Future Trends on Sustainable development

The 2030 Agenda, which is an agreement on a variety of plans on sustainability such as ending poverty, combat inequality and protecting the environment has been implemented for 2 years. It includes 17 Sustainable goals and committed to promoted sustainable development on the triple bottom line in all countries (Dugaroba and Gulasan, 2017). Six major trends have been identifying in the report as the potential sustainable development goals and would lead to the pathway of sustainability. These are poverty and inequality, demography, environmental degradation and climate change, shocks and crises, financing for development and technological innovations. I would like to discuss a few of the topic today (Dugaroba and Gulasan, 2017).

Poverty and Inequality is one of the main focus. This includes the reduction of poverty, access to clean water and sanitation facilities. It also includes the income inequality between countries which has been improved in the past years due to the rapid growth of large developing countries (Dugaroba and Gulasan, 2017). It has shown that 1.6 billion people are under multidimensional poverty in 2016. Economic growth is an essential in reducing poverty. However, it depends on related to the environment and also the quality of growth, therefore, a balanced growth between TBL is required.

Financing for development is another goal for sustainable. All sustainable development goals would require a substantial amount of funding (Dugaroba and Gulasan, 2017). There is no shortage of capital in the global economy, however, the challenge remains on maximising the effect of available resources. There is also a need for additional sources of finance is needed to invest into long- term sustainable development (Dugaroba and Gulasan, 2017). The report encourages all sources of finance to become mobilised and achieving sustainability in finance development which would benefit in achieving other sustainable goals.

I believe that these 6 areas should be the major focus on sustainable development in the short term. Most of the issues mention need to be managed (not necessary resolve) in a short term in order to reduce the impacts. I believe the issues or damages would accumulate and it would only be harder or becoming inevitable negative results if actions cannot be taken from as soon as possible. The report has provided a series of ways to improve the sustainability. For example, coherences in policies, different level of politics and collective action. I believed that as the number of people that concern increase, the faster a sustainability can be achieved in different fields.

Dugaroba, E and Gulasan, N. (2017, April 14). Six Megatrends that could alter the course of sustainable development. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/apr/14/six-megatrends-that-could-alter-the-course-of-sustainable-development (Accessed 28 May 2017)

The relationship between diet and environmental sustainability

The main diet for humans is meat and plant base. According to the David and Marcia Pimentel, 2 billion people are primarily on a meat-base diet and 4 billion people are on a plant base diet (D Pimentel and M Pimentel, 2003). The Journal of Frontiers in Nutrition has recently published a research base on the relationship between diet and environmental sustainability.

The report stated that a shift towards a plant base diet would reduce the environmental impact and the sustainability of phosphorus. Phosphorus is an important element to all life and also plays an important role in food production. It is one of the main ingredient of fertilisers to maintain productivities of crops. However, the phosphate rock is not a renewable resource and supply has started failing to meet the demand (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2016). Insufficient of phosphate would lead to eutrophication, degrade in water quality and algal bloom which would directly affect the drinking water and fisheries (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2016).

The Crops contains the footprint of phosphate would be consumed by humans in a direct and indirect path. Indirect consumption refers the crops consume by animals than consume by humans. The statistic has shown that plant is more efficient compared to animals in terms of phosphate where 1 kg of phosphate can produce 3333kg of potato while it can only produce 16kg of beef (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2016).

Dr Genevienve Metson and her team have done a research on whether human diet from meat base to plant base would provide be a possible solution. The result shows that there would be 8% increase in phosphorus excretion in the city while the phosphorus footprint of residents would decrease by 72% (Metson, Cordell and Ridoutt, 2016). It indicated that changing to a plant base diet would provide a significant reduce in phosphorus mining thus improving the environmental sustainability.

I believe that switching from meat base to a plant base diet would definitely benefit the environmental sustainability. However, the border issues behind plant base/ animal base diet would be food security in general. As mention in the article, the crop would be direct and indirectly consume by humans. Therefore, the sustainability of the crop would be an essential issue. There is a global threat in agricultural sustainability, and I believe remaining the sustainability of agricultural would be the priority.

David and Marcia Pimentel. (2003, September). Sustainability of meat- based and plant- based diets and the environment. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Available at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full (Accessed May 28, 2017).

Frontiers in Nutrition. (2016, November 3). How your diet can influence your environmental impact. ScienceDaily. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161103124536.htm (Accessed May 28, 2017).

Metson, Cordell and Ridoutt. (2016, Augest 26). Potential Impact of Dietary Choices on Phosphorus Recycling and Global Phosphorus Footprints: The Case of the Average Australian City. Frontier in Nutrition. Available at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnut.2016.00035/full (Accessed May 28, 2017).

Sustainable agriculture in China

In continues to the topic of fisheries management, one of the conclusion was a large amount of food demand in China would be an essential situation. Fishery is not the main food resources of China, the majority of food resources comes from land – agriculture. It has been established that China is one of the top import and export countries for agriculture (Cook, 2017). Therefore, sustainable agriculture would be an essential skill that Chinese government should focus on.

There is major environmental damage in China at the moment with overuse fertilisers, soil pollution, water scarcity and loss of biodiversity (Cook, 2017). These issues than leads to more social and health issue, which affects the triple bottom line of sustainability. China has the intention to do sustainable food production, the researcher stated that the successful sustainability farming would benefit public health and environment for China in long term (Cook, 2017).

The report “multiple pathways: case studies of sustainable agriculture in China” has listed out the main learning and recommendations from studying the agricultural of China. It also how the modern development of China affects on the sustainability of farming, the environment of rural areas (Cook, 2017). The current policies of agricultural and the how to achieve more sustainable agricultural production.

