Sustainability and Ecosystem Services

The Sustainability Problematic

• Balancing environmental, economic, and social sustainability ensures present and future generations can thrive.
• Climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion require systemic solutions.
• The conflict between economic growth and ecological limits, intergenerational equity, and governance challenges are sub-components of this problem.
• Some argue technological innovation and market forces will naturally lead to sustainable solutions.

Ecosystem Services

• These are the benefits humans derive from ecosystems
• These are categorized into provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services.
• Wetlands purify water (regulating), forests provide timber (provisioning), bees pollinate crops (supporting), and national parks offer recreation (cultural).
• Provisioning services include food, water, and raw materials.
• Regulating services include climate regulation and water purification.
• Supporting services include nutrient cycling and soil formation.
• Cultural services include recreation and spiritual values.
• Some critics argue that monetizing ecosystem services risks commodifying nature and undermining intrinsic ecological value.

The Anthropocene Era

• A proposed geological epoch is characterized by human activity as the dominant force shaping the planet.
• Climate change, mass extinctions, and plastic pollution indicate the start of this epoch.
• Some scientists argue it is not a distinct epoch but a continuation of the Holocene with intensified human impacts.

The Capitalocene

• It critiques the Anthropocene concept
• It emphasizes that capitalism—rather than humanity as a whole—is the main driver of environmental destruction.
• The industrial revolution, fossil fuel extraction, and global supply chains accelerate environmental degradation.
• Some argue that non-capitalist societies also cause environmental harm
• Systemic issues beyond capitalism contribute to sustainability challenges.

Three Major Drivers of Human Impacts

• These are the primary forces accelerating environmental change:
  • Population growth increases demand for resources and land (e.g., deforestation for agriculture in the Amazon).
  • Affluence (consumption per capita): Higher consumption leads to greater environmental impact (e.g., high carbon footprints in developed countries).
  • Technology can either increase or mitigate environmental harm (e.g., fossil fuel-based energy vs. renewable energy adoption).

The IPAT Formula

• The formula illustrates the relationship between environmental impact and its drivers: I = P x A x T.
  • I = Environmental Impact
  • P = Population
  • A = Affluence (consumption per capita)
  • T = Technology (impact per unit of consumption)
• Calculation: if a country’s population is 10 million, affluence is $30,000 GDP per capita, and technology impact is 0.5, then I = 10,000,000 x 30,000 x 0.5.
• Critiques: overly simplistic, assumes equal impact of all populations, does not account for policy or behavioral changes.

Urban Sustainability Problems and Solutions

• Urban areas face sustainability issues such as pollution, resource depletion, and social inequities.
• Traffic congestion and air pollution in megacities exemplify these issues.
• Green infrastructure, sustainable public transport, mixed-use zoning, and compact city planning are potential solutions.

The Three “E’s” of Sustainability

• Three interdependent pillars: environment, economy, and equity.
  • Environment: Ecological integrity and resource conservation.
  • Economy: Economic growth and stability.
  • Equity: Social justice and well-being.
• A sustainable city prioritizes clean energy (environment), green jobs (economy), and affordable housing (equity).

The Vortex City

• Cities are dynamic, energy-intensive systems that draw in resources and emit waste.
• New York City’s high energy consumption and dependence on global supply chains exemplify this concept.

Limits to Growth

• Exponential economic and population growth is unsustainable due to finite planetary resources.
• The 1972 Club of Rome report predicted resource depletion and ecological collapse.
• Some argue that technological advances and circular economies can decouple growth from environmental impact.

Brundtland Report Definition of Sustainability

• "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
• Renewable energy investment ensures future energy security.

Dominant Paradigm vs. Thin and Thick Versions of Sustainability

• Dominant paradigm: Traditional economic growth and technological optimism.
• Thin sustainability: Small reforms within existing systems (e.g., Green consumerism).
• Thick sustainability: Deep systemic change (e.g., Degrowth movements).

History of Colonialism

• The historical process of European powers dominating and exploiting territories across the world for economic and political gain.
• The British Empire’s control over India extracted raw materials and enforced trade policies that benefited Britain.
• Economic extraction involves resource exploitation for the benefit of the colonizers.
• Cultural imposition involves language, religion, and governance systems forced upon indigenous populations.
• Political control involves direct rule, settler colonialism, and indirect rule through local elites.
• Some argue colonialism led to infrastructure development
• Critics point out that this was primarily for the benefit of colonizers rather than local populations.

