Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. March and I'm here today to teach you all about sustainable living in an urban area, so grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to understand and identify features of sustainable urban areas and understand how resources and transport can be effectively managed.

There are two keywords for today's lesson.

Those are sustainability and management.

Sustainability refers to meeting the needs of today without compromising future needs.

Management refers to the process of planning, controlling, and making decisions to use resources in a sustainable and efficient way to solve problems or improve places.

There are three learning cycles for today's lesson, and we're gonna start with the first learning cycle, which is Features of urban sustainability.

So cities face a lot of challenges, and overcoming these challenges requires really careful management.

We can use the sustainability model to really try and overcome some of those challenges, and it goes into three pillars, social, economic, and environmental.

These are the three pillars of sustainability.

Balancing these three factors throughout the management process is necessary for long-term prosperity or wealth and wellbeing.

Developing sustainable cities and communities is one of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Now, the UK manages sustainability at a national, regional, and local level.

So let's start by looking at that first pillar, the social pillar.

Now, social management of sustainability considers the needs of all people, and this requires them to be involved in decision making.

For example, some unused land is considered for a new outdoor recreation area.

So how will the following groups have different wants from the plans? Families with young children, retired people, people with physical disabilities.

You may like to pause the video at this point and consider your own answer to that question, but realistically, what we need to be thinking about is the social sustainability aspect of including everyone in terms of this decision making.

For example, Sofia is saying that she would love a skate park.

Well, these other groups of people may want something else from that disused area of land.

In terms of economic management to sustainability, it involves ensuring everyone has access to opportunities such as jobs and therefore wealth.

Mixed land use in an area supports economic sustainability as it reduces the need for commuting and fosters local economic activity.

So for example, having mixed land use such as residential, commercial, and leisure is a really appropriate way to ensure that everyone has access to different opportunities as well as jobs and therefore wealth.

Finally, the environmental management of sustainability is a real key pillar of sustainability.

It ensures that resources are not wasted and the environment is protected, and there are lots of different aspects to consider, which includes waste, and thereby recycling, green spaces and keeping that open perhaps for biodiversity, climate action and carbon reduction, trying to bring down our carbon footprint and tackle climate change, urban development being done in a very sustainable way using sustainable resources, and finally, really thinking about the air quality and the type of transport that we have in our urban areas.

So learning check, which pillar of sustainability is missing? What I'd like you to do, then, is pause the video whilst you consider and then answer this question.

And the correct answer was economic.

Really, really well done if you were able to recall that piece of information.

Another learning check says, Who is incorrect? You have three statements on the screen in front of you from Jacob, Aisha, and Jun.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video whilst you read through those three statements and decide who is incorrect.

And the correct answer was Aisha.

Aisha is incorrect.

Let's have a look at why.

So she says that urban management should have a single land use to ensure it is economically sustainable.

Well, as we can see with the correction in front of you, that should be mixed land use.

So really well done if you selected Aisha as the incorrect answer.

So the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is approaching management for a fairer, stronger, and cleaner future for all of its residents.

And this includes a number of different plans.

For example, they want to try and build a stronger economy which serves the people of that region.

They want an action plan for economic growth as well.

Also, in terms of future land, city planning, to ensure that this city is fit for the future, that it's well planned out, well designed, using sustainable resources.

Transport and city upgrades, trying to provide those upgrades to public transport such as the trains or the bus network or even cycle paths.

And investing in health and science, really trying to provide those key services to its people.

So Liverpool's management considers all three pillars of sustainability.

For example, in terms of its social sustainability, it won an award in 2020 for engaging with local people and targeting underrepresented people, for example, people from deprived neighbourhoods.

Also, economically, in terms of that sustainability, it's growing the economy by trying to create new jobs and businesses and ensure that the community as a whole really, really benefits.

And finally, in terms of the environmental sustainability, it is trying to protect green spaces and tackle climate change by investing in carbon free public transport.

So you can see how Liverpool is really trying to consider each and every single pillar of sustainability.

Now time for our three practise questions for this first learning cycle.

And we can see an image right here on the left of the screen and it says to annotate how the city has been planned with sustainability in mind.