 The report list out 5 main learnings of agriculture in China (Cook, 2017):

1.    No one blueprint model – sustainable agricultural depends on local climate and conditions which require specific approach thus policies would need to cover a wide range of framing model

2.    Promotion of sustainable framing – financial supports, investment and provide training

3.    Collective organisation – provides large range of resources and services to framer

4.    Certifications – increase market (depends on local market)

5.    Attract young generation – increase income, educations

6.    More resources focus in the research of sustainable agriculture – provide higher efficiency

I believe that sustainable farming is an essential pathway of agricultural for China. As mention before, there would be a growing population and urban development in the future. Food security would become an issue. I believe that the main reason behind food security is pollution, expansion of urban area and lack in labour which similar to the point from the report. The issue of food security would directly affect the triple bottom line of sustainability on a global scale, therefore, I believe that sustainable farming would be a solution to the future food security issue.

Cook Seth. (2016, April 05). Nurturing the shoots if China’s sustainable agriculture. Chinadialogue. Available at: https://www.chinadialogue.net/blog/8797-Nurturing-the-shoots-of-China-s-sustainable-agriculture/en (Accessed May 21, 2017).

China’s marine fisheries reform

There is a rapid and continues decrease in fish stock in the world. China as one of the countries with highest global catch volume, policies and regulations on fishery industries would have a huge impact on the global fish stock. A research team from local and oversea researchers on marine fisheries experts stated that china’s fisheries conservation plan has the opportunities of achieving a paradigm shift in marine fisheries management (Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, 2017).

In the report published by Ling Cao and Rosamond Naylor, where they examine the history of policies and outcome on marine fisheries in China. They also demonstrate on how China’s design of fisheries management can benefit from the leading science. They have found out that China needs an institutional reform in order to achieve a better marine fisheries management. The researcher believes that new institution should be science base management, the main objective would be prioritising in securing fishing access, setting consistency regulations across provinces and providing educations on both professions and to the general public (Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, 2017).

The researcher also stated that there is a cultural norm in china’s fisheries resources, they believe that understanding the cultural would lead to a better bond international community in marine science. The Chinese government is planning to include marine ecosystem protection as one of the important environmental agenda of the government. China has planned to improve through programs on fisheries and aquaculture while having better controls on coastal development and marine resources management (Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, 2017).

I believe that since China has almost one-fifth of the global catch volume, it is important for the Chinese government to regulate or having a better design on marine management since it is a huge impact on environmental sustainability. I also believe that understand the different cultural norms or regulations on the marine management, it would not only benefit the environment of the ocean but also it can improve the social sustainability between countries.

Furthermore, China has a large population with large food demand, if the fisheries management is poor quality, it could lead to huge environment impacts of ocean thus leads to the insufficient food supply. The impact of poor fisheries management would lead to catastrophic results.

Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. (2017 January 16).  How China is poised for marine fisheries reform.  ScienceDaily. Available at: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170116160537.htm. (Accessed May 21, 2017).

Big Data and environmental sustainability

Big Data refers to a large amount of data, where the data can be analysis in other to discover certain patterns that lead to better strategies for a business. Big data is mainly related to economic sustainability where business can use these data to predict the behaviour of their customer (SAS, 2015). This would allow them to understand the future need of the consumer in order to improve the overall service. Therefore, big data is usually related to economic sustainability.

There is much other application of big data rather than on business and economy system. Environment sustainability can also be benefit from the analysis of big data. Saurabh Tyagi has demonstrated the application of big data on environmental sustainability (Tyagi, 2017). Tyagi addressed that big data would be able to let business understand the impact of the operation process, by showing the efficiency and disposal of material (Tyagi, 2017). It can also pick up the inefficiency in the operation process which could lead to reducing impact on the environment also increase production thus profit for business (Tyagi, 2017).

Big data would able to provide a clear demonstration on environmental risk which refers to energy and food securities and climate changes. The government could also benefit from collecting the data for the specific facility in order to set regulations. It would further promote environmental sustainability amount businesses (Tyagi, 2017).

I believe that Big data is a very good tool that can be applicable to the field of monitoring and reflect. I believe that it would be a solution for long-term environmental sustainability since it can provide an instant feedback to government and business allowing them to response in a short period of time. In terms of business, I believe it would also improve the economic and social sustainability of the business since unnecessary inefficiency would be eliminated while increasing the reputation and profit of the businesses.

SAS. (2015). What is Big Data?. SAS. Available at: https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/big-data/what-is-big-data.html (accessed May 14, 2017).

Tyagi Saurabh. (2017, January 24). What does Big Data mean for Sustainability? Sustainable brands. Available at: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/ict_big_data/saurabh_tyagi/what_does_big_data_mean_sustainability (accessed May 14, 2017).

Economic sustainability of environmental sustainable businesses

Environmental sustainability has become a minor goal that businesses want to achieve today in order to contribute to the environment, society and also as a point to attract more consumers and higher market demand. Some businesses takes environmental sustainability as a business opportunities, the provided service contributes become the process of sustainable. In the article written by Keefe Harrison and Nina Goodrich, the idea of difference in intent vs action is applied in environmental sustainability, which is “designing for recyclability vs ensuring the successful recovery of valuable materials” (Harrison and Goodrich, 2017).

In the article, there are two companies listed - the recycling partnership and sustainable packaging coalition are both focusing on ensuring successful recovery of valuable materials. Harrison and Goodrich share the idea of circular economy and the reason of these type of companies. These companies focus on deliver recycled feedstock to manufacturing to gain profit which restarts the cycle of the products (Harrison and Goodrich, 2017). It creates a Circular Economy which contributes to economy sustainability. The article propose that these companies should cooperate or vertical integration between businesses could occur in order to achieve a successful circular economy system which could maximize both profit and operation.

I believe that enhance circular economy is a good idea for recycling companies in order to achieve economy sustainability. As the businesses sizes growth, there are more opportunities and resources to be invest into research and innovation which would improve the overall service or good. These improvement would contribute to environmental sustainability.

Harrison K and Goodrich N. (2017, March 20). A Circular Economy: You’re not in it alone, so why go it alone?. SustainableBrands. Available at: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/next_economy/keefe_harrison/circular_economy_you%E2%80%99re_not_it_alone_so_why_go_it_alone (accessed May 14, 2017).

