Question

You have been appointed as the new planning officer at a district assembly. The DCE has asked you to produce a five page report(reference if possible) outlining the environmental services that would be required in a small town with population of 6000 for the next 10 years.
1. List and explain at least 6 environmental services (or infrastructure) that you would recommend for the settlement
a. Just the environmental implications or contribution of each of these services that you have outlined to the overall development of that small town
b. Explain the methods you are likely to use to arrive at the projected population and how you will carry out your needs assessment

Answer 1

Designing and Developing the sustainable infrastructure by using the available resources such as land, environment, air, water, etc is called urban planning in an environmental friendly way.

1. Unique Environmental sites: Different sections of the city have unequal value as building sites as the underlying soil and rock formations affect the soundness of the foundations, characteristics of subsoil drainage, etc. All these make differences in the cost of underground construction. Some parts of the city provide better amenities than others. The amenities can be in the form of a better view and access to the market.

2. Sustainable and Affordable Housing: Census population doubles which require more housing spaces, yet our goal to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

   Sustainable Housing means “housing which contributes to community building, to social justice, and to economic viability at a local level” (Morgan and Talbot, 2001, p. 321).

   Also, Development of Sustainable Housing refers to not only the development of building but also the layout of the housing areas since Quality of Dwelling life is not just simply concerned with having a roof over one’s head and a sufficient amount of living space, but also with social and psychological satisfaction.

   Affordable Housing has become a commonly used term for summarizing the nature of the housing difficulty in many nations. These houses should be affordable to everyone in the city irrespective of the working class or labour class.

   1. Zero carbon city: There is a need for Zero-Carbon Cities which are urban areas powered by renewable energy techniques and technologies.
      A zero-carbon city runs entirely on renewable energy; it has no carbon footprint and will in this respect not cause harm to the planet.

      The aim of a zero-carbon city is reducing carbon emissions from buildings, reducing waste, transport, materials and food emissions by 50% globally. It can be achieved by the following steps: Reducing energy-use wherever possible in the buildings and transportation sector, Increase Renewable Energy Resources by Adding as much renewable energy as possible, Offsetting any CO2 emitted through purchasing carbon credits, Developing distributed power and water systems, Increasing photosynthetic spaces as a part of the green infrastructure, Improving Eco-Efficiency, Developing cities without slums.