Urban footprint

ISSUES

The Ecological footprint of cities

Despite the hostile environment, animal and plant life manage to develop in cities. It occupies parks or fallow lands; not only rats and cockroaches proliferate, but also foxes and birds of prey. In certain neighborhoods of Zurich, for example, the density of foxes is 10 times higher than in the countryside! If for some, there is no nature in the city, the city being by definition the opposite of nature, there is however a very particular form of biodiversity.
The urban ecosystem distinguishes itself from natural eco-systems due to the creation of artificial environments that change, amongst others, the climate (bursts of heat, less powerful winds) and disturbs the water cycle (water runoff,…) Air pollution directly affects plants; noise, vibrations, lack of light and space underground harm the development of trees.
Maybe expectedly, studies show that salt spread about in order to melt snow is the first enemy of vegetation in...

NEWS

Sorry, most of the news are only available in French language for the moment.

FRANCE - PARIS - Trente-deux départements étaient concernés lundi par des mesures de restrictions d'usage de l'eau, un peu moins...

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND - The fashion for covering gardens with decking could be behind a recent decline in the Britain’s most common butterflies...

FRANCE - PARIS - L'Agence nationale chargée de la sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (Anses)...

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DEBATES

Brasilía: from utopian city to today’s urban agglomeration

L'Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)

Brasília represents the most complete example of the form of urban planning prevalent until the 1970s. It was built in three...

The Challenge of Urban Slums

Between 2000 and 2050, there is little population growth...

Questioning Urban Sprawl and Political Answers

Density has a cost, and so does urban sprawlThirdly, let us...

FOCUS

New cities

The building sector is the sector in which greenhouse gas emissions could be greatly reduced: -29% by 2020. This would not cost much as the technical solutions already exist. Good double glazing reduces heat loss...

VIDEOS

01/07/2010	Because Japan is lacking space, a corporation has created a high-tech...	27/04/2010	In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive....
23/04/2010	La ville de Paris installe des pigeonniers. Ils contiennent de la...	20/04/2010	Les villes vertes chinoises sont-elles vraiment vertes ? La question se...

GREEN TIPS

North-South solidarity

Development aid is a transfer of funds and skills to help poor countries and populations towards development....

INDICATORS

Urban population
IT indicators
Electricity use
Ecological footprint

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