Combining passive and active systems in the built environment

Environmental, economic and social sustainability has been large concerns of a building. In a project on public buildings, the economic and social sustainability would be the main concerns for the clients. In recent years, more architects and clients understand and react to the importance of environmental sustainability of the built environment. In the previous student studio course, I had come across designing in a high performing building for a community centre and emergency accommodation. We collaborated with students from engineering and sustainable studies to complete the design of the building.

In order to achieve environmental sustainability, the aim of our building was to minimise usage of energy on thermal, lighting and material components. In the process, we propose many passive features such as angled window, cross ventilation design, hot air chute (combine with double façade system) and Trombe wall to achieve our thermal, lighting and ventilation goal. We focus on the HVAC system for our active systems, we propose water transition base HVAC system in order to reduce energy gain or loss during the transition. Active and passive chill beams system was the main HVAC system of the building which has smaller AHU and lowers energy consumptions.

While we were doing research for our actives systems, we came across the idea of combining passive and active system in order to achieve a more sustainable result or method. One idea we had was using underground energy since ground soil perform as a giant insulation at constant temperatures, we built a thermal labyrinth and geothermal water pipes to pre- situated our fresh air and water. In order to reduce the energy consumption of AHU, heater and chiller. Another system we applied in our design is Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar Collector (PVT). The system combines solar heat pipe with PV panels, the panels were exposed to the maximum amount of direct sunlights with water pipes lay behind it to prevent the panels being overheated. The ‘heated water then connect to boilers in order to reduce the energy needed in boiling.

I think that sustainable design features should be further proposed to the society since the majority of society have the idea of being sustainable but still lacks in the action. When more sustainable features become popular and expose to the general public, the idea would be further spread into the society.  As it becomes more popular in building design, the built environment would be able to achieve a higher level of environmental sustainability.  

Plastic

Plastic is a commonly used material in our everyday life. It is in included in plastic bags, plastic bottle, most of the packaging of product and more, our life has become inseparable with the material. Although plastic is a convenient and durable material, it costs a range of environmental issues across its lifespan. Scientists and researchers have been focusing on reducing the environmental impact of this convenient material from different stages. Production of plastic and disposal of plastic are two of the main issues, Scientist now has proposed solutions for these issues.

The main component of any plastic such as Acrylonitrile butadiene – styrene (ABS) is Butadiene. Butadiene is traditionally manufactured with petroleum or gas (University of Delaware, 2017). A scientific team collaborated with three universities has found a greener solution to it. The team has successfully produce butadiene from Sugar, sugar was converted to furfural then later convert to Tetrahydrofuran -THF (University of Delaware, 2017). The team has successfully achieved 95% effectiveness in converting THF to Butadiene with the new technology called “phosphorus all-silica zeolite” (University of Delaware, 2017). This technology allows plastic being produced by a biofuel from natural biomass sources which is biomass – derived sugars in this case (University of Delaware, 2017).

Waste and disposal of plastic is another huge issue of plastic, In EU, one-third of waste sent to landfill and tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the ocean (European Commission, 2017). Disposal of plastic is becoming a global issue it courses huge environmental, social issues. The disadvantage of plastic as a durable material is that it is very hard to degrade, it leads to a series of water pollutions and damages to the ocean environment. Scientists have discovered that Galleria mellonella was able to eat and digest plastic bags which takes around 100 to 400 years to degrade (Ian Sample, 2017). The Team discover that the worms have a type of enzymes that is able to break down plastic. Further research would be focusing on the enzymes and real world application (Ian Sample, 2017).

I think that the researches and discoveries on reducing the environmental impact of plastic are important and necessary since plastic is a widely used material in our everyday life. I think that plastic wastage and disposal and the environmental impact behind such as pollution to ocean life is very crucial issues. I believe that the processes of manufacture, recycle and disposal treatment of plastic still have large improvement opportunities. 

University of Delaware. (2017, April 24). Process invented to make sustainable rubber, plastic. ScienceDaily. Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170424170755.htm (accessed May 8, 2017).

European Commission. (2017, March 1). Plastic Waste – Strategy and Background. European Commission. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/plastic_waste.htm (accessed May 8, 2017).

Ian Sample. (2017, April 25). Plastic- eating worms could help wage wat on waste. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/24/plastic-munching-worms-could-help-wage-war-on-waste-galleria-mellonella (accessed May 8, 2017).

London

In January 2017, London’s reading of air pollution level has shown that it has bypass Beijing for more than 48 hours (Howard 2017). The air pollution of London is comparable with Beijing now. According to the Air Quality Index, London reached a maximum – 197 for PM 2.5 where Beijing’s maximum are 190 in the same time period. Although London has an overall better air quality than Beijing, However, the amount of some pollutant such as SO2 and Ozone shares similar data compare to Beijing.

The air pollution limit has been broken within 5 days of 2017, the number of NO2/ m3 should not exist 200 micrograms in anywhere in London for 18th times. However, this limit is quickly violated when Brixton Road reaches the 19th time. In 2016, 60% of monitored sites has broken the limit and one of them reach the number of 1000 times. Paul Morozzo (clean air campaigner for Greenpeace) stated that government has not only failed to regulate on the usage of diesel cars but also encourages customers to buy diesel cars (MacCarthy 2017). Morozzo believes that car companies should only concentrate on hybrid and electric alternatives instead of diesel. According to Alan Andrew, The air pollution is an issue that requires consideration or solutions on a national scale (MacCarthy 2017).

Despite air pollution in London, London is considered as a candidate to the first zero-emission city. The recent Urban Mobility Index report by CEBR examines how cities approaching a low carbon future. According to Qualcomm, London is committed to a low emission future through many strategies and schemes such as bike share scheme and low emission zones (Sustainable Brands 2017). It has also invested in ultra- low emission vehicles and it serves for people in London.

I think that air quality is an important aspect in a sustainable city, it affects environmental and social aspect in sustainability. It leads to different issues such as the health of both human and environment. In my opinion, London is taking a lead in Europe to push the idea of sustainability by investing in low emission vehicles. Despite Morozzo stated that only improving and innovate on public transportation system cannot solve the problem. I personally consider that improving vehicles’ sustainable performances in public transportation is the first step. The innovative design can then be easily applied to other vehicles.

