BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE LEGAZPI CITY

Urban Forms Ecumonopolis

URBAN PLANNING FUNDAMENTAL & STRATEGIES
Arch. Oliver Christopher Z. Landagan MS Student 3/17/2012 Arch. Delfin Mirabete MS Arch. Professor

Ecumonopolis known as Sustainable City or Ecological City. It is a City design with consideration of Environmental Impact and using minimal of our natural resources.

URBAN FORMS: ECUMONOPOLIS

I.

INTRODUCTION Ecumonopolis or known as sustainable city or ecological city. It is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact, using minimal natural resources, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, its waste output of heat, gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that cause atmospheric pollution and water pollution. However, in order to ensure sustainable development, which requires a balance between environmental, social and economic sustainability, the environmental features referred to above should be acceptable to the people and should be in harmony with their economic development aspirations. The development of Ecumenopolis (City without limits), which according to UN Habitat in 2008, its estimated that over 50% of the worlds population now lives in cities and urban areas that is set to rise to 60% which a couple decades. This is attributable to several factors, including large-scale migration from rural areas for better employment opportunities and improved quality of life. But if this trend continues, the urban share of the worlds population is expected to increase to 70% by 2050. Most of the population growth will occur in developing countries where vulnerable to climate change. In order to confront unprecedented urban expansion, rising energy prices and the adverse impacts of climate change, cities worldwide are adopting the principle of think globally, act locally.

II.

OBJECTIVES Being one of the users to our natural environment. Listed below are my

objectives. 1. To understand the means of Sustainable City or Ecological City in the Urban Settlement.

2.

To understand the problem & solutions in the urban settlement done by other provinces or other countries.

3.

To understand the development in the Local Setting.

III.

METHODOLOGY Most of the studies are through research to the Internet. Its really tough for me to

understands the meaning of Ecumonopolis or also known as Sustainable City or Ecological City. The research focused only to the meaning of Sustainable City or Ecological City. Listed below are the following Items to understand the meaning of: 1. Minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food 2. Waste output of heat 3. Air pollution- CO2 4. Water pollution Through understanding, this paper will explore with some example done by the other countries for our references. IV. DISCUSSION 1. RESEARCH- Minimization of input of energy, water and food In the City where people and resources located so close to one another it is possible to save energy and resources things such as food transportation and mass transit systems. Finally, cities benefit the economy by locating human capital in one relatively small geographic area where ideas can be generated.

One of the examples to minimize the input of energy, water and food is Urban Farming. Urban farming is the process of growing and distributing food, as well as raising animals, in and around a city. Urban farming is different from rural agriculture because "it is integrated into the urban economic and ecological system: urban agriculture is embedded in -and interacting with- the urban ecosystem. Such linkages include the use of

urban residents as labourers, use of typical urban resources (like organic waste as compost and urban wastewater for irrigation), direct links with urban consumers. There are many motivations behind urban agriculture, but in the context of creating a sustainable city, this method of food cultivation saves energy in food transportation and saves costs. In order for urban farming to be a successful method of sustainable food growth, cities most allot a common area for community gardens or farms, as well as a common area for a farmers market in which the foodstuffs grown within the city can be sold to the residents of the urban system. 2. Research Waste output of Heat
Waste heat sometimes called Secondary heat or Low-grade heat refers to heat produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes for which no useful application is found. Waste heat is thought by some to contribute to the urban heat island effect. The Biggest point sources of waste heat originate from machines such as electrical generators or industrial processes, such as steel or glass production. The burning of transport fuels is a major contribution to waste heat.

3. Research Air pollution Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

4. Research Water Pollution a)What are the sources of water pollution? There are many causes for water pollution but two general categories exist: direct and indirect contaminant sources.

Direct sources include effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, waste treatment plants etc..that emit fluids of varying quality directly into urban water supplies. Indirect sources include contaminants that enter the water supply from soils/groundwater systems and from the atmosphere via rain water. Soils and groundwaters contain the residue of human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides, etc..) and improperly disposed of industrial wastes b) What are the effects of water pollution? The effects of water pollution are varied. They include poisonous drinking water, poisionous food animals ,unbalanced river and lake ecosystems that can no longer support full biological diversity, deforestation from acid rain, and many other effects. These effects are, of course, specific to the various contaminants. c) What are the ways we can take to decrease those problems? Science provides many practical solutions to minimizing the present level at which pollutants are introduced into the environment and for remediating (cleaning up) past problems. All of these solutions come with some cost. In our everyday lives, a great deal can be done to minimize pollution if we take care to recycle materials whose production creates pollution and if we act responsibly with household chemicals and their disposal. Whether we choose to drive to the corner store rather than walk or ride a bicycle will determine how much we personally contribute to acid and hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere. In the end, there are many choices on the personal and societal level that we must make that affect the amount of pollution our town or country will be forced to live with. Our standard of living and very way of life is based upon practices which are inherently "dirtier" than those of our distant ancestors. Without taking a step backward in terms of our standards of living, the answer seems to lie in a combination of many small changes in our daily practices and paying more for goods and services, so that manufacturers of various materials and drivers of automobiles will have cleaner devices with which to conduct their activities.

