8.2 Urban Systems & Urban Planning (DP IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS): HL): Flashcards

The urban heat island effect is when cities become warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human activities and dense infrastructure.

Urban efficiency refers to how well a city uses its resources, including energy, water, and transport systems.

A circular metabolism city is a city that focuses on recycling, reusing, and reducing waste to create a closed-loop system and minimise resource use.

Urban resilience involves strong infrastructure, emergency services, and disaster preparedness plans to help cities recover from challenges like natural disasters and climate change.

A linear metabolism city uses resources once and discards them as waste, while a circular metabolism city focuses on recycling.

Urbanisation is the process where a growing proportion of a country’s population moves from rural areas to urban areas.

Urbanisation leads to cities becoming more built-up, with increased infrastructure and housing.

Urbanisation increases population density in cities as more people move to urban areas.

The main driver of urbanisation in many countries is rural–urban migration.

Rural–urban migration is the movement of people from the countryside to cities in search of better living conditions and job opportunities.

According to the World Bank, 56% of the world’s population now live in towns and cities.

False.

Rural–urban migration is mostly internal migration within a country.

One example of rural–urban migration is people moving from farming regions to Shenzhen and Beijing in China.

Push factors are reasons people leave rural areas, such as poverty, poor living conditions, and natural disasters.

Pull factors are attractions of urban areas, such as job opportunities, improved living conditions, and social and cultural opportunities.

Deurbanisation is the process where people move out of cities and back to rural or suburban areas.

True.

Technological changes, such as remote working, can encourage people to leave cities for rural areas.

Urban expansion is the growth of cities into surrounding rural or natural areas, often resulting in the loss of farmland, natural habitats, and ecosystems.

One major consequence is the loss of farmland, which reduces the land available for growing food and can threaten food security.

Urban expansion can lead to deforestation of forests and the destruction of natural habitats, reducing biodiversity.

Urban expansion often results in the loss or filling in of wetlands, reducing habitats for wildlife and harming water systems.

Suburbanisation is the process where people move from the dense central parts of cities to less dense peripheral areas, leading to city expansion into surrounding areas.

Urban sprawl is the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas into surrounding rural land.

Two main causes of suburbanisation are the desire for more space (e.g., larger homes and gardens) and improved transport links, which make living outside city centres more accessible.

An urban heat island is a phenomenon where urban areas are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to buildings, roads, and human activities absorbing and retaining heat.

As cities grow, they produce more air pollution from vehicles and factories, increasing levels of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide.

True.

Changing river flows through dams or draining wetlands can cause flooding or drought in areas near expanding cities.

Urban expansion destroys natural habitats of plants and animals, reducing biodiversity and putting species at risk of extinction.

Water pollution is the contamination of rivers, lakes, or groundwater by chemicals, waste, or runoff from urban and industrial activities.

People move to the suburbs in search of larger homes, green spaces, and better living conditions away from the city centre.

Urban planning is the process of designing how land and buildings in a city are used to meet the needs of the population.

The main aim of sustainable urban planning is to balance the needs of the population with environmental protection, ensuring cities work well for people today and in the future.

Effective urban planning helps cities grow in an organised and efficient way, preventing issues like overcrowding and pollution.

Two factors in sustainable urban planning are quality and affordable housing and integrated public transport systems.

Green spaces in cities improve air quality and provide recreational spaces for residents.

Cities can conserve water by using grey water for irrigation of green spaces, as in Dubai.

Sustainable cities focus on reducing waste, reusing materials, and promoting recycling to minimise environmental impact.

Ecological urban planning treats the city as an ecosystem and considers the interactions between living and non-living components to create a balance between urban development and the natural environment.

Urban ecology is the integration of green spaces and natural habitats into city design, providing environments for wildlife and improving air quality.

Urban farming involves growing food within cities, often in unused or repurposed spaces.

False.

Biophilic design involves incorporating natural elements into urban architecture, not removing them.

Regenerative architecture can actively improve the environment by using building skins that clean the air, generating renewable energy, and capturing rainwater for reuse.

A sustainable urban system is an urban area designed to balance the needs of the population with environmental protection, working fairly for people today and for future generations.

