Sustainable solutions to global challenges

Transcription

1 Sustainable solutions to global challenges Professor Paul Jowitt Senior Vice President The Institution of Civil Engineers 14 th September 2009

2 Sustainable solutions to global challenges Professor Paul Jowitt Executive Director The Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology (SISTech) Heriot Watt University Edinburgh Scotland, UK

3 Healthy Infrastructure for Sustainable Citie Civilisation - a functioning society, the environment and business - depends on increasingly complex physical, financial, social and technological systems and networks. We need to future proof our city infrastructures to make them more healthy, fulfilling and sustainable in the face of climate change and urbanisation.

4 Population and Urbanisation World population becoming urbanised - ~60% by 2025 Greatest effect in Lesser Developed Countries In 2000, world population was ~6 bn 3.2 bn rural; 2.8 bn urban By 2025, 8 bn 3.4 bn rural; 4.6 bn urban Urban growth a combination of endogenous growth and rural migration Need to create new urban infrastructure for 1 bn prople within next 15 years as well adapt/safeguard/upgrade existing urban infrastructure

5 UN Millennium Development Goals 1. << Extreme Poverty 2. >> Primary Education 3. >> Gender Equality 4. << Child Mortality 5. >> Maternal Health 6. << HIV/AIDS 7. >> Environmental Sustainability 8. >> Develop Global Partnership

6 UN Millennium Development Goals 6 of the 8 MDGs directly concerned with the human condition health, economic and social well-being and the capacity to play a full and useful role in the world Cities for future fulfilment? All this depends critically on the delivery of the underpinning infrastructure networks upon which civilisation depends.

7 Criticality of Infrastructure Networks Water Supply Networks Sewerage Networks Solid Waste and Recycling Networks Railways/Tramways/Busways Roadways Airways Waterways Footpathways Cycleways Greenways Supply and Logistics Networks Communications Networks - telecons/it/internet Social Networks family/friends, health, education, leisure

8 Healthy Infrastructure Public Skylines - Edinburgh

9 Healthy Infrastructure Public Space - Sienna

10 Healthy Infrastructure Green Space

11 Healthy Infrastructure Blue Space Canal Networks Grand Union Canal - Birmingham Grand Canal - Venice

12 Healthy Infrastructure Networks Underground Water Supply Network - Melbourne, Australia

13 Healthy Infrastructure Networks Underground Sewerage Network - Hong Kong Island South

14 Healthy Infrastructure Networks Underground Subways - London Underground

15 Healthy Infrastructure Sustainable Transport Networks? Victoria, Australia Tongji, Shanghai Assen, Netherlands

16 Healthy Infrastructure Sustainable Transport Networks? Atlanta, USA Bangalore, India London, UK

17 Healthy Infrastructure Electricity Distribution Networks San Francisco Elements of the Grid Lima

18 Healthy Infrastructure Power Generation and Distribution Networks Hydropower Fuel Wood LPG San Xia - 3 Gorges Dam Kibera, Nairobi Delhi

19 Healthy Infrastructure Social Networks? Zhanzuo Covent Garden, Beihai Park Facebook London Beijing

20 Healthy Infrastructure Infrastructure Networks Civilisation - a functioning society, the environment and business - depends on increasingly complex physical, financial, social and technological systems and networks.

21 Healthy Infrastructure Infrastructure Networks The risks of systems-wide failures and the scale of their consequences - are increasing from a range of random and non-random sources, including climate change; dependence on high technology infrastructure, market volatility, increasing urbanisation (in both the developing and developing worlds) etc.

22 Healthy Infrastructure Infrastructure Networks These Complex Systems are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic failure from a variety of internal and external sources, with potential for consequential social, economic and environmental breakdown Cyclone Hurricane Earthquake Earthquake Burma New Orleans Kashmir Sichuan

23 Healthy Infrastructure Infrastructure Networks The risks of systems-wide failures and the scale of their consequences - are increasing from a range of random and non-random sources, including climate change; dependence on high technology infrastructure, market volatility, increasing urbanisation (in both the developing and developing worlds) etc. Floods Tsunami Terrorism UK Banda Aceh New York City

24 Healthy Infrastructure Infrastructure Networks Need to future proof city infrastructures to make them more Healthy Fulfilling Sustainable

25 Healthy Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities Cities for future fulfilment

26 Healthy Infrastructure for Sustainable Cities Cities for future fulfilment Learning from the future