Compact City
A Compact City is an urban planning concept designed to promote sustainable development by maximizing the efficient use of land while minimizing environmental impact. This model aims to create centralized residential areas that enhance the quality of life for residents through features like high-density housing, efficient public transportation, green spaces, and mixed-use developments, where residential, commercial, and recreational spaces are integrated. As urban populations are expected to grow significantly by 2050, adopting the Compact City approach becomes crucial to address issues of urban sprawl and resource management.
The characteristics of compact cities differ between developed and developing nations, with the former focusing on revitalizing existing urban areas, while the latter emphasizes sustainable construction practices. Benefits of this model include reduced reliance on cars, shorter commutes, improved access to amenities, and conservation of natural resources, which collectively contribute to a healthier lifestyle for residents. However, challenges persist, such as the potential for increased traffic congestion, gentrification leading to social disparities, and the necessity for effective governance. Overall, the compact city model represents a forward-thinking approach to urban development that seeks to balance the needs of current and future populations.
Compact City
A compact city is an urban planning concept that promotes the use of sustainable development in cities. The primary intent behind using this model is to get the greatest use from existing land resources while limiting the resulting environmental impact. Beyond its emphasis on establishing healthy centralized residential centers, the compact city model of development seeks to promote new methods of urban development that limit the physical footprints of urban centers while promoting a higher quality of life for residents.
Contemporary blueprints for compact cities combine high-density residential areas with efficient transportation, green spaces, easy access to urban activities, and mixed-use development. Mixed-use developments are planned community projects in which residential, business, and recreational functions are intertwined. For instance, a skyscraper containing street-level stores with apartments above or a residential neighborhood with parks, cafés, and open paths are both considered mixed-use developments.
It is estimated that by 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban centers. In addition, the world’s population is projected to increase from six billion in 2001 to nine billion by 2050. As a result, cities have the potential to explode in size, possibly complicating existing problems with urban sprawl and unsustainable land development practices.
Purpose and Characteristics
Sustainable development is the key characteristic of compact cities. Sustainable development is the drive to establish methods that satisfy the basic human needs of the world’s population without sacrificing the ability of future generations to do the same. The misuse of Earth’s suitable lands—particularly through urban sprawl—is among the greatest concerns of the sustainable development movement. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, land consumption is set to outpace population in many of its member countries. As a result, establishing more efficient methods of restoring and building cities is a vital component of sustainable development.
The needs of compact cities vary between developed and developing nations. In developed nations, the compact city model is mostly centered on revitalizing existing facets of cities to improve quality of life and efficiency, while in developing nations, the focus is more on new construction that follows sustainable development methodologies.
There are several important characteristics of a compact city. Of particular importance, compact cities must have high-density residential development, efficient public transportation, and complex land use with limited outward expansion beyond existing boundaries.
Some advocates of compact cities incorporate the promotion of human rights issues into the model. By those standards, quality of life issues within a compact city gain increased importance. These include independent and fair governance, city centers that promote positive social interactions, and greater employment opportunities that do not require long commutes. When sustainable development is the primary concern, reduced energy consumption, heightened self-sufficiency, and clear city boundaries that do not impact the surrounding environment are presented as key elements. Sustainable development has proven to be effective in reducing the effects of climate change.
Advantages
Due to their dense populations and centrally located businesses, compact cities have a reduced dependence on cars, contributing to shorter commutes and fewer emissions of greenhouse gases. Shorter commutes, as well as the increased availability of urban activities (such as parks, museums, and open pathways common to urbanized mixed-development projects), would improve the quality of life for its residents. An increase in accessibility of resources would also promote greater exercise, leading to health gains among its citizens.
Other possible benefits include the conservation of natural resources and land for food production and environmental protection. With reduced distance between farms and urban residences, food transportation costs are lower, while the consumption of fresher, healthier foods is increased.
Higher-density population centers also have the potential to increase the efficiency of the city itself, thereby reducing expenses. The costs of civil services provided by the city are reduced. Shorter line systems related to energy production, sewer systems, and garbage disposal mean lower repair costs. In addition, the renovation of existing city structures generally costs less than the construction of new streets, sewers, buildings, and other forms of infrastructure.
Disadvantages
Opponents of these models debate that several issues may develop in cities that adopt these standards. For instance, many of the existing problems with large cities have the potential to be intensified. Traffic congestion, pollution, and crime generally increase in large population centers. With greater participation in mass transportation, there would also be heightened stresses on the associated infrastructures. Railroad tracks, trains, buses, subways, and roads would all have increased maintenance costs.
The revitalization of city centers oftentimes heightens disparities between social classes. When cities restore neighborhoods, it has the positive effect of drawing people who place greater emphasis on repairing private homes and businesses—a process called gentrification. Gentrification also carries the risk of raising housing costs in an area, forcing out long-term, low-income residents. Higher housing costs may also reduce business competitiveness due to the increased financial overhead for companies.
Opponents of compact cities also cite problems with transporting people safely out of cities in the event of natural disasters. Similarly, a focus on urban revitalization has the potential to ignore the needs of rural residents. Finally, the basic precept of compact cities requires dependence on proper governance free from corruption, an issue of particular concern for developing countries.
Bibliography
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Ghisleni, Camilla. “What Are Compact Cities?” ArchDaily, 14 Feb. 2022, www.archdaily.com/976666/what-are-compact-cities. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
"How to Feed the World in 2050." Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009, www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert‗paper/How‗to‗Feed‗the‗World‗in‗2050.pdf. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Jenks, Mike, Elizabeth Burton, and Katie Williams, eds. "Compact Cities and Sustainability: An Introduction." The Compact City: A Sustainable Form? E & FN Spon, 1996, pp. 2–6.
McDermott, Phil. "Why Compact Cities Aren’t So Smart." New Geography, 12 June 2011, www.newgeography.com/content/002279-why-compact-cities-arent-so-smart. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
"Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development." UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements, www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.