Sustainable Development and Urban Environment

In light of recent scientific studies, shows the need for more sustainable architecture as global warming is caused by the effects of daily pollution. Due to a building’s long life-span, buildings have produced and consumed energy from the process of manufacturing and dismantling. It is because of the rapid increase in climate change, we must focus more on ways to incorporate sustainable buildings to improve the environmental impacts. Architects often overlooked the true definition and principle of sustainable architecture, with the context of the building an extremely important factor, it is crucial to evaluate the needs of the context, it is not the act of putting green plants on a building wall or roof as a front to be demonstrated as sustainable architecture. Green architecture also involves flexible and adaptive structural systems, using renewable building materials and energy, water collection, innovative heating and ultimately providing minimal harm to the natural habitat. A...

The idea of sustainability is to achieve present needs without affecting that of the future. However, we as people are generally ‘selfish’. Progressing into a sustainable world is not possible when individual needs, both as a person, and as corporations where environmentally damaging activities are financially rewarded, are placed above the needs of the planet. This absence of consideration in people would eventually turn our planet into an inhabitable one. How then should we combat this dilemma we’re facing? Advocating the importance of sustainability is an important step, but advocacy in my opinion, would not work, without a stricter management of the people. This is where the government has to come into play. Expecting people to change without any guiding policies will not work as individual gains would again be placed over the moral need of saving the planet. A need for recycling, saving of resources and reducing greenhouse gas emission has to be micromanaged by the government ...

After last week’s lecture, I found myself reviewing my lifestyle and habits. How sustainable is my lifestyle? My daily routine consists of water consumption within the range of 1 to 2 litres, two showers of 10 to 15 minutes ranging the water usage from an average of around 80 to 120 per shower, and using the toilet which comes up to an average of 35 litres. This results in an average consumption of 240 litres per day. This is excluding weekly or monthly routines of basic chores. The average Australian uses an average of 295 litres of water a day, while mine might be slightly lower than the average, the Cape Town limits of 25 litres per day makes mine seem extravagant. Electricity usage in my daily routine usually consists of nearly an entire day either on my phone or on my computer, keeping lights on primarily at night, occasionally forgetting to switch off the lights. Staying alone, it comes up to an average consumption of 8.2 kWh. I have also never attempted to use renewable re...

After the talk given by Steven and Nilmini this week. I was intrigued by their views on sustainability. They spoke about redefining the city into a circular economy rather than a linear one, and developing a holistic society rather than silos. What particularly intrigued me is their idea that sustainability is no longer enough, it is time we pushed to regeneration. However, to achieve such a result the shift in society and politics to name a few, would be enormous. I am interested in exploring the possibilities of retaining the ideals and redefining the city within existing cities. Looking at Cape Town's epidemic of water shortage, they've been handling it extraordinarily well. Each person is allocated to 25 litres of water a day compared to the average of 295 litres of water a Sydney resident uses. Cape Town has handled the drought extraordinarily and it comes to question if this is possible with other cities and resources. Steven mentioned in his lecture that government...

Transportation is one of the greatest contributing factors to providing a sustainable urban environment. It is indisputable that a public transportation option would greatly help with sustainability. After residing in Australia in the past two years, majority of the time spent in Launceston Tasmania, and the past month in Sydney, the question of how reliable is public transportation in Australia has sprung up. According to statistics, Tasmania has the lowest carbon emissions amongst the 8 states in Australia. However, transportation contributed to a huge percentage of the carbon emission within the state. The public transportation in Tasmania allows residents to access certain parts of the city. With long intervals between buses, minimal coverage, and early termination of services, it is not an ideal option. As a Singaporean, I have heavily relied on public transportation. With well distributed bus stops, frequent bus timings, wide coverage of train services, and late services, i...

In recent years, the term sustainability has been constantly thrown about. This emphasis in sustainability has definitely not gone unnoticed. With effects of climate change getting more prominent each passing day, sustainability is something that people can no longer shrug away. It is noticeable that companies and organisations of different professionalism are attempting to help play their role in sustainability. Companies like IKEA has recently announced an addition of a Vegan hot dog into their menu, stating that it is a more sustainable option for its customers. It comes to an extent where you question the feasibility of moves like this. Are these ideas just a marketing ploy that evokes a sense of peace within the customer’s conscience which in turn promotes the company’s reputation of consideration for the environment, or is it actually beneficial to the climate and actually help take a minute step towards a sustainable world. With the rise of the number of vegans this y...