City Planning

City planning has a long history. At various times city planners have taken environmental factors carefully into consideration. A city’s site and situation are both important. It is important to combine the physical and aesthetic needs of a city.

                                                      

A city grows at the expense of the surrounding countryside, destroying the surrounding landscape on which it ultimately depends. As the nearby areas are ruined for agriculture and as the transportation network extends, the use, misuse, and destruction of the environment increase.

One of the ways in which we can improve the management of a city environment is to analyze the city as an ecological system. Like any life-supporting system, a city must maintain a flow of energy, provide material resources, and have ways of removing wastes. These ecosystem functions are maintained in a city or urban area by transportation and communication with outlying areas.

Although it is impossible to eliminate exposure to pollutants in urban areas, it is possible to reduce the exposure by careful planning, design, and development. A practical solution to the problems associated with urbanization can be achieved by involving several specialized professions including urban forestry, landscape architecture, city planning, and city engineering. These professionals take into account climate, soils, and the general influences of the urban setting, such as the shading imposed by tall buildings and the pollution from motor vehicles.

An ideal city planning takes advantage of locally available renewable energy sources and requires that all buildings, vehicles, and appliances meet high energy-efficiency standards. Trees and plants adapted to the local climate and soils are planted throughout to provide shade and beauty, supply wildlife habitats, and reduce pollution, noise, and soil erosion. Abandoned lots and industrial sites and polluted creeks and rivers are cleaned up and restored. Nearby forests, grasslands, wetlands, and farms are preserved instead of being devoured by urban sprawl. Much of the city’s food comes from nearby organic farms, solar greenhouses, community gardens, and small gardens in rooftops, in yards, abandoned lots, and in window boxes.

Urban areas can be modified to provide additional habitats for wildlife that people can enjoy. They can provide if perfectly planned all the needs—physical structures and necessary resources such as food, minerals, and water—for many plants and animals.

Modern parks provide some of the world’s best wildlife habitats, and importance of parks will increase as truly wild areas shrink.

Urban drainage structures can be designed as wildlife habitats. Stream and marsh habitats should be maintained or created so that they can become habitats for fish and mammals.