World Systems Theory of Uneven Global Development

• This theory explains global economic inequalities through a structure of core, periphery, and semi-periphery nations.
• The U.S. (core) benefits from cheap labor in Bangladesh (periphery) in the textile industry.
• Core: High-tech, high-wage economies.
• Periphery: Low-wage, resource-exporting economies.
• Semi-periphery: Emerging economies with mixed characteristics (e.g., Brazil, China).
• Some argue globalization allows periphery countries to develop
• Others say global trade primarily benefits core economies.

Difficulty in Choosing One Best Term to Describe Uneven Development

• Terms like Global North/South, First/Third World, and Developed/Developing have limitations in accurately capturing economic and social disparities.
• China and India are classified as "developing," yet they are major economic powers.

Extractivism and Neo-Extractivism

• Extractivism: The large-scale removal of natural resources for export without processing.
• Neo-extractivism: State-led resource extraction with redistribution of wealth but continued environmental and social harm.
• Extractivism: Logging and mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Neo-extractivism: Bolivia’s government using lithium mining revenues for social programs.
• Some argue that neo-extractivism can reduce poverty, while others highlight its long-term unsustainability.

Krugman’s Spatial Turn

• Economic geography theory explaining why economic activity concentrates in cities due to market forces and economies of scale.
• The rise of Silicon Valley as a tech hub results from talent and investment concentration.

Types of Cities

• Megacity: A city with over 10 million people (e.g., Tokyo, Mumbai).
• World city: A city influential in global finance and culture (e.g., London, New York).
• Extended metropolitan region (EMR): A large urbanized area that includes suburbs and nearby cities (e.g., the Pearl River Delta in China).

Deglobalization

• Reducing global economic interdependence, often in response to trade disruptions or political shifts.
• Brexit and U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods reduce globalization.

Sustainable Livelihoods

• An approach to poverty reduction that considers social, economic, and environmental factors to ensure long-term resilience.
• Microfinance programs in rural India are supporting women-led businesses.

Curitiba Example

• A Brazilian city is known for innovative urban sustainability initiatives.
• Curitiba’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, green spaces, and waste recycling programs.

Hangzhou Example within China’s Story

• A city that balances rapid development with sustainability initiatives.
• Hangzhou’s “City Brain” AI-driven smart traffic management system reduces congestion and emissions.

Freiburg Example

• A German city is recognized for its strong environmental policies and urban sustainability.
• Car-free neighborhoods, solar energy adoption, and extensive cycling infrastructure.

The Malthusian Concept of Population Growth and Resource Limits

• Thomas Malthus' theory states that population growth will outstrip food supply, leading to famine and conflict.
• Concerns over water scarcity in heavily populated regions validate this claim.
• Technological advancements (e.g., Green Revolution) have disproven some of Malthus’ dire predictions.

Impact of Urbanization on Fertility Rates

• Fertility rates generally decline with urbanization due to higher living costs, access to education, and family planning.
• Japan’s declining birth rate results from more people moving to cities.

Types of Migration

• Internal migration: Moving within a country (e.g., rural-to-urban migration in China).
• International migration: Moving to a different country (e.g., Syrian refugees relocating to Europe).
• Forced migration: Due to conflict or climate change (e.g., Rohingya fleeing Myanmar).

Drivers of Migration

• Push factors force people to leave, while pull factors attract them to new places.
  • Push: War, poverty, climate disasters.
  • Pull: Job opportunities, better healthcare, political stability.

Controlling Urban Population Growth

• Governments can influence population growth but not fully control it.
• China’s one-child policy (direct control) vs. family planning education (indirect).
• Some argue such policies violate human rights and are ineffective in the long term.

Strategies to Control Fertility Rates

• Education for women.
• Access to contraceptives.
• Economic incentives (e.g., paid maternity leave, childcare support).

Urban Resilience

• A city’s ability to adapt and recover from shocks like natural disasters and economic downturns.
• New Orleans’ flood adaptation strategies were enacted after Hurricane Katrina.

