Urban Sustainability: Benefits and Impacts

This assignment discusses the concept of urban sustainability and its far-reaching benefits. It emphasizes the positive effects of sustainability on economic growth, social development, and environmental protection. The document argues that sustainable cities lead to cleaner environments, responsible citizenship, and self-sufficient energy systems, ultimately creating a more harmonious relationship between humans and nature.

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Urban sustainability
Executive Summary
Urban sustainability is a rarely newer concept gaining immense popularity all around the globe.
The need for sustainability arises due to the diminished natural resources. There is no real ways
humans are capable of reproducing these natural resources that are available to them in limited
quantities. Therefore, the trend of utilizing whatever remainder portion of these resources is left
in an effective manner.
Also, as the days pass by, newer innovations are leading pathways for the discovery of alternate,
sustainable and reusable methods of utilization of these resources. Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs (Woo 2013).
This paper aims to analyze the impact of urban sustainability of the economic, social and
environmental growth and development in the sunshine coast in Queensland.
Introduction
In the context of urban development, the meaning of sustainability is slightly different.
Developing countries do not escape the global urbanization trend (Stowers 2017). Urban
sustainability can be define as creating urban environments which are independent of any foreign
elements and are self dependent for their requirement of resources. The fact that 51 percent of
the population is now concentrated on only 2 percent of the planet means we need to design
urban environments that have minimal impact on the ecosystem while also being resilient to
external threats (Herring 2017). Cities that are sustainable have a cycle of energy transfer and
consume what they produce. This cycle is replete and the cities do not need to depend on any
foreign bodies for their needs of energy, electricity or fuel.
Impact on Urban Development
Any new concept needs time for people to grasp it. There are always certain product and cons
associated with change. Sustainability is the need of the hour. Our planet's resources are

depleting at a fast pace and even though there is a lot of awareness among people, very few are
actually trying to put an effort into doing something about it.
The already constructed urban developments are not in line with the intended urban sustainable
cities. Therefore, a huge amount of time, resources, effort and money will be required to change
the current scenario. Over the past half decade or so, it has become increasingly apparent that
cities are leading the way–and ultimately, have the greatest chance at boosting our chances for
survival in the face of declining resources and rising seas (SCHWARTZ 2013). In addition to
this, making people aware of the benefits of sustainable developments is also necessary. The two
main strategies for transitioning to a low-carbon city are to shift from fossil fuels to cleaner
energy sources and to reduce urban energy consumption levels (Kammen 2016). The
governments cannot cease people properties and take stand alone decisions about creating
sustainable urban developments. They can however, teach the public and spread awareness about
its benefits to the environment and in return to the humans itself.
As concerns about suburban sprawl, shanty towns and climate change grew, so too did awareness
that clustering people in energy-efficient buildings and walk able, shady neighborhood makes
cities more pleasant to live in and better for the global environment (Wachsmuth 2016). Urban
development cannot be made sustainable overnight. It takes years and years of planning.
Planning is a crucial element for any development initiative (UrRahman 2016). This includes
large scale documentation of the already constructed buildings, analyzing built mass, listing
down costing of the entire project, figuring out how to and whether or not to relocate people
already sustaining their lives in these urban developments. However, one cannot ignore the
benefits of sustainable urban developments. Below are mentioned the short, medium as well as
long term implications of turning current developments in to sustainable ones on to their growth
and development.
Short term implications- The most chaotic bumpy and overall disruptive period shall be the
imminent future if one is thinking of converting the already present urban development into
sustainable ones. The growth and development of a city are directly proportional to the overall
smooth functioning of every major element that contributes to its being. However, even though
one might think that the present urban scenarios are progressing rapidly and have increased
development economically, are headed towards their doom.

The Sunshine Coast Council has unapologetically chopped down and mulched 18 fruit trees on
verges in Buderim within the hugely popular Urban Food Street (UFS) precinct (Atkinson 2017).
In this particular case, the act of cutting down of trees that had been a part of the particular area
in Sunshine Coast was extremely shocking to the residents. They didn’t know why it happened.
Also, the parents at the Sunshine Coast reported that they felt that their children would be very
heavily impacted by this action of felling trees by the Council. This is because children were
used to playing outside near the trees. But there aren’t any trees there anymore.
The short term effects on the growth and development of urban developments are not going to be
very positive. There will need to be some major changes incorporated in to the very basis of the
city for it to be converted into a sustainable region. Once the initiative of converting a city into
an urban sustainable development is started, the government may decide to relocate some people.
Many other large scale measures such as setting up of sewage and other waste treatment plants
may take place. In an already developed city, there can be issues relating to finding the space for
building such upcoming ventures. There can also be major changes in the bye-laws, policies,
regulations and guidelines of a city
Medium term implications- Medium term implications on growth and development of the urban
city shall be mandatory in determining whether the graph of developer is going to or down. This
phase shall be extremely crucial in determining whether the changes are being widely accepted
or not. Also, the growth and development during this phase shall be comparatively slow.
However, it shall be indicative of the growth in the future.
There have been a number of reports and researches concluding that sustainability leads to a
boost in the economy. Therefore, the medium phase will be full of changes. However, it shall
determine whether the city is able to function properly after the changes that it has gone through.
Long term implications- the long term implications shall be extremely positive. The society and
the city as a whole shall get very accustomed to all the changes. Businesses will have a new
found way of running their organizations. Progress shall be seen in every field and growth not
just economically, but socially and environmentally, shall be very evident.
The long term effects of sustainability are goals for which the concept had been developed in the
first place. These shall definitely have a positive impact on the overall development of the city

