In today's world, the importance of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals is increasing day by day. As the global population continues to grow, the role and significance of cities in relation to sustainability are also on the rise. However, this growth brings with it numerous environmental and societal challenges. This is where the concept of sustainability and the importance of sustainable cities come into play. Sustainability has become a critical factor in shaping our future and preserving the world's resources. In this article, we will explore what sustainability and sustainable cities mean, why they are so important, and examine exemplary practices in this field.
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is often associated primarily with environmental factors, but it actually has a broader perspective. Understanding how sustainable cities are built is difficult without grasping its fundamental concepts and objectives. Sustainability is addressed with its ecological, economic, and social dimensions, aiming to enable people to create a sustainable world in the future by efficiently utilizing resources on Earth. Sustainability aims to achieve simultaneous environmental, social, and economic benefits, referred to as the "triple win" principle.
The Economic, Environmental, and Social Dimensions of Sustainability
Sustainability is an approach necessary for providing a healthy and livable world for future generations. This approach aims to create a sustainable system from economic, environmental, and social perspectives.
Economic sustainability implies a system that can continually produce goods and services, maintain manageable government and external debts, and avoid excessive sectoral imbalances that harm agricultural or industrial production. This requires a focus on developing new technologies, increasing efficiency, and ensuring sustainable economic growth.
Environmental sustainability means a system that avoids the excessive exploitation of renewable resource systems and only consumes non-renewable resources to the extent that adequate substitutes are made available through investment. This requires a focus on reducing climate change, preserving biodiversity, and reducing environmental pollution.
Social sustainability refers to a system that provides adequate social services, including distributive equality, health, education, gender equality, and political accountability and participation. This requires a focus on reducing poverty, ensuring access to quality education and healthcare for all, and creating equal opportunities for everyone.
These three dimensions are interconnected. Economic sustainability requires environmental and social sustainability, while environmental sustainability is essential for economic sustainability. Social sustainability is necessary to ensure economic and environmental sustainability.
The Importance of Sustainable Cities
Currently, 55% of the world's population lives in cities, and it is expected to reach 68% by 2050. This means cities must carefully and systematically adhere to sustainability principles to reduce their environmental and social impacts.
Sustainable cities are those that are sustainable from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. Economically sustainable cities increase productivity and use renewable energy, reducing environmental impacts while maintaining economic growth. Environmentally sustainable cities work to reduce climate change, preserve biodiversity, and decrease environmental pollution. Socially sustainable cities reduce poverty, provide access to quality education and healthcare, and promote gender equality.
Sustainable cities are the cities of the future, necessary for providing a healthy and livable world for future generations. To achieve this goal, all stakeholders must work together and embrace sustainability principles.
Sustainable Cities and the Example of Denmark
Denmark's experience during the 1973 oil crisis played a crucial role in its sustainability breakthrough. This crisis compelled the country to seek new solutions to reduce its dependency on oil and ensure energy security.
Following the crisis, Denmark began investing in renewable energy. The country developed policies to promote renewable energy sources such as wind, biomass, and solar power. They also implemented measures to increase energy efficiency.
Denmark's efforts have helped the country become a leader in sustainability. Today, it is considered one of the world's cleanest and most sustainable countries.
Here are some of Denmark's sustainability achievements following the oil crisis:
Wind energy: Denmark is a global leader in wind energy production, supplying 40% of its electricity from wind power.
Biomass: Denmark widely uses biomass energy, providing 20% of its electricity from biomass.
Solar energy: Denmark has been increasing its solar energy production, supplying 5% of its electricity from solar power.
Energy efficiency: Denmark has taken various measures to increase energy efficiency, including regulations to enhance energy efficiency in buildings and campaigns to raise consumer awareness.
