[MCN] Can Missoula really be a sustainable city?

[Lance Olsen]

Nature Editorial | 04 July 2018
Science must help to make city living sustainable <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05605-z>
It’s time researchers got to grips with the formidable challenge of rapidly growing urbanization.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05605-z <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05605-z>

Excerpts [ bold added [

In some ways, the experience of the city and its residents is a parable for our times, and an example of the kinds of problems faced by city officials the world over. How can we enable our urban centres to cope with extremes of weather, including those that global warming is expected to bring? And how can planning for worst-case scenarios be aligned with increasing awareness of the need to make our cities more sustainable?

… city-dwellers have entirely predictable demands: food, water, and subsequent waste disposal. Realistically, most world cities will struggle to become self-sufficient when it comes to dealing with those basic needs of their citizens. High-density housing and infrastructure don’t leave much space for fields and landfill. So the idea of a truly sustainable city is something of a misnomer. But to make cities more sustainable than they are now is a noble goal, and one included in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed in 2015.

Such decisions and choices are difficult because they require weighing up often conflicting demands and priorities. Science can help by gathering and analysing data to define risks and benefits. Researchers can thus help to tackle these thorny problems, and to ensure that cities continue to offer a home to people — and to much of science itself.


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