And I'm gonna give you just one to get you kickstarted.

It says, solar panels to provide energy without emitting carbon.

Well, let's now look at the second task, because the second task then asks you to indicate which features are social, economic, and environmental and use different colours to identify those three different categories.

The third and final task for this practise question then is to answer what else could this city do to be more sustainable? So there we are.

You have the three tasks there in front of you.

So what I'd like you to do then is pause the video whilst you attempt this practise question.

Best of luck.

Now, in terms of feedback, this is what you may have included.

So we can see that there is mixed land use of offices, residential and open spaces, and this goes into that economic category.

We can see evidence of urban greening, thereby going into that environmental category.

We can also see an encouragement of environmentally friendly travel with that cycle lane right there in the foreground.

Finally, we can see accessible routes as well, which, again, is trying to sort of support people and thereby goes into their social category.

In terms of the feedback for the final question, you may have considered the following, to make the city more socially sustainable, a wide range of people should be consulted and involved in the decision making.

Economically, there needs to also be commercial land use to provide jobs and also opportunities to spend money locally.

Environmentally, the city will need to think about how it manages its waste.

So really, really well done if you managed to include anything like that in your own answers.

We're on now to our second learning cycle, which is all about the management of urban resources.

Resources needed to support urban populations need management with sustainability in mind.

What resources do urban populations need, though? Well, they need land, energy, waste, and water.

All of these different resources need to be considered in terms of management and sustainability.

Good management of land use promotes environmental health, economic growth, and social wellbeing.

But what does a well-planned area even look like? Well, it uses mixed development.

So mixture of commercial, residential, and recreational.

Compact to reduce urban sprawl, so that we're not growing our urban areas into rural areas.

Include green spaces for biodiversity, but also recreation for people, and also numerous public transport connections as well for people to effortlessly move around the city, as well as permeable surfaces to absorb water and thereby reduce the environmental risk of flooding.

But what does a poorly planned area look like? Well, narrow land uses, perhaps only using one particular type of land use, such as residential, rather than a diversification.

Overcrowded leading to infrastructure strain.

So too many people for a small area may put strain on different types of services such as schools and health services, as well as perhaps the road network.

A lack of green spaces, car dependent designs as well, so not being able to provide public transport options for people.

And impermeable surfaces as well, thereby potentially leading to the increased risk of flooding.

Now, cities use a lot of energy.

It is costly, and, if it comes from fossil fuels, is responsible for pollution and climate change.

Therefore, energy management should focus on reducing waste, improving efficiency, and using renewable sources such as solar and wind and wave.

So we should try to use public transport wherever possible, make our urban areas pedestrian-friendly, and also try to have more usage of electric vehicles, but also we can try to use more renewable energy sources.

As I said before, solar panels and wind turbines are all fantastic options for trying to bring down our carbon footprint.

And finally, using energy efficient buildings.

So for example, double glazing and smart heating, really to try and bring down our level of energy usage and try and make our buildings much more energy efficient.

Sustainable water supplies require people to use as little water as possible and not rely on water from reservoirs.

Management should focus on these three key areas, reducing waste, reusing water, and managing rainfall.

Now some examples of these different strategies, then, are greywater recycling, reusing sink, shower, and washing machine water for non-drinking purposes, perhaps such as, you know, feeding or watering different plants, for example, in the garden.

Sustainable drainage systems using ponds and natural systems to manage rainwater.

Smart water sensors, so tracking usage to actually reduce our waste so that we're actually aware and being educated about the amount of water that we're using.

And finally, rainwater harvesting as well.

So collecting water from rooftops and open spaces for reuse.

Cities create a lot of waste, and if not managed well, it can become a social, economic, and environmental challenge.

So what can we do to manage our waste? Well, first of all, we can try to reduce the amount of waste that we actually produce by perhaps reducing the packaging.

And then perhaps in terms of that packaging, try to ensure that we are recycling it, for example, in separate bin collections for different types of waste.

There is also the conversion of waste to energy for heating and electricity, for example, biogas.

Finally, public awareness, trying to teach people about the dangers of too much waste and how we can try to reduce or perhaps reuse our waste in a much more environmentally friendly way.