Ecological urban planning treats the city as an ecosystem, considering interactions between biotic and abiotic components, focusing on sustainability, balance, and health for humans and wildlife.

Urban ecology involves integrating green spaces and natural habitats such as parks, ponds, and canals into city design to support wildlife and improve air quality.

Ecological urban planning aims to create balance between urban development and the natural environment, ensuring cities are sustainable for humans and wildlife.

Urban farming is the practice of growing food within cities, often in unused or repurposed spaces, including activities like beekeeping, horticulture, aquaculture, and city farms.

True.

Rooftop gardens and community allotments are examples of urban farming activities that help supply fresh produce within cities.

The Bosco Verticale in Milan is an example of biophilic design, where residential skyscrapers are covered in plants to improve air quality and biodiversity.

Biophilic design incorporates natural elements into architecture, such as living green walls, rooftop gardens, water features, and natural light, to bring nature into the built environment.

Resilience planning designs cities to withstand and adapt to environmental challenges like climate change, by using strategies such as vertical farming, flood-resistant buildings, and green infrastructure for stormwater management.

In the Netherlands, some homes are built to float on water so they adjust to rising and falling water levels in flood-prone areas.

Regenerative architecture is an approach that aims to actively improve the environment by using features like building skins that clean air, renewable energy sources, and rainwater capture systems.

Building skins in regenerative architecture use special materials to filter and remove pollutants from the air, improving air quality around the building.

A bio-digester uses organic waste to produce biogas for energy and natural fertiliser as a by-product.

Urban sustainability is the practice of creating cities that balance environmental health, economic resilience, and social well-being.

Three major challenges are rapid urbanisation, resource depletion, and climate change.

Sustainable cities aim to balance environmental health, economic resilience, and social well-being.

The circular economy model is an economic system that minimises waste and makes the most of resources by reusing, recycling, and repurposing products and materials.

Closing the loop means designing urban systems that reuse materials and reduce dependency on new raw materials, creating a continuous cycle rather than a linear flow.

In Amsterdam’s Buiksloterham, buildings are constructed with recycled materials and residents share resources to reduce waste.

San Francisco uses a zero-waste strategy that includes mandatory composting and recycling, and repurposes construction waste for new buildings.

The doughnut economics model is a framework that seeks to balance meeting basic human needs (social foundation) with staying within environmental limits (planetary boundaries).

The doughnut model’s social foundation includes housing, healthcare, education, and employment.

Planetary boundaries are safe ecological thresholds—such as carbon emissions, water use, and biodiversity protection—that urban development should not exceed.

The doughnut economics model aims to balance social and environmental goals for cities that are both liveable and sustainable.

True.

Brussels applies the doughnut model to reduce emissions through green infrastructure and to address social inequality by improving access to housing and public services.

Amsterdam adopted the doughnut model as a blueprint for urban sustainability in 2020.

Green architecture is the design and construction of buildings that reduce environmental harm, conserve materials and energy, and support sustainability.

The main aim of green architecture is to minimise negative effects on air, water, and soil by using sustainable construction methods.

Green architecture often uses renewable or recycled materials to lower environmental impact.

A bio-based material is a renewable and biodegradable resource such as bamboo or straw bales, used in construction to reduce environmental impact.

Recycled materials reduce waste and lower the energy needed to produce new materials, supporting sustainability in green architecture.

Passive design features such as natural ventilation and thermal insulation reduce energy demand in buildings.

Greywater recycling is the reuse of wastewater from sinks and showers for non-drinking purposes, such as flushing toilets, to conserve water in green architecture.

Circular construction is a method that reuses and recycles materials during demolition and renovation, and designs buildings to be easily disassembled for reuse.

True.

Straw bales are renewable and provide effective insulation for buildings.

3D printed houses can use bioplastics and recycled concrete to reduce construction waste.

Arabic wind tower houses capture cool breezes and direct them into buildings, reducing the need for air conditioning and improving energy efficiency.

Vernacular architecture refers to buildings designed using local materials, resources, and traditional knowledge specific to a region or community.

A key feature of vernacular architecture is climate-responsive design, where buildings suit local weather conditions.

Igloos in Arctic regions are made of ice blocks that provide insulation against extreme cold, making them effective for the local climate.