and a mutually cohesive environment shall be created where a perfect balance between human
and nature shall be achieved.
The After Effects
There is a huge amount of research and literature available on the economical development as a
result of the adoption of sustainable practices. These available researched have analyzed a
number of case studies which have proven how the adoption of sustainable practices results in a
boost in the economic development of a business, an organization, a city or even a country.
The idea behind resulting businesses achieving more profits is that sustainable practices tend to
reduce the inputs and utilize the resources effectively. What this essentially does is that it reduces
the costs related to input of raw material used for manufacturing of goods. In addition to this, it
also reduces the overall operational costs of a business. These bring down the amount of money
that a business invests in the business or sees as the cost of running a business, thus leading to
savings that finally turn out to be profits.
Sustainable practices tend to cut down costs of electricity, fuel and money spent on energy
utilized for a number of processes that form a part of business operation. A simple example for a
business to become more sustainable can be choosing to use only locally available materials for
the production of goods. This brings down cost exponentially as the money that was earlier spent
on transportation of good s from a far away state or country is now being saved. Therefore, urban
sustainability can be directly linked to a positive growth in the economy of a city or country.
Social Implications
As human beings, it is our duty to keep our planet healthy and clean. Due to the hoard of making
money, businesses, factories, large scale companies are all consuming enormous amounts of
resources irresponsibly and generating an even more enormous amount of waste. This waste
contaminates the soil, water and air of the very planet that we live on.
In the case of the felling of trees in Sunshine Coast, the incident generated major hype. It was
received with a lot of criticism from the general public. This show how the local people give
importance to nature even when they are living in unban settlements.

It is essential for every teacher and parent to teach their future generations as well as themselves
as to how one can utilize the available resources in an effective manner. These resources are not
available to us in abundance. Therefore, it should be realized that wasting these resources shall
leave nothing for the future generations to come. With the current scenarios developing into
sustainable environments, more and more people shall become aware of the negative impacts of
their previous habits. More and more people shall become responsible, caring and compassionate
individuals who not only care about their families and friends but the planet as a whole.
Environmental Implications
The environmental implications of sustainability are an overall positive environment on the
planet. With the adoption of sustainable practices, the citi3s shall not only become self dependant
but also a lot more livable. The quality of air, water and soil that we have currently is below
average. The contaminated soil becomes more arid by the day. The crops that grow in the soil
contain toxins. The water that is available to is also filled with contaminants that not only create
a toxic environment for the animals that live in water but also for humans who need it for their
survival. The air that one breathes is so heavily filled with polluting gases, causing a number of
respiratory diseases and even cancer.
Cr Jamieson understood the public space in front of three properties on Clithero Ave, which had
been home to a number of citrus trees, had been cleared because one property owner had refused
to finalize a permit (Sawyer 2017). This was received with major backlash. The trees had been
there for decades. Felling of trees is not only harmful for the environment but also the residents
of the Sunshine coast. All of this was caused due to the repeated negligence by a single resident,
apparently and could have been very easily avoided.
Adopting sustainable practices is the right choice. It is the innovation of the future. Today,
technology has made it possible to be able to use energy that does not generate any form of
waste. This is known as clean energy. Adoption of such practices leads to the overall
environment becoming more and more clean, hygienic and pure. Human have made the planet
into a toxic environment. However, more people are realizing the importance of sustainable
practices in the present day and taking steps forward to ensuring a cleaner future.
Conclusion

Sustainability is the thing of the future. Creating sustainable developments in the present
scenario seems to be an extremely daunting task. The amount of time, effort, resources and
money needed to bring about such a change is also very high. However, it is not impossible.
Bringing about any change has its pros and cons as well as short and long term implications. As
discussed above, the task of constructing sustainable developments might see painstakingly
difficult in the present. However, it has some amazingly beautiful results that shall en beneficial
for one and all.
Urban sustainability not only results in economic growth and development but also brings about
a positive change in the society as well as the environment. It makes the citizens of a country
aware of what is beneficial and what is harmful. It also makes humans more responsible citizens.
In addition to the economic and social implications, the concept of sustainability is supremely
beneficial for the environment. Less air, soil and water pollution shall result in cleaner green
cities. Treatment of ways shall profile electricity, resulting in the formation of self dependent
clean cities, replete with Mother Nature’s greenery inhabiting compassionate, sensible and
empathetic humans.
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