So a learning check, it says, four resources needed to support urban populations need management with sustainability in mind.

Which is missing? So what I'd like you to do then is pause the video here, look through those three answers that are already on the screen and try to remember the fourth option shown in D.

So pause the video here and consider and then give your answer.

And the correct answer was energy.

Really, really well done if you were able to remember that piece of information.

Another learning check says, who has considered all four elements in the design of their own development? You have three statements on the screen in front of you, one from Sam, one from Sofia, and one from Alex.

What I'd like you to do is pause the video here whilst you read through their three statements and decide who has considered all four elements.

So pause the video here and attempt this learning check.

And the correct answer was Sam.

Sam has said that land use will be mixed, waste will have to be recycled, and there will be lots of public transport and ponds for drainage.

Really well done if you are able to select Sam as the correct answer.

So Liverpool Waters is a 5.

5 billion pound project.

It's gonna happen over 30 years.

It's a brownfield regeneration project aiming to set a standard for sustainable urban redevelopment in the UK.

Now, we can see that map that is designed, that's where it's going to be taking place along the river there along the old dock.

So Liverpool Waters has considered the sustainable management of these four resources.

In terms of land use, it's ensuring a really diversified land use with residential, commercial, and leisure all located there.

In terms of energy, well, it's going to provide energy efficient buildings and electrical vehicle charging points as well.

In terms of waste, they plan to increase recycling and reduce landfill.

In terms of water as well, rain gardens will be used to encourage natural drainage.

So now we have our practise question for the second learning cycle, and it says, you lead on sustainability for a construction company planning a new city centre development.

Complete your slides to present how urban resources will be sustainably managed.

Now, you have those four areas that we've looked at previously in the lesson, water, energy, waste, and land.

And I've given you one as an example for land.

It says new public parks and rooftop gardens.

So I'd like you to do that is pause the video here whilst you attempt this practise question.

Best of luck.

Now, in terms of feedback, this is what you may have included.

In terms of water, then, we can use greywater recycling, rooftop water collections, sustainable drainage such as ponds and smart water sensors.

In terms of energy, we can use electric car charging stations, solar panels, and wind turbines, and we can also use energy efficient buildings with double glazing.

For waste, we can use educational campaigns to try and teach people about the need to reduce waste.

We can use biogas to convert waste into electricity.

And finally, we can use more efficient recycling systems. In terms of land, we can try to create new public parks and rooftop gardens.

We can provide many public transport connections to try to limit the amount of people using cars.

And we can also ensure that land use is always mixed and diversified.

So really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that on the screen in front of you in your own answer.

We're on now to our third and final learning cycle, and this is all about management of urban transport.

Now, the aim of urban transport management is to increase the use of public transport and reduce reliance on private transport.

This will have the benefit of reducing congestion and air pollution.

It also has the effect of reducing journey times and accidents, and of course, improving air quality.

So to encourage people to use public transport, it has to be incentivized.

People need to be encouraged to use more buses, trains, trams, et cetera.

How can that be done? Well, let's have a look at some of the incentives first.

There can be an expansion of the public transport system, so we can provide more bus lanes, trams, cycle paths, bike paths, park and ride schemes, et cetera.

Basically, make it more accessible for people.

We can also ensure that the fairs are much more affordable.

And we can make sure that these are frequent and reliable services.

The transport network needs to be integrated.

For example, the train and bus systems need to be integrated so that there is a more convenient schedule for people using public transport.

It also needs to be clean, comfortable, and safe.

so that needs to be invested in and modernised to ensure that people feel much more comfortable and safe when using public transport.

Also, it needs to be accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities.

In terms of the disincentives, then, congestion charges.

For example, the centre of London has a congestion charge, which really tries to persuade people not to go into the city centre using their car, otherwise they'll have to pay a small fee in order to be able to go into that city centre.

Also, limited parking spaces and high fees.

So again, we can disincentivize people from travelling using a car into a city through the sheer fact that there just is not enough parking spaces and those parking spaces may have very, very high fees.

Also, low emission zones.

