Global Pattern of Urban Reinvention
The future of our cities is in crisis. The modern pattern of the cities was initiated in the twentieth century, but its usefulness has become obsolete. This follows the contemporary pattern’s inability to solve the challenges it created, especially global warming. However, the new model of urban development focuses on addressing the phenomena through sustainable natural ecosystems and the generation of economic wealth. The book Life after Carbon by Pete Plastrik and John Cleveland assemble the global pattern of urban reinvention from the stories of 25 “innovation lab” cities across the world. A city innovation lab in this context refers to a complex, disordered, and entire city where innovations must be involved. This essay features one chapter in each part of the book and describes the central themes and arguments made.
The Main Argument of the Book
Life after Carbon is an engaging book that features how modern cities are innovating new ways in every aspect to sustain urban life. The book features the evolution of the world’s cities and their challenging future. The book is organized into three parts that include; “Urban climate innovation laboratories,” the scrutinization of four ideas that aid in the global transformation of cities, and a perspective that guides the future of the cities (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). The book presents some examples of innovative ways adopted by the world’s cities in the quest to address the prominent challenges such as urban congestion and climate change. The authors have featured the initiatives taken by some of the cities in North America, South America, the Far East, and Europe. Such illustrations depict the perspective that the major cities are already embracing innovation towards climate change, waste disposal, transportation, and infrastructure.
The Central Theme for the Chapter in Part 1
Part 1 – On the Innovation Pathway
Chapter four – Making a Better City
Part one of the book has five chapters that address different themes. I chose chapter four, which is “Making a Better City.” As the topic of the chapter suggests, the author examines various ways that people can use to develop a better city. The author explores the strategies that should be adopted to enhance the life in the city. In this regard, he notes the space underneath the highways that can be used to increase density and new housing. The Chinese are also focused on eliminating the tendency of oversized roads to develop walkable and transit-oriented urban patterns (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). The author also describes a change towards “zero-emission mobility,” leading to reduced pollution and congestion. The benefits of acquiring clean breathing air and quieter roads are also associated with reduced mortality rates due to traffic accidents, and even better health conditions due to more walking and bicycling. Designing the city makes it an attractive and conducive environment for all age-groups (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). The author features Copenhagen innovation lab city as a key player in implementing change strategies towards developing a better city. The lab’s goal is to neutralize carbon in the air by 2025 (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). Through innovation, the city has attained a green and economically productive environment and other benefits such as highly skilled labor, and low rates of unemployment.
The Central Theme for the Chapter in Part 2
Part 2 – Toward Global Transformation of Cities
Chapter 7 – Carbon-free Advantage
In this chapter, Plastrik and Cleveland address the various benefits of having a city free from carbon emissions. The central theme features the benefits of having a carbon-free environment. The strategies adopted by multiple cities such as Cape Town to install solar heaters to reduce coal-based electricity come with sustainable benefits. The switch by cities from using the fossils to using renewables provides a basis for creating economic wealth through utilizing the city’s advantages. With the wide-spread information about using renewables to reduce air pollution, the market for such renewables has widened globally, which poses as an economic advantage to the producing countries. For instance, it is estimated that renewable energy has hit global sales of $1.4 trillion per year (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). With such a high sales rate, the producing countries benefit by generating more income to develop their economy. The initiative also provides employment opportunities for the residents as more workforce is required to work in the industries. Additionally, with a clean environment, the workers stay healthy, and their productivity is increased, unlike in a carbon-rich environment where workers are exposed to various illnesses.
The Central Theme for the in Part 3
Part 3 – The Road Ahead
Chapter 11 – New Thinking Spreads
The central theme in this chapter describes the efforts needed to embrace a given change. As the subtopic suggests, “it always seems impossible until it is done” (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018), various organizations such as Rebel Alliance networks have invested in their efforts in connecting cities to share lessons, information, and practical advice regarding climate innovations and other changes to improve urban life. Embracing a change is challenging, and innovation to enhance city life may face some such as resistance to change by the leaders. Political influence, lack of technical competence, and financial resources may constrain the efforts to implement the changes. However, climate innovations may not produce immediate results and require continuous efforts. In this regard, the pace of change innovation should be reinforced through the feasibility and validity of the transformational ideas (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). One of the strategies that should be implemented to attain a sustainable development change mechanism includes Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) who considered the creation of a carbon-free city and entrenched climate policies into the long term comprehensive planning of the city which posed as a crucial impetus and extensive transformational impact.
