourhood.
Finally, research has shown that the presence of green plants and activities in natural surroundings contribute to safer and whole neighbourhoods. So, ‘green’ does contribute to a safer and more pleasant living environment as well.
negatives:
One of the negatives of Green Cities
Are green buildings and the most known disadvantages of green buildings is:
1- Location:
Since these buildings depend on the sun for energy, they need to be located in a position that will have the best sun exposure which may demand placing them opposite other neighborhood homes.
2- Availability:
The materials to build such buildings can be hard to find especially in urban areas where preserving the environment is not the people’s first option.
So shipping these materials can then cost a lot than a standard building.
3- No air cooling features:
These buildings run on heat to generate power, so they are not designed for hot areas as they do not have any ventilation systems, so air conditioners will be required which will make these buildings anything but Eco-friendly.
4- A long time to construct:
Buildings require a longer time to be built and designed: Green building designs adopt a special method that takes into account the surrounding environmental conditions.
5- The cost of construction:
This is because at present the construction of green buildings requires a greater cost than regular buildings. After all, they depend on a lot of natural materials, which may not be available at all times and places.
So, should you live in a green city?
Green cities have shown that a lot of things got improved and it's an important step to take to live in a green City to have better health and improve your economy and live with a better climate and keep the natural balance and it's the best place to grow up in a healthy environment
Conclusion:
In the end, green cities have shown that it is the best choice to take in your life to live in a green city, and one of the biggest parts of the Saudi 2030 Vision is to build a green city that called Neom with multiple projects such as the line city with zero carbon and 100% work on renewable energy and others projects that have the same impact on the environment.
Green cities have a big impact on the environment and give good solutions and ways to live in a better environment.
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