- Urbanisation also causes lossof open space in and around cities, resulting in loss of habitats and biodiversity.
- At a global scale, cities increase demandfor resources, such as food, water and
- Cities are home to around half the world’s population, but account for about three-quartersof resource use.
- This is putting pressureon finite resources, leading to food, water and energy insecurity.
- Cities are also responsible for about 60%of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.
- An individual’s ecological footprintis the amount of land that is needed to produce everything they consume, such as food, water and fuel, and to absorb their
- The ecological footprint of an area combinesthe footprints of its
- The ecological footprint of a citydepends on a range of factors, including:
- Wealth- consumption and waste production is higher in cities in richer countries.
- Size of city- compact cities are easier to travel around on foot or by bike, so they produce less pollution.
- Quality of public transport- efficient public transport systems decrease car use, and therefore reduce
- To be sustainable, a city must meet the needsof people today without preventing future generations from meeting their