Howard, E. (2017, January 25). London's air pollution has been hitting levels worse than Beijing. Available at: http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2017/01/24/london-air-pollution-worse-than-beijing (accessed May 1, 2017).

Sustainable Brands. (2017, April 27). London Driving UK Forward Towards Low- Carbon Circular Future. Available at: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/next_economy/sustainable_brands/london_driving_uk_forward_towards_low-carbon_circular (accessed May 1, 2017).

MacCarthy Libby, London Surpasses Annual Air Pollution Limits 5 Days Into 2017; Mary Poppins Is Not Amused. Available at: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/behavior_change/libby_maccarthy/london_surpasses_annual_air_pollution_limits_less_wee (accessed May 1, 2017).

Sustainable Company

Business refers to a commercial operative. The main purpose of companies or businesses in any scale is to maximise profit and increase market shares. In terms of sustainability, business would prioritise in their individual economic sustainability. As the scale increases, large scale businesses would have dramatic impacts on the economic sustainability of a country or even the world. Businesses also have impacts on social and environmental sustainability while this fact is regarded by many businesses. The products, reputations and promotions of a business are all connected to social and environmental aspect as well.

In recent years, there are more businesses, both large and small scales start to address to environmental issues and social challenges. However, it would require a shift in their thinking. The introduction of science-based sustainability goals provides a guideline for businesses. Business would need to overlook the entire ‘system value’ (Sutton 2017) in order to determine the break- even points between different aspects.

According to the scientific framework, the standard for a sustainable company has risen, creating less harm is not enough. The report suggests that business would require a fundamental change in their operation and think in order to achieve this difficult goal (Sutton 2017). It is important for a business to understand their impact on environment and society and their actions should be considered. By adopting a science into business strategy would provide a clear understand the social and environmental challenges in a business model. One of the difficulties for business to achieve better is that the benchmark for a sustainable company is undefined (Sutton 2017). According to Martin Rich, there is no clear definition of sustainable companies and he encourages that business should focus on ‘tomorrow’s required practices’ instead of the best current practices.

I think that it is important for a business to understand their impacts on the environment and the society. I believe that large businesses should be the pioneer in transforming into sustainable practice since they have the largest impacts. These impacts are not included in reducing carbon emissions and creating no pollution. I believe the messages that carry out their customers are the most important where the large business as a role model and affects the individuals. I believe that would be an important factor as a sustainable company.

Sutton Jeff, (2017, May 2), Measuring True Impact: Why Science Is Redefining Our Definition of a Sustainable Company. Available at: http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/new_metrics/jeff_sutton/measuring_true_impact_why_science_redefining_our_definition_s (accessed May 2, 2017).

Relationship between human wellbeing and environment

Environmental issues are always a large concern in sustainability. It includes climate changes, air pollution, d depletion in biodiversity and more. It is well established that an unhealthy environment would lead to social and economic issues. A research published by the University of California – Berkeley recently demonstrates the relationship between human wellbeing and depletion in fish stock around Kenya’s Lake Victoria.

The research is based on an assumption that human disease provides ‘a natural to environmental exploitation’. The outcomes of the research demonstrate that poor human health might leads to damages to the environment. According to Science Daily, Kathryn Fiorella the lead author of the study found out that fisher with illness would alter the method to fish, more destructive and illegal methods are used (University of California – Berkeley, 2017). Those methods are usually more time and energy efficient but with large negative impacts on the environment. The research suggests that better healthcare would benefit both environment and social aspect, it can also benefit human in managing the sustainability of resources and environmental development. Richard Yuretich, a program officer for NSFD stated that healthy people would plan carefully on the process which results in less environmental impacts (University of California – Berkeley, 2017).

I think it is important for people to understand this relationship since it is related to the main aspects of sustainability. It demonstrates the impacts of human wellbeing on the environment which is reverted of a common scenario. I think the result of the experiment demonstrate human psychological effect can impact on environmental where a human would focus on short term gain when they are in an unhealthy body. Therefore, I think that this report demonstrated that having healthy social aspects would be benefits to environment sustainability. I think it is important for the public to understand that social aspect has large impacts on the environment, not only economic developments would have impacts on the environment.

University of California - Berkeley. (2017, April 17), When human illness rises, the environment suffers, too. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170403151145.htm (accessed April 18, 2017).

The sustainability of Electric Vehicles

The innovation of electric vehicles is one of the important factors that effects on sustainability.  Electric vehicles are usually referring to electric cars, which are becoming more exposed to the public. Tesla is one of the leading companies of electric vehicles. As electric vehicles become more popular and the benefits are clearly demonstrated, however, the resistance on social and energy efficiency aspect.

China as a developing country with large population, a number of vehicles operated are high. A large amount of the vehicles causes pollution in many cities in China. Electric vehicles would provide a solution for the issues, however, the sales of electric vehicles only contain 0.3% of the total sales of automobile vehicle in 2014. The main reason is due to the expensive cost of electric vehicles (AIP, 2016). Yu Hao, a researcher in Beijing institute of Technology stated that China has the responsibility to reduce the pollution for fossil consumption. The research team points out that NEV industry in China should be encouraged to invest into research and development while the government should encourage citizen to raise the attention on the environment and sustainable development (AIP, 2016).

The effectiveness of electric vehicles is questioned. A common debatable topic would be the efficiency of the electricity vs fossil fuels. The energy efficiency of electric cars is usually questioned since electricity is generated from coal. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology has conducted a research on the environmental costs of the electric vehicles to determine the ‘cradle to a grave environmental footprint of operating these vehicles.’ The researchers propose a model with nanomaterials for batteries or fuel cells as a guide for the developers. The researchers aim to create a group of vehicles that have highest environmental sustainability (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2016).

I think that it is important for the government to identify and resolve issues on social sustainability. Social factors have high influences on sustainability, therefore, it would be important for China to promote the idea of environmental sustainability and establish clauses, regulations or policies in order to achieve sustainable development in the future. I think that electric vehicles would have to go through more innovation in order to achieve better environmental sustainability. These could be achieved by more sustainable materials or designs in the development of the vehicle.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (2016, Dec 16), Keeping electric car design on the right road: Closer look at the life-cycle impacts of lithium-ion batteries, proton exchange membrane fuel cells. ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161208125844.htm (accessed April 25, 2017).

