Professional Practice
Climate Change Mitigation: Regions
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Nearly half of are related to the landscape and built environment.
Regional sprawl is a big part of the problem. The average Atlanta-area resident produces more than from transportation than the average resident of Barcelona, Spain, even though both cities have the same population. The difference is a result of the built environment: Barcelona takes up just 162 square kilometers (km2), less than 4 percent of Atlanta¡¯s 4,280 km2. In all, America¡¯s sprawling, car-centric suburbs are responsible for . Sprawl is also more expensive than compact development, costing the US economy more than .
For these reasons, reducing regional sprawl is key to reducing overall GHG emissions. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, smart growth policies and increased use of public transit could help US cities reduce emissions by anywhere from .
Landscape architects play a key role in achieving this goal. Landscape architects plan and design transit oriented development (TOD), which reduces sprawl and allows people to live a less car-dependent lifestyle. They create regional plans that promote walking, cycling, and the use of public transit. They design towns, parks, plazas, and streets with seamless, interconnected access to multiple low-carbon transit options. They create access to local transit, which connects to airports, bus, and rail stations, allowing residents to travel long distances without needing a car.
All of these efforts also enable communities to better adapt to the impacts of climate change already being felt. Low-carbon regions with lots of transportation options are by nature more resilient -- there are more ways to move if one mode fails in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.
Organizations
Resources
, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
, American Public Transportation Association, 2007
, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Transportation Design Guide, American Society of Landscape Architects
Research
, Dana Flatow, University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture
, Eric O'Shaughnessy, Jenny Heeter, David Keysery, Pieter Gagnon, and Alexandra Aznar, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Getting to Minus 80: Defining the Contribution of Urban Form to Achieving Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets, The Design Center for Sustainability at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
, Robert Sanders, Berkeley News, January 6, 2014
, David Dodman, United Nations Population Fund, April 2, 2009
Projects
Atlanta Beltline Redevelopment Plan, Atlanta, GA
EDAW, Inc.
, New York, NY
RPA
Great Lakes Century Vision
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Positioning Pullman, Chicago, IL
site
Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact
Urban Corridor Planning, Houston, TX
The Planning Partnership Limited