So the most polluting cars are actually prevented from entering or accessing certain restricted areas.

Also, high petrol prices are a real disincentive for people using their own personal car.

So a learning check, and it says, which two of the following incentivize use of public transport? Once again, I'd like you to pause the video here whilst you read through those four options and select the two answers that you think are correct.

And the correct two answers were A and D.

So in terms of incentives, we can expand the public transport system and we can make those more frequent and reliable.

So really, really well done if you selected A and D.

There is a lot of negativity around public transport, and the three statements on the screen in front of you are typical statements made about public transport.

For example, Sam says, "Buses never turn up on time." Aisha says that public transport is really expensive, and Alex says that the routes don't go where I want them to.

Well, yes, these opinions are valid, but well-managed public transport can be quicker and cheaper than using a car when you consider fuel and parking costs.

So a quick learning check.

True or false? Using a car is always cheaper and quicker than using public transport.

Pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer is false.

Now, once again, I'd like you to pause the video here whilst you consider as to why this statement is false.

And the reason it's false is that well-managed public transport can be both quicker and cheaper than using a car.

Costs of parking and fuel need to be considered as well as priority lanes, for example, through bus lanes skipping traffic queues.

So really, really well done if you were able to identify those two correct answers.

So if we now look specifically at Liverpool, 2/3 of all journeys in Liverpool actually use a car.

This creates about half a million tonnes of CO2 emissions each and every single year.

Liverpool's transport plant aims to reduce emissions by 50% by 2027, and the plan includes new bus routes and new bus lanes, new cycle paths, and educational programmes to encourage walking and cycling.

Also, going to try and increase parking charges from March, 2025 to try and really disincentivize people from using their car.

Also, multi-story car parks will see a 40% rise in terms of parking costs, and on-street parking bays will see a 57% rise as well.

So you can see how Liverpool is really trying to transition away from people using their car to get around the city towards using more public transport.

So we're on now to our final learning cycle practise questions, and it says that Lucas is going shopping in the city centre.

Now, I would like you to annotate how his journey benefits from effective transport management.

But let's first of all look at his journey.

It starts off with a 500 metre journey on a pedestrian path which is set back from the road.

He arrives at the train station.

He boards a train, which are occurring every eight minutes, and it's a low fare.

He arrives at the bus stop, and the bus stop is right next to the train station.

He then travels to the shop and the bus uses a priority lane to skip traffic, and the total journey is just 35 minutes.

The second practise question then says, describe how urban areas can reduce traffic congestion.

I would like you to consider the following in your response, what incentives will increase use of public transport? What disincentives will decrease use of private transport? So what I'd like you to do then right now is pause the video here whilst you attempt these two practise questions.

Best of luck.

So in terms of, then, feedback for the first question, this is what you may have included.

So first of all, Lucas's journey is made using accessible public transport for people with disabilities.

It is a safe route as well, 'cause it's set back from the road.

The fares are affordable, and it is a frequent and efficient service, which ends up meaning that the journey only lasts 35 minutes.

There is an integrated public transport system which connects the train with a bus route really, really well.

And it is quicker.

The journey is quicker because the congestion is completely bypassed by using those bus priority lanes.

In terms of the feedback for the second question, this is what your answer may have looked like.

So it says there are many ways traffic congestion can be reduced, mainly through incentives for using public transport and disincentives for using private transport.

Incentives to use public transport include ensuring there's a lot of it available, it runs frequently, and it is reliable.

It also needs to be seen as safe, clean, and comfortable.

Additionally, fares need to be affordable and it must be accessible by everyone.

Disincentives for using private transport include congestion charges, low emission zones, which stop or restrict access for the most polluting of cars, limited parking being made available in urban areas, as well as high petrol prices.

So really, really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

It's time now for a learning summary.

Now, sustainability needs to be seen in terms of those three pillars, social, economic and environmental.

Resources needed to support urban populations need management with sustainability in mind.

And this can be broken down into four areas, land, energy, waste, and water.

Transport systems also needed to support urban populations.

They need management with sustainability in mind with a particular focus on reducing congestion and emissions through incentivizing use of public transport.

So really, really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you, and I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye.