Hi, Mrs. Lomas here.

I am a primary school teacher that loves geography, so I'm really excited to be joining you for your geography lesson today.

So let's have a look at what we're going to be learning about today, shall we? Today we're going to be looking at making cities more sustainable as part of our "Sustainable world: does it matter how we live?" unit.

We have some keywords in today's lesson.

They are: city, sustainable, Sustainable Development Goals.

So let's do my turn, your turn.

Ready? City.

Sustainable.

Sustainable Development Goals.

Let's have a look at what they mean.

City.

A city is a settlement that is usually larger than a town and has local government.

Sustainable.

If something is sustainable, it is able to continue over a long time.

Sustainable Development Goals.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are 17 aims created for nations to adopt in order to work towards peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

So look out for these keywords in today's lesson.

And the learning outcome for today's lesson.

By the end of today, you will be able to research, identify, and give examples of some ways in which cities can become more sustainable.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

We have, how can cities become more sustainable? And what could a sustainable city look like? So let's start with, how can cities become more sustainable? Sustainable can be defined as meeting the needs of today without preventing future generations from meeting their needs.

Humans are not distributed equally across the globe.

They can mostly be found in cities and other urban areas.

Red areas on this world map have high population density, places where lots of people live close together.

These are urban areas.

Areas that are yellow have a sparse population and low density.

These are rural areas.

You might want to pause the video here and have a little explore of the map.

How did you get on? Most people now live in cities.

By 2050, it is estimated that more than two thirds of the world will live in urban areas.

And here on this graph we can see from 1960 to 2007, most people lived in rural areas.

In 2007, there is a balance between urban and rural residents.

And then in 2021, over half of the population lives in urban areas.

So why do people live in cities? On average, the quality of housing, access to services and wealth are higher in urban populations than in rural ones.

People generally have better access to energy, jobs, health services, transport, and shops in urban areas.

However, there are negatives to living alongside millions of other humans.

Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, with a population of 19 million.

What do you think some of those negatives might be? Pause the video, have a discussion and come back.

How did you get on? There is a huge inequality between the population of Sao Paolo.

People do not have equal wealth, housing, or access to services.

Which parts of the city do you think more wealthy people live in? Poorer people live in areas called favelas.

Some of the challenges of making cities sustainable include inequality, high levels of energy use, pollution.

Cities occupy just 3% of the Earth's land, but account for 60 to 80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions.

In addition to carbon dioxide, cities often create other emissions that pollute the air.

And we can really see that air pollution in this picture here, can't we? Look how hazy it is.

Let's do a quick check, shall we? Even though cities only cover 3% of the Earth's land, they produce what percentage of global carbon emissions? A, 10%; B, 50%; or C, 75%.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready to check your answers.

How did you get on? If you said C, 75%, you would be correct.

Well done.

It is recognised that urban areas are not yet sustainable.

Goal 11 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is to make cities sustainable.

There are many ways that humans can affect sustainability.

For example, cities become more sustainable in their use of energy, transport, waste disposal, food, and green spaces.

So let's have a quick check, shall we? What are some of the resources that cities could use more sustainably? Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready to check your answers.

How did you get on? If you said energy, transport, waste disposal, food, or green spaces, you'd be correct.

Well done.

So let's have a look at these resources, shall we? If we start with energy.

If we reduce the amount of energy wasted through insulation and efficient systems like motion-activated lights in buildings, it will be more sustainable.

We can also obtain energy from cleaner sources, for example, renewable energy like photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and geothermal and hydro power.

There's an example of wind turbines.

And here my friend here is saying, "My town has energy-efficient LED street lights." What about waste? Well, if we reduce, reuse, and recycle waste with regular recycling collections and recycling centres, we'll be become more sustainable.

And there you can see lots of the different recycling bins for the different types of waste.

Transport.

If we reduce greenhouse gases produced by the burning of fossil fuel for transport by reducing private car use by introducing city emission zones, which also improve air quality, and make parking more expensive or reducing spaces, we can become more sustainable.

We can also develop affordable electric public transport and encourage the use of electric vehicles by providing lots of charging points, and also encourage walking and cycling through more and safer routes.

Here we can see the tram in Manchester, which is called the Metrolink in Manchester.

Food.

Try to reduce food miles; communities could grow their own fruits and vegetables.

And where possible, buy fresh food produced near the city.

For example, from a farmer's market.

Green spaces for nature.

Encourage biodiversity and reduce the city's carbon footprint through rewilding.

This is Miyawaki forests, or Tiny Forests, which are green roofs and walls.

Here we can see green roofs and walls, which is a roof and wall space that can be used to grow plants in cities.

These act as habitats for wildlife and also absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

So, Miyawaki forests.

These are tiny, dense Miyawaki forests, which are part of a movement aimed at restoring biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.

More trees mean more CO2 is stored and removed from the atmosphere.

They also provide habitats for wildlife in places where there had previously been few species.

And here my friend here is saying, "There is a Tiny Forest being planted next to where I live in Newcastle." So let's do a quick check, shall we? Why do Miyawaki forests and Tiny Forests improve a city's sustainability? A, they look pretty.

B, they reduce a city's carbon footprint.

C, they encourage biodiversity.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready to check your answers.

How did you get on? If you said that it is because they reduce a city's carbon footprint, so B, you would be correct.

Well done.

Also, if you'd said that they encourage biodiversity, C, you would be correct.

Well done.

Okay, so it's time for task A.

You are going to work as a group to investigate sustainability in action in the urban area nearest to you.

Use this checklist to tick off any evidence you find for each category.

So pause the video, have a go, and come back when you are ready.

How did you get on? So my friend had a go here and they said, "My nearest city is Newcastle.

I researched each feature using the city council website, then made notes in the comments section." Okay, we've had a look at how can cities become more sustainable.

Let's have a look at what could a sustainable city look like.

A sustainable city is one that is able to take care of its people for a long time.

To do so, it needs to be able to face the challenges of the future.

For example, can it provide food, housing, and electricity for a growing population without harming the planet? How can it adapt to a rapidly changing climate? Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark.

653,664 people were living there in 2023.

It's quite a lot of sixties, isn't it? It is considered to be one of the most sustainable cities and we can see it there on the map, can't we? So how is it sustainable? Well, the energy in Copenhagen, it has led the way in sustainable energy planning.

A network of efficient heating and power schemes use renewable energy from waste, wind, ground, and spare heat from industry.

And its transport.

The city's airport, rail, and outskirts are all connected to the centre by the metro network.

Buses in Copenhagen are going electric, and public transport on the water is 100% electric.

And actually I have been to Copenhagen recently, and the public transport is also really easy to use, which definitely makes it helpful for not just people living there, but tourists as well that visit the city.

Also in transport, the city has introduced a programme to gradually reduce the number of car parking spaces by 3% per year.

Copenhagen has many cycle lanes and a free cycle hire scheme.

Look at all those bikes in that picture as well.

So many bikes.

All of these projects will reduce the number of cars in the city.

This means fewer greenhouse gases are produced.

So let's look at nature and food.

At least 80% of Copenhagen's population live within 300 metres of a green space.

Organic food makes up 24% of the total food sale in the city.

And restaurants focus on locally sourced produce.

Let's have a quick check, shall we? Which of the following is Copenhagen doing to improve sustainability? A, not using any energy; B, using more renewable energy; or C, encouraging people to walk or cycle.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're ready.

How did you get on? If you said B, using more renewable energy, you'd be correct, and C, encouraging people to walk or cycle, you'd be correct.

Well done.

So let's have a quick look at task B, shall we? You're going to use your research from task A to decide what more could be done to make your nearest urban area into a sustainable city.

Plan what your city could look like when it is fully sustainable.

You can choose to make a slideshow presentation, design and annotate a city map, or even make a model of your sustainable city.

Remember to address issues like energy, waste, food, nature, and transport.

Pause the video, have a go, and come back when you're done.

How did you get on? "My sustainable city has solar panels and wind turbine for energy.

There's lots of green spaces for nature and cycle routes." And we can see we've used the spaces effectively, haven't we? So even on those really tall buildings, we've got solar panels.

We can see all the green planting on the outsides of the buildings, on the balconies, on the roofs.

How did you do? Now's your chance to pause the video and make any amendments or add in anything you've missed out from your sustainable city.

So let's summarise today's learning.

We were looking at making cities more sustainable.

Most people now live in cities, and by 2050, it is estimated more than two thirds of the world will live in urban areas.

People generally have better access to energy, jobs, and food in urban areas, but human activity also causes pollution.

Cities can become more sustainable in their use of energy, transport, building, and waste disposal.

And tiny, dense Miyawaki forests are part of a movement aimed at restoring biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.

Fantastic work today, everybody.

Well done.

I really enjoyed that lesson.

I hope you have lots of ideas for how you can make areas more sustainable.

And actually, if you want, when you grow up, this can be a job.

You can become a town planner and you can actually plan new towns or new developments in towns, cities, urban areas, and help make the world a more sustainable place to live.

So I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson, and I will see you again soon in another lesson.

Bye.