Another step includes developing private plans and goals to reduce carbon by establishing buildings that align with their business operations’ specifications using renewable energy. For instance, some private sectors in the US have manipulated the health care and commercial real estate toward adopting standards of sustainable practice (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). Mobilizing people to embrace a change initiative is also another strategy as adopted by Amos Hostetter, who united leaders from diverse sectors to combine their efforts in implementing a climate change. Bryan Koop was also a transformative participant in climate-change campaigns. Koop incorporated energy-efficiency and climate-adaptation innovations into buildings such as green office building. (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018) which cost about $150 million and other extra costs initiated by the need to align with LEED Gold standards (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018).
Are You Left More Hopeful?
The final chapter describes the future of the cities and has left me with more hope for a better urban life. The chapter begins by pointing on the failure of the modern urban model to implement the actions that it had planned. However, hope is provided by the presence of new ideas whose objective is to develop the cities and form a better paradigm (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). The authors describe the alignment of the use of renewable energy to eliminate carbon with zero waste, and the realization of nature’s full benefits. Edward Wilson supports this potential alignment with a reduction in per-capita consumption. Wilson claims that the increasing competition the free-market system will compel businesses to produce competitive products that are durable and cost less to manufacture and advertise, and perform effectively using less amount of energy (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). Wilson’s ideas describe a strive for quality of life that considers environmental stability over wealth accumulation. The high rate of Austin city development proves that there is still hope for the unachieved goals in acquiring an environment-friendly city. Austin Mayor Steve Adler claims that the culture and values of the residents that approve a better environment are the key players in the city’s rapid development (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). The residents’ values uphold that the environment and sustainability do not add economic cost for the city (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018).
The Most Compelling Case Study
The chapters have discussed excellent case studies to demonstrate the themes. However, I found the case study of Austin Mayor Steve Adler in chapter 13 about how culture and values have contributed to the rapid development of Austin city, the most convincing. Adler has demonstrated a full range of cultural values that have shaped the city into the most attractive. The highly networked climate resilience has formed an innovation ecology (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). The innovation ecology has changed the way city people think and what they care about, which has changed the modern urban culture (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). As the cities adopt climate-change policies, the urban residents have their ideas and desires transformed and hence forming a new modern culture. Therefore, the case is compelling, as it proves that new ideas nourish people’s aspirations and fire their imaginations (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). As a result, people realize the valuable strategies advocated by the leaders of climate-change to better their lives and get interested in contributing their efforts.
What did you learn from it?
The above case study has taught me a great lesson. Firstly, I have realized that a new culture is developed by focusing on a common goal; in this case, climate change. Additionally, some benefits may take a significant amount of time for them to surface. For instance, Austin Mayor Steve Adler claims that since he settled in Austin city, it was the 42nd largest city in the country and has risen to attain 11th rank over the years (Plastrik & Cleveland, 2018). Therefore, continuous efforts and patience are paramount when aiming to achieve goals.
Critique of the Book
Plastrik and Cleveland provide rich information and vision about how life could be great with a carbon-free environment. The authors have richly explored strategies that make a thriving city. However, Plastrik and Cleveland withheld the need for the cities to recast their efforts towards climate-change to a broader perspective of creating a sustainable city. Efforts towards a better city do not entirely rely on achieving a sustainable climate as the authors have demonstrated, hence, a gap is created of what other initiatives need to be combined towards achieving these goals.
Generally, Life after Carbon by Plastrik and Cleveland is an excellent book to read by anyone whose interests are in initiating climate change for current and future generations in the cities. The book highlights various examples of cities globally that have embraced innovations through diverse strategies and next laid-up moves. The authors demonstrate that besides the government efforts, private institutions and individuals have a significant role to play in developing their environment. In this regard, city climate change requires the efforts of the residents to create a culture of using renewable energy to achieve a carbon-free environment.
Work Cited
Plastrik, P., & Cleveland, J. (2018). Life After Carbon: The Next Global Transformation of Cities. Island Press.