American Institute of Physics (AIP) (2016, Nov 16), What factors are influencing electric vehicle purchases in China?, ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161115111651.htm (accessed April 25, 2017).

Reconsidering the definition of high-rise

Skyscrapers are a very common type of building in urban areas around the world, it provides a lot of available spaces within a compact area. Skyscrapers can be used for commercial or residential purposes, mix usage high-rise has become very common as well. Skyscrapers represent the advancement of technology in built environment industry, it also represents the social and financial status of an individual or a company. Skyscrapers are linked with all three aspects of sustainability, the design of skyscraper should be carefully considered.

In March 2017, Dr Antony Wood has delivered a lecture on ‘the future of sustainable vertical urbanism’. According to Jennifer Duke, Wood claim that 95% of the skyscrapers designed is a failure. Wood stated that spaces that resident need and the quality of home should be provided in the high rise as the density of city model have increased (Duke 2017). The city would become ‘unviable’ if those criteria were not meet. His main arguments are the two design approach of the current skyscrapers which are monolithic block style and overtly- sculptural approach (Duke 2017). 

Monolithic block style refers to the design tries to fit in as many apartments in as possible regardless of the living quality in order to maximise the profit. Overtly sculptural approach refers to high rise are built to be iconic without consideration toward their appropriateness which results in a ‘zoo’ liked the city. Wood stated that the purpose of the high rise is bringing all the property of city into the sky, it should be a “city flipped vertically with public space and infrastructure” (Duke 2017).

I personally agreed with the statement of high rise present as a vertically flipped city. I think that the number of skyscrapers or high rise buildings would only increase in the future development of urban areas.  There would be less available land in urban areas, public spaces and infrastructure system should occur in the high rise or even between high rise buildings. For example, in CBD areas in Hong Kong, high rise buildings are connected through bridges for pedestrian accesses while the streets are mainly for traffic accesses. The bridges are also connected to different public facilities such as transport intersections, community centres and public squares. Mix usage high rise building is another example for well- design skyscrapers in urban areas since it provides better living quality for people.

I think it would be important for the design for high rise building to cater for the utility of people in order to achieve sustainability and sustainable development of cities since it is deeply linked with the future development of a city.

Duke, J. (2017, March 9). 95 per cent of skyscrapers 'are crap pieces of design', says architecture professor. Available at: https://www.domain.com.au/news/shortfall-of-the-tall-most-skyscrapers-are-crap-pieces-of-design-expert-says-20170308-gut0ky/ [Accessed 7 April 2017].

Relationship between economic and deforestation

Deforestation refers to removal of a forest or trees from an area and change the function of the area to non-forest uses. The areas are usually turn into urban development areas or agricultural uses, the trees would be used for construction purposes or sold as fuels. Deforestation would cause large environmental impacts to the natural habitat and biodiversity of the area, removal of a large scale of forest would also impact the carbon dioxide rate in the atmosphere.

In terms of economic aspect, deforestation could provide large amount of land and raw resources into the market. The land would be opportunities for urban development or other usages that enhance economic development for a country or city. In 2017, Scientific Report has publish a research paper “Economic Development and Forest Cover: Evidence form Satellite Data” by IIASA (ScienceDaily, 2017). The paper focus on the relationship between Income per Capita and deforestation in different countries. The research is based on an existing theory called “Kuznet’s Curve”, which predicted that economic growth would lead to depletion in environment in undeveloped country and the effect would be revert in developed countries (ScienceDaily, 2017).

The result of the research stated that half of “Kuznet’s Curve” is correct where the developing countries have higher depletion on environment. The studies has demonstrated that undeveloped countries and developed countries both have low depletion on environment. According to researcher of IIASA, the main concern would be undeveloped countries in Africa (ScienceDaily, 2017). Africa have large amount of undisturbed forests, the main concern for the researcher is that the developing stages of Africa countries, the deforestation would create worldwide environmental impacts.

I think that the research result has provide an understanding between environmental impacts in development of countries. I think that developed countries should offers helps and resources to undeveloped countries to prevent or reduce environmental impacts during their developing stages. These resources could be education, technology and financial supports.

ScienceDaily(2017, Jan 17), Trade-offs between economic growth and deforestation. Available at:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170117140246.htm (accessed April 10, 2017).

Social Sustainability in Planning

The term sustainability refers the ability to progress an action. For the majority of people, sustainability usually refers to environmental issues such as climate changes, protection of natural environment and melting of ice caps. Sustainability included three main aspects – economic, environment and social, however, social aspects have been often overlooked. According to Joanna Brain, social sustainability refers to recognise the need and desire of people, consider how individual actions could effected on the community and also open and anticipate to social changes in order to achieve higher social wellbeing (Brain).

Social sustainability is also a crucial factor for development in built environment. According to Brain, ignoring social factors in a planning of city or public domains could lead to serious social issues such as poverty, crime, low quality of life, social exclusion and inequality of communities (Brain). These issues would affect economic and environmental aspects as well. Therefore, social sustainability should be considered during the planning process. There are series of tools and strategies that help us to resolve social issues in the planning. These tools include Social impact assessment and robust research which provides quantifiable outcomes.  Public Participation and social planning are two strategies that planner can consider during the planning process, public participation involved with understanding the function of community, identifying issues in the community and predicting social activities (Brain). Social planning refers to incorporate social infrastructure with physical infrastructure in the planning process, where social factor, facilities affect the physical infrastructure of the city.

In my opinion, social aspect would be the most important aspect of sustainability. It deals with human activities and human wellbeing which are difficult and complex topics. These factors also make up the basis for economic and environmental aspects. Therefore, I think that social factors should well consider and designed in order to achieve an overall sustainable development. It would be impossible to maintain economic and environmental sustainability if social issues are not treated or considered.

Brain Joanna. The Social Side of Sustainability, available at: https://www.planning.org.nz/Folder?Action=View%20File&Folder_id=185&File=Brain.pdf [Accessed 1 April 2017].

The story behind sustainability development

The idea of sustainability development has been proposing for many years. It has become a goal for building construction and city development. The idea of sustainability contains three aspects environmental, economic and social. In order to achieve a healthy sustainable development, all three aspects should be considered. In terms of city development, the common resistance would be coming from the social aspect.

China as a developing country, there are many cities in china are under developing stages where the environment, economy and living quality are increasing. In order to achieve those qualities, a lot of lands is needed. Some of the lands would occupy which means that the building on it would have to be removed in many cases. During the removal of the building, the process would include eviction the people living in the building, reallocated them, provide compensations and destruction of the building. In the example of the Olympic stadiums in Beijing 2008, issues occurred on the evacuation and reallocation of the citizens. The ‘Nail houses’ which refers to people refusing to vacate properties under a state- ordered eviction and demolition (Domain 2017). The main reasons for refusing to move would be gain high compensation from the government to “ensure their own survival in an increasingly unequal society” (Domain 2017). However, the government often uses ineffective ‘strategies’ such as harassment and violence to resolve these type of issues which often worsen the situation.

In my opinion, form a society point of view, the social aspect of the city is not up to standard or not ready to achieve similar advancement of economic and environment. Both government and communities cannot handle the issue on the same mature level which results in conflicts during the negotiation process. This would also be a large issue for sustainability development, therefore, it is important to increase the quality of social aspect through media and education. Also, the desire for a larger amount of compensation also indicated some issues on economic aspect. In other to achieve sustainable development or sustainability, the economic issues also need to be evaluated by the government before development.

Shin, H. B. (2017, March 21). The homeowners taking a stand against China's rapid urbanisation, available at: https://www.domain.com.au/news/how-stubborn-nail-houses-take-a-stand-against-chinas-rapid-urbanisation-20170321-gv2nyv/ [Accessed 1 April 2017].

Image: Holdout (real estate). (2017, March 4), available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holdout_(real_estat

e)[Accessed 1 April 2017].

Waste Charging in Hong Kong

In the previous week, there was a lecture on waste management, the term 3R was mentioned. 3R refers to reduce, reuse and recycle. There are taken out from the waste management hierarchy, these three actions could help us achieve a sustainable. It provides a guideline for us to live in a recycle lifestyle.

In Hong Kong, an organisation called “the Green Power” has pushed 3R further to become the 4R system which includes 'replace' as the fourth R. Hong Kong as an international and developed city, it has high living qualities, high financial status and high population. I think it would be interesting to discuss how people in Hong Kong has implant recycle and reduce in their everyday life.

In the case of recycling, Hong Kong has been pushing education recycling programs for a long period of time. Hong Kong provides many recycle bins at each apartment and also in different malls. It provides good conditions which encourage household and people to recycle their waste.

In terms of reduction, Hong Kong government has recently proposed a regulation to charge on wastes. It can be established at 2019. This regulation is targeted on general wastes that are not able to be recycled. The government has introduced a range of special plastic bags in different capacities from 3L to 100L, fee varies from 30 cents to 11 HKD. People would be charged a penalty of 1500HKD (Apple Daily, 2017). The fees will vary from 30 to 90 dollars per months. Some people accept this regulation and agree to reduce or recycle household wastes, however, there are people question the efficiency of the policy since the charge is low.  Furthermore, there are people suggest that Hong Kong should improve on recycling the household waste before establishing charge on waste (RTHK31, 2017).

I personally have doubt on the actual operation of the scheme since it involves many factors and difficulties. I also would not guarantee the effect on reducing waste, however, I think it would help encouraging people to recycle their waste in Hong Kong. Although the education programs Hong Kong has run for a long period, but the idea of recycling is still weak in Hong Kong. In an ideal situation, I think that this regulation would allow people to be more active in recycling. After the idea and action of recycling is established in the society, the regulation would push people to reduce waste in Hong Kong. It would also benefit Hong Kong in transforming in a more sustainable city.

Apple Daily. (March 2017).  需買專用袋 最貴3元一個 垃圾徵費今揭盅 三口家料月付$44. [Online] Apple Daily. Available at: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20170320/19963618 [Accessed 25 March 2017].

RTHK31. (March 2017). 《視點31》垃圾徵費計劃利弊.  [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beLdy0nOaAI [Accessed 25 March 2017].

Fig 1. Apple Daily. (March 2017).  需買專用袋 最貴3元一個 垃圾徵費今揭盅 三口家料月付$44. [Online] Apple Daily. Available at: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20170320/19963618 [Accessed 25 March 2017].

A different way to create land – Mega- Float

Land reclamation refers to the process of creating new land on ocean, riverbed and lake beds. Land reclamation usually is preferred for expansion of cities or large construction projects such as airport or harbour. The traditional methods for land reclamation are usually non-environmental friendly. For example, Hong Kong is a city that had land reclamation project during the development.

The land reclamation has created large environmental impacts to the ocean in Hong Kong. It would further pollute the ocean while affecting the food chain of the marine animals. It would also create permanent damages to the ocean bed. Land reclamation also requires a large amount of cost, therefore, land reclamation is restricted and uncommon in the current state.

The technology of ‘Mega- Float’ is introduced in Japan in 1995. Mega-Float is an advanced way create land while minimising the damage and reducing the cost. Mega-Float is a very large floating structure (VLFS). Mega- Float is made out of 4 components: prefabricated land component, breakwater, stabiliser and a bridge that connects to the existing land. Mega Floats are able to support construction on top and also take-off and landing for aeroplanes. In contrast to the traditional method of land reclamation, Mega- Float has no restriction to a specific location. It takes less time to be constructed since land components are prefabricated. It is also lower in cost and less environmental impact on marine animals and water quality.

I think that although Mega- Float provides an answer for land reclamation, however, the sustainability issue behind would be land reclamation itself. Land reclamation is used for a few situations such as beach restoration, its main purpose is to provide more land for developing cities around coastal areas. I think that in the development of a sustainable city, any form of land reclamation should be avoided unless it is necessary. There are many other ways to maximise the usage of land through urban planning, compact city and smart cities.

