According to an article published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, researchers have developed a new method for urban planning. Not only does it promote innovation and development, crucially it takes into consideration ecological integrity and the effects of climate change. The article highlights what it calls an eco-metropolis: a city which can promote innovation while coexisting with the environment. Amazing!
One concept highlighted is innovative agglomeration. That is, the strategic cluster of many industries whose collective individual advancement improves a city overall. They argue that linear expansion – the sequential development of projects in cities – is outdated in comparison.
And Yet…
While I agree with the article’s goal of making cities greener places where humans, technology, and the environment can coexist, I disagree with their primary way of achieving this.
A major component transforming cities requires citizens to support this change. Major and sudden shifts may understandably result in pushback. So, though innovative agglomeration has its benefits, I believe linear and sequential approaches may be more beneficial when altering the layout and function of cities.
A linear and sequential implementation of more green strategies would encourage people to adjust at a more comfortable pace. For example, if a city decided to quickly add more greenspace by altering roads – changing many people's routes to work – resistance would be unsurprising. However, if one park was added at a time – at a slower pace – people might express less resistance since they would have had more time to adjust.
Conclusion
Overall, I believe that the ideas proposed by this article are extremely beneficial and welcoming. However, it’s worth considering that future mathematical models and urban planning should focus on linear expansion of a city’s greenness to allow citizens time to adjust and increase the overall support of the population.