Four Pillars of Urban Resilience

• Economic: Diverse job markets.
• Social: Strong community networks.
• Infrastructure: Disaster-resistant buildings.
• Environmental: Sustainable resource management.

Professional Geographic Information (PGI) vs. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)

• PGI: Expert-collected geographic data (e.g., satellite imagery).
• VGI: Crowdsourced data (e.g., OpenStreetMap, Google Reviews).

Measuring Environmental Impacts of Cities

• Urban footprint: Measures total land used by a city, including built-up areas.
• Urban ecological footprint: Calculates the amount of land and resources needed to sustain a city’s population.
• Life cycle assessment (LCA): Evaluates the environmental effects of a product from start to finish.

Consequences of the Urban Footprint

• Loss of farmland due to urban sprawl.
• Increased greenhouse gas emissions from expanded infrastructure.
• Higher demand for energy, water, and waste management.

The Sanitary City

• A city that prioritizes public health through sanitation infrastructure (sewage systems, waste management, clean water).
• London’s sanitation reforms in the 19th century reduced cholera outbreaks.

Major Local Environmental Problems of Cities in the Periphery

• Air pollution (e.g., Delhi’s severe smog).
• Water contamination (e.g., lack of clean drinking water in Lagos).
• Poor waste management (e.g., overflowing landfills in Jakarta).

Ecological Footprint Method

• Measures human demand on ecosystems by comparing resource consumption with the Earth’s biocapacity.
• Six types of land/biocapacity measured: cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing grounds, built-up land, and carbon footprint.
• Strengths: Simple to communicate, globally recognized.
• Weaknesses: Doesn’t account for technological advancements or economic efficiency.

Ecological Appropriation in the Hinterlands of Cities

• Cities rely on distant rural areas for resources, creating unequal dependencies.
• New York City’s water supply system depends on upstate reservoirs.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Method

• Strengths: Comprehensive, considers full environmental impact.
• Weaknesses: Complex, data-intensive, requires industry cooperation.

Tragedy of the Commons

• Overuse and depletion of shared resources when individuals act in self-interest.
• Overfishing, deforestation, and groundwater depletion are real world examples.

Key Features of CPRs

• Non-excludability: Difficult to prevent access (e.g., ocean fishing).
• Rivalry: One person’s use reduces availability for others (e.g., grazing land).

Solutions to Common Pool Resource Problems

• Regulation: Government-imposed quotas (e.g., fishing limits).
• Private property/market mechanisms: Selling usage rights (e.g., cap-and-trade for carbon emissions).
• Traditional group property regimes: Community management (e.g., indigenous forest conservation).

Views on Common Pool Resource Problems

• Garrett Hardin (1968): Believed only privatization or government control could prevent resource depletion.
• Elinor Ostrom (1990s): Showed that community-based management could be successful in preserving resources.

Policy Classification Typology

• A framework for categorizing environmental policies based on enforcement mechanisms.
• Command-and-control policies vs. incentive-based policies.

The Growth Machine

• A theory that cities prioritize economic growth over sustainability, influenced by businesses and developers.
• Focus on real estate development and lobbying power of businesses.
• Gentrification in San Francisco is driven by tech industry expansion.

The Local Government Bargaining Position Matrix

• A model explaining how local governments negotiate power with businesses, residents, and environmental groups.

Critique of Consumption

• Efficiency: Reducing resource use per unit of consumption (e.g., energy-efficient appliances).
• Sufficiency: Reducing total consumption rather than just making it more efficient.

The Rebound Effect

• Efficiency improvements lead to increased overall consumption.
• Fuel-efficient cars lead to people driving more.

Types of Consumption

• Background consumption: Basic needs (food, water).
• Overconsumption: Excessive resource use beyond necessity (luxury cars, fast fashion).
• Misconsumption: Consumption that harms well-being (junk food, gambling).

Eco-Minimalism

• Reducing consumption for environmental and ethical reasons.
• Tiny house movement.

Class Bias in Theories of Overconsumption

• Conspicuous consumption: Spending on visible luxury goods to show social status.
• Inconspicuous consumption: Wealthy individuals prioritizing experiences over material goods.