Shipbuilding Research Centre. (2003). Introduction of Mega- Float. [Online] Available at: http://www.srcj.or.jp/html/megafloat_en/menu/top.html[Accessed 25 March 2017].

Fig1. Shipbuilding Research Centre. (2003). Introduction of Mega- Float. [Online] Available at: http://www.srcj.or.jp/html/megafloat_en/menu/top.html[Accessed 25 March 2017].

Cheonggyecheon River - Renovation project in Seoul, Korea

Cheonggyecheon River - Renovation project in Seoul, Korea

Cheonggyecheon River is located in the central area of Seoul. There are many external public areas near the site such as Gwanghwamun Square and Gyeongbokgung. All these buildings represent the culture and History of Korea. Originally, the area was a freeway in a CBD area, the river was polluted and the area often suffers from flooding issues (Mayer 2012). In 2000, the freeway and road around the area need to be repaired due to structure issues. Due to a large amount of maintenance fee, the Korean Government has decided to turn the freeway into an environmental innovative project. The reconstruction at 2003 and finished in 2005.

 Fig 1. Night view of Cheonggyecheon

This area has turned into an excavated site with a river that runs toward the Han River.  The excavated form of the river separate the site from the busy traffic and provide a biodiversity (Wang 2014) environment for the surrounding buildings. The excavated form separate this new area from the busy commercial areas, provide a space for tourism and local citizen to gather. Another feature is the introduction of the river, despite the fact that some of the water is pumped from the Han River rather than recycled water (Wang 2014). However, it achieves the goals of building an urban park (Bissel 2014) within the CBD for Seoul. It reduces the urban heat, increases the biodiversity and reduces the air pollution of the CBD area. (Landscape Architecture Foundation 2011). Furthermore, it contains cultural features such as paintings on the wall, pond, wall of culture, wall of history and wall of hope.

There are many pedestrian and vehicle bridges that run across the site which resolves the problem of traffic and pedestrian access to the CBD.

Fig 2. Original freeway along Cheonggyecheon

I think that the renovation project of Cheonggyecheon provides a great example for the possibility of developing a sustainable city. It has provided a breakout space within a dense and urbanized CBD area which allows possible social interaction in the CBD areas. It also provides environmental benefits such as reduce urban heats and air pollution in a CBD areas. Furthermore, another important factor that can be learned from this case study is spotting the opportunities to renovate or develop a better city and react to it. Overall, I think this project has improved the social and environmental quality of the area and would be a good case study for future development in a sustainable city.

Bissel, B. (2014, January 22). Not all Green Spaces are Created Equal: A Look at the Successes of Cheonggyecheon, South Korea | The Urbanist Dispatch. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://www.urbanistdispatch.com/1948/not-all-green-spaces-are-created-equal-a-look-at-the-successes-of-cheonggyecheon-south-korea/

Landscape Architecture Foundation. (2011, January). Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration Project. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/cheonggyecheon-stream-restoration#/overview

 Mayer, N. (2012, July 4). The Cheonggyecheon River Restoration Project, Seoul, South Korea. Retrieved April 4, 2016, from https://sustainabilitywriter.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/the-cheonggyecheon-river-restoration-project-seoul-south-korea/

Wang, L. (2014, November 18). How the Cheonggyecheon River Urban Design Restored the Green Heart of Seoul. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://inhabitat.com/how-the-cheonggyecheon-river-urban-design-restored-the-green-heart-of-seoul/

Fig 1  http://www.thousandwonders.net/Cheonggyecheon

Fig 2  http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/cheonggyecheon-river-reclamation-and-landscape-architecture-in-seoul-korea/

Housing Affordability & Affordable housing

Housing affordability has recently become an issue in major areas of Australia. According to the annual Demographia report on housing affordability, Sydney is rank second on least affordable housing (Beer, 2017). First home buyers have great barriers to purchase property in Sydney or Melbourne (Cocks, 2017), the price of properties also affects rental prices increase to a high point.

Affordable housing refers to the range of housing options such as Government owned, social housing by charities and low-cost private housing (Cocks, 2017). The number of affordable houses in Australia has decreased over many years in result low-income families has to compete with others in private rental markets. Due to the large amounts of investment in Australia, there would not be a large change in next 20 years (Cocks, 2017).

Affordable housing is a complex issue, it counts many factors in minimising the effect of this issues. It would involve government regulations on tax, investment policies and regulation on the development of housing. I am interested in how regulation on the development of housing can contribute to resolving the issue. I think that the regulations should also contribute to environmental sustainability as well as social and economic.

In terms of built environment in affordable housing, I think that one possible solution for this issue could be urbanization of areas that surrounds the CBD. Urbanization of surrounding areas would reduce the need to expand the boundary of the city which reduces the development of extra city infrastructure. It also provides an opportunity for rural areas to develop into sustainable areas. For example, the public traffic network can be renovated by the development of light rail which improves the connection of local areas and also connections toward CBD.

Another example would be the introduction to mid or high-rise residential buildings. The government could develop this high-rise residential as government owned housing and provide to low-income families. High rise residential can provide large supply while reducing the land usage for construction. These new buildings can be designed as ‘Green buildings’ which contributes towards environmental sustainability.

Furthermore, the renovation of the areas would allow for improvement in another aspect such as economic and social. For example, the development of the area would increase in employment opportunities. The higher density would also increase social connection and activities occur within the areas.

Although the idea of urbanization involved with complex restriction in the reality. I believe that in co-operating with other government policies on limiting investment or supports for the low-income families. The urbanization would contribute in resolving the issue of affordable housing and also leads Sydney into a more sustainable city.

Andrew Cocks. (February 2017). Just as there’s no universal housing affordability crisis, there’s no one- size- fits- all solution. [Online] Domain. Available at: https://www.domain.com.au/news/just-as-theres-no-universal-housing-affordability-crisis-theres-no-onesizefitsall-solution-20170223-guihou/[Accessed 19 March 2017]

Andrew Beer. (January 2017). A housing affordability crisis in regional Australia? Yes, and here’s why. [Online] Domain. Available at: https://www.domain.com.au/news/a-housing-affordability-crisis-in-regional-australia-yes-and-heres-why-20170129-gu150v/ [Accessed 19 March 2017]

Is Green building sustainable?