V.

RECOMMENDATION Generally, development of sustainable city should meet the needs of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The doubt within this idea leads to a great deal of variation in terms of how cities carry out their attempts to become sustainable. However, a sustainable city should be able to feed itself with minimal reliance on the surrounding countryside, and power itself with renewable sources of energy. The root of this is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint, and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land; compost used materials, recycle it or convert waste-to-energy, and thus the city's overall contribution to climate change will be minimal. What are the alternative renewable energy sources? These ecological cities are achieved through various means, such as:

Different agricultural systems such as agricultural plots within the city. This reduces the distance food has to travel from field to fork. Practical work out of this may be done by either small scale/private farming plots or through larger scale agriculture

(e.g. farmscrapers).

Renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, solar panels, or bio-gas created from sewage.

Various methods to reduce the need for air conditioning (a massive energy demand), such as planting trees and lightening surface colours, natural ventilation systems, an increase in water features, and green spaces equalling at least 20% of the city's surface. These measures counter the "heat island effect" caused by an abundance of tarmac and asphalt, which can make urban areas several degrees warmer than surrounding rural areasas much as six degrees Celsius during the evening.

Solutions to decrease urban sprawl, by seeking new ways of allowing people to live closer to the workspace. Since the workplace tends to be in the city, downtown, or urban center, they are seeking a way to increase density by changing the antiquated attitudes many suburbanites have towards inner-city areas. One of the new ways to achieve this is by solutions worked out by the Smart Growth Movement.

Green roofs Zero-emission transport Zero-energy building Sustainable urban drainage systems or SUDS energy conservation systems/devices Xeriscaping - garden and landscape design for water conservation Development Generally, in terms of urban planning, the responsibility of local governments are limited to land use and infrastructure provision excluding inclusive urban development strategies. The advantages of urban strategic planning include an increase in governance and cooperation that aides local governments in establishing performance based-management, clearly identify the challenges facing local community.

Environmental issues as the priority for the sustainable development of the city and it serves as a platform to develop concepts and new models of housing, energy and mobility. Example: Locally @ Legaspi City The Local Government adhere with the program of solid waste management in terms of waste segregation, collection and transport, waste disposal and recycling of waste. LGUs adopted and/or complied with the RA 9003 Act or known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. In support of RA 9003, the City Government also enacted City Ordinance No. 0017-2009 providing for mandatory segregation of biodegradable wastes from the nonrecyclable materials. It was explained that the 30% of all the garbage in Legazpi City classified as residual will go to the sanitary landfill while the rest could be recycled or manufactured into compost fertilizer.

Through the effort done by our Local Goverment, it already shows that our government attached with Sustainable Development.

Examples : Globally Australia Melbourne

City of Moreland. The City of Moreland in Melbourne's north, has programs for becoming carbon neutral, one of which is 'Zero Carbon Moreland'

City of Melbourne. Over the past 10 years, various methods of improving public transport have been implemented, car free zones and entire streets have also been implemented.

City of Greater Taree. The City of Greater Taree North of Sydney has developed a masterplan for Australia's first low-to-no carbon urban development.

Canada In 2010, Calgary ranked as the top eco-city in the planet for its, "excellent level of service on waste removal, sewage systems, and water drinkability and availability, coupled with relatively low air pollution. China

China is working with investment and technology supplied by the Singapore government to build an ecocity in the Coastal New District of Tianjin City in northern China, named the "Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city".

Dongtan Eco-city is the name of another project on the third largest island in China at the mouth of the Yangtze River near Shanghai. The project was scheduled to accommodate 50,000 residents by 2010, but its developer has currently put construction on hold.

Korea Songdo IBD is a planned city in Korea which has incorporated a number of ecofriendly features. These include a central park, irrigated with seawater, a subway line, bicycle lanes, rainwater catchment systems, pneumatic waste collection system, Finally, 75% of the waste generated by the construction of the city will be recycled. Sweden Gothenburg, and especially lvstaden (central city by the river Gta lv) are good examples of sustainable city in Sweden. They have low environmental impact, contain passive houses, good recycling system for waste, etc.

VI.

THE AUTHOR He is one of the members of United Architects of the Philippines (U.A.P.) Legazpi City Chapter, which only now started to go along with the trend as an Architect here in locally. He worked in Dubai U.A.E for almost 7 years from 2004-2011 and 4 years in Metro Manila from 2000 to 2004. A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Architecture year 2000 from Bicol University and became an architect in the year 2001. He wants to share his knowledge and help develop the needs of our society in terms of adaptation of the Green Architecture.