Exploring the 15 minutes city the metropolitan context of Oporto
The Importance of Proximity-centred Accessibility The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on climate change grimly states that the carbon budget left to limit global warming to a 1.5º C increase above pre-industrial levels, and with it preventing some of the worst negative climate impacts (IPCC, 2018; Lenton et al., 2019), is now measured in years instead of decades (IPCC, 2022). At the same time, cities, even though only accounting for less than 2% of Earth’s surface, are
responsible for 60% of all CO2 emissions (the main contributor to climate change) and consume 78% of the world’s energy (UN Environment, 2019). As such, the decarbonization of our cities is paramount to limit the climate breakdown, with the same IPCC report suggesting that promoting sustainable land use and urban planning are amongst the most cost-effective measures to rapidly decrease CO2 emissions (IPCC, 2022). Urban sprawl has been particularly pointed at as one of the main culprits for the current
energy and carbon intensity of urban areas. Characterized by low-density single-family housing, urban sprawl is associated with higher levels of energy and resource consumptions as well as increased reliance on private car usage (Johnson, 2001; Bart, 2010; Litman, 2015), which further exacerbates CO2 emissions (Graham-Rowe et al., 2011). To try to tackle these issues, new alternative urban development models have been promoted in recent years, such as the compact city, smart growth and transit-oriented development (TOD) (Neuman, 2005; Ibraeva et al., 2020). Their main objectives focus on reverting urban sprawl through promoting density and mix-land use coupled with the provision of high frequency public transport as well
as built environments friendly to walking and cycling. Compact, dense and mixed-use urban environments promote more efficient energy use (e.g., by decreasing heating losses between buildings), take up less space (and consequently minimize the need of destroying natural habitats for building), while overall promoting economies of scale in services such as water and waste management (Litman, 2015). Furthermore, such strategies are also associated with higher use of sustainable transport alternatives to the car, namely by shorting the distances between activities and increasing the feasibility of mass transit. For instance, Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, characterized by having extensive TOD policies have managed to achieve much lower car ownership rates than their western counterparts, namely the US, although having similar income levels (Loo, Chen and Chan, 2010; Knowles, 2012).
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Temukan peta dengan kualitas terbaik untuk gambar peta indonesia lengkap dengan provinsi.