Green building design refers to buildings that are environmentally friendly and control in resources throughout the building life cycle. Green building does not necessary refers to building cover with vegetation, it refers to buildings that can reduce used in resources such as water and energy. It also designed to reduce waste and pollution cause throughout the building life cycle (US environmental Protection Agency, 2016).

Fig1. Advantages of Green buildings

Some advantages of Green buildings are cost, efficiency and preserving infrastructure. Although green buildings would require higher construction costs compare to standard buildings, however, green buildings require less maintenance, renovation and operation fee throughout its building life cycle which results in a lower overall cost. Resources efficiency are divided into water, energy and material where each has its own way to achieve sustainability. For example, rainwater or grey water can be reused in the different areas in the building. Due to the efficiency of resource, it would also affect the infrastructure of the area around it (Weetas, 2016).

Video 1: Central Thermal Plant, Sydney, Total Construction.

The number of Green buildings has increased in recent years. One of the well- known are One Central Park. One Central Park is well known for its green walls, roof garden and smart metering systems. It contains the advantages of green buildings. It contains a tri- generation energy centre which is twice energy efficient compared to the coal fire power plant. Tri- generation can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 190 000 Tonnes over the 25 years life span. Furthermore, it also has a recycled water network, it would reduce 40 to 50 % of water consumption (CentralPark).

I think green buildings are not only one of the future of architecture, it would also be a key component for us to the future development of cities. I think it affects how we think and design, I also think that it would affect the layout and design of future cities. The infrastructure of the cities has to be rearranged to adopt a lot of green buildings. For example, when a lot of green buildings are located around, can their infrastructure or some component intersect in order to achieve higher sustainability? In this case, how can cities plan out to maximise the effects of these type of innovations?

US environmental Protection Agency. (February 2016). [Online]. Components of Green Building. US environmental Protection Agency. Available at: https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/html/components.html#indoor[Accessed 12 March 2017].

Weetas. (December 2016). Green Buildings: Advantages and Disadvantages. [Online]. Weetas Blog. Available at: https://www.weetas.com/article/green-buildings-advantages-and-disadvantages/ [Accessed 12 March 2017].

Central Park Sydney. Green Transformation. [Online].Central Park Sydney. Available at: http://www.centralparksydney.com/explore/a-sustainable-habitat [Accessed 12 March 2017].

Total Construction. (November 2014). Central Thermal Plant, Sydney, Total Construction. [Video].  Available at: https://youtu.be/JnNPg0coQ8o [Accessed 12 March 2017].

Fig 1. Weetas. (December 2016). Green Buildings: Advantages and Disadvantages. [Online].Weetas Blog. Available at: https://www.weetas.com/article/green-buildings-advantages-and-disadvantages/ [Accessed 12 March 2017].

Video 1. Total Construction. (November 2014). Central Thermal Plant, Sydney, Total Construction. [Video].  Available at: https://youtu.be/JnNPg0coQ8o [Accessed 12 March 2017].

Blue Roof - A new green roof

Blue Roof - A new green roof

In Australia, The idea of green roof was first introduced and install around 1930 (City of Sydney, Apr 2014). It has become a common feature in current buildings. Green roof refers to rooftop areas that are cover in soil and have vegetation

planted in. Green roofs have been noted as a sustainable feature in build environment due to the benefit it provides. In NSW, 30% of the roof area needs to be covered to count as a green roof (City of Sydney, Apr 2014).

In recent years, another form of the sustainable roof has appeared known as the blue roof. Blue roof is a roof that detains stormwater. It delays the drain inlets which create a temporary ponding. This design can delay the rate of storm water which reduces the pressure of the storm water drainage system of the city during heavy storms. Blue roofs are usually built along green roofs to provide water for vegetation (Justin McGar, 2015).

Fig 1. Blue Roof and Green Roof place on one roof

Blue roofs and Green roofs share some advantage such as reducing urban heat and reduce the heat gain of the building. It could result in reducing in electricity consumption due to the thermal benefit in summer. Blue Roof would cost less to build compare to the green roof also, it is lighter than the green roof. On the other hand, the green roof can create a biodiversity on the building and improve air quality during the day (City of Sydney, Dec 2014). Blue roofs are more popular in New York compare other places in the world (Justin McGar, 2015). I believe that blue roof would become beneficial for cities that suffer from monsoons weathers.

Fig 2.Section of Green and Blue roof

I think that the both roofs has their advantages which could contribute towards sustainability. I think that the collaboration of both ideas would provide a more sufficient. For example, blue roof with green wall. The load of vegetation and soil would be transferred from the slab to the façade of the building which allows the more load on the blue roof. The detention of storm water can be used for both watering plants and also be used for cooling system inside the buildings. It would still require further advancement in technology to achieve that level of efficiency. However, I think it would benefit develop cities to achieve sustainability from the idea of blue and green roofs.

Justin McGar. (July 2015). The New Green Roof is Blue. [Online] Sourceable. Available at: https://sourceable.net/new-green-roof-blue/[Accessed 12 March 2017].

City of Sydney. (April 2014). Green Roofs and Walls Policy. [pdf] City of Sydney. Available at: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/200243/2014_126384__policy__green_roofs_and_walls2.pdf [Accessed 12 March 2017].

City of Sydney. (December 2014). Green Roofs and Walls. [online] City of Sydney. Available at: http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/vision/towards-2030/sustainability/greening-the-city/green-roofs-and-walls#page-element-dload[Accessed 12 March 2017].

Fig 1. NYC. Blue Roof and Green Roof. [online]. NYC Environment Protection. Available at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/stormwater/green_pilot_project_ps118.shtml

Fig 2. NYC. Blue Roof and Green Roof. [online]. NYC Environment Protection. Available at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/stormwater/green_pilot_project_ps118.shtml