The Urban Landscape

• How cities shape the experience of residents through design, infrastructure, and public spaces.

Lynch’s Idea of the Legible Landscape

• Cities should have clear, navigable structures (paths, edges, landmarks).
• Paris’ recognizable street grid and landmarks.

Impacts on Consumption

• Direct: Personal choices (buying a car).
• Indirect: Systemic factors (urban design that necessitates car use).

Informality/Informal Governance

• Economic or political activity occurring outside formal government structures.
• Street vendors in developing cities.

Global Value Chains

• International production and trade networks linking raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution.
• The fashion industry sources textiles from Bangladesh, produces clothes in China, and sells them in Europe.

Buyer-Driven Global Commodity Chains

• Companies like Walmart dictate production processes rather than manufacturers controlling supply chains.

Distancing of Waste

• Consumers don’t see the environmental impact of their waste because disposal happens elsewhere.
• E-waste is shipped from the U.S. to Ghana.

Structural Solutions to Waste Distancing

• Proximity principle: Treat waste near where it’s produced.
• Volume-based pricing: Charge for waste based on the amount produced.
• Extended producer responsibility (EPR): Companies must handle product disposal (e.g., electronics recycling laws).

Critique of Individualized Approaches to Reducing Consumption

• Blaming individuals for consumption is misleading; systemic changes are needed.

Descriptive Norm Activation Model

• Used for persuading green consumer choice.
• Hotels encourage towel reuse by stating “Most guests reuse their towels.”

Eco-Centric City

• A city designed to prioritize nature and biodiversity alongside human needs.
• Legal standing for nature: Concept that natural entities should have legal rights.
• Criticism: Difficult to enforce legally and could restrict development.

Haudenosaunee Tenets

• Gratitude for and reciprocity with nature.
• Emphasizing respect, stewardship, and giving back to nature rather than exploiting it.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

• Indigenous knowledge passed down through generations about ecosystems, sustainable practices, and resource management.
• Controlled burns by Indigenous peoples prevent wildfires and maintain healthy forests.

Problems with the Idea of “Wilderness”

• The Western concept of wilderness often ignores Indigenous presence and stewardship of land.
• Many U.S. national parks were created by removing Indigenous communities.

Classification of Animals in the City

• Avoiders: Species that cannot survive in urban settings (e.g., wolves, mountain lions).
• Adapters: Species that adjust to urban life (e.g., raccoons, coyotes).
• Exploiters: Species that thrive in cities and take advantage of human waste (e.g., pigeons, rats).

Benefits of Urban Trees

• Provide shade and reduce urban heat islands.
• Improve air quality.
• Enhance mental well-being.

Biophilia

• The innate human connection to nature.
• Incorporating green spaces in hospitals to promote healing.

The Species/Area Relationship

• Larger habitats support more biodiversity.
• Small green spaces need to be connected to larger ecosystems for maximum ecological benefit.

Solutions for Cities

• Know the natural history and understand local ecology before making urban planning decisions.
• Remnant land as an opportunity for restoration of nature in cities using underutilized land to create green spaces.
• Road ecology when designing roads to reduce wildlife collisions and habitat fragmentation.

Watershed Concept

• Watershed: An area where all water drains into a common outlet (river, lake).
• Urbanization effects: More impervious surfaces lead to less groundwater recharge and increased runoff leads to more flooding and pollution.

The 4 R’s of Sustainable Urban Watersheds

• Recharge: Increase water infiltration (e.g., green roofs, rain gardens).
• Reuse: Capture and reuse stormwater.
• Restore: Bring back natural waterways.
• Reduce: Limit pollution sources.

The Benefits of Urban Trees

• Absorb rainwater and reduce runoff and filter pollutants from water.

Eco-Gentrification

• When environmental improvements increase property values, leading to displacement of lower-income residents.
• "Just green enough" strategy to create green spaces that benefit existing communities without triggering gentrification.
• Community gardens instead of large-scale, high-end park developments.

Balance of Flood Control

• Balance of flood control with other goals for Los Angeles River planning to address flood management vs. ecological restoration and maintaining public access vs. preventing displacement.
• LA River revitalization efforts aim to restore natural habitats while preserving flood control infrastructure.