In this article by the New York Times, Ron Shiffman an urban planner is interviewed. Ron has spent over 50 years trying to make New York City more livable and sustainable. In the interview, Ron states that going green is not a "fad" but it's a necessity. The city has done many things to improve their sustainability. I believe Ron is right that going green is a necessity, not only for New York City, but also for other heavily populated areas. I think there are many positive externalities that people can enjoy that go along with building and renovating communities to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Although the initial cost may be higher to build more efficient buildings and better public transit systems, in the long run the energy savings alone should compensate for the initial investment. Not only will the citizens pay substantially less for energy (estimated 20-70%), but they will also have access to an outstanding public transit system that will help keep traffic in the densely populated area less as well. There is also the health side of the debate. Who can put a price tag on your own health? According to the article, New York City has rerouted delivery trucks, cleaned up rivers, landscaped medians, and planted tree pits in order to capture water. All of these measures help clean up the air and the greenery helps lower cooling cost in the summer. I think these steps taken in New York City will be taken into consideration by other urban planners and I hope to see continued improvements in NYC.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/realestate/debriefing-because-green-goes-with-everything.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0
5 comments:
If these measures were taken, I agree that it could reduce some of the energy costs and cooling costs in the summer and it would be worth the cost of setting up. However, a main concern is how the residents will receive this and how they will cooperate. Many Americans despite the multitude of influence from environmental groups do not care so much about the environment. I am basing this off my personal experience of my visit to Japan which I see them taking "going green" much more seriously and collectively rather than just a few people participating.
Good points, guys. There is certainly value in "going green" but on whom does the financial burden fall? If there is a return to be made on the initial investment, should it still be the responsibility to the city/urban planner to make these improvements? Many real estate companies are making efforts to make their assets more energy efficient. I think that because there is an incentive to for firms to "go-green” we will soon see this fundamental shift toward more energy efficient assets.
I like how Ron Shiffman frames his argument for going green in the context of living better. The idea of cities in the US fulling committing to really going green does not seem likely, considering the lack of immediate pay-off for being eco-friendly. Although they have more incentives today, companies generally have few incentives to build green because it costs more and doesn't seem in increase profit. The "living better" context that this urban planner uses seems to make it more appealing to consumers; they would be willing to pay more for direct benefits- such as better traffic, more green space, lower energy bills, etc. It seems like it going-green could be led by higher-class consumers, who want to have a more livable city and who can pay for it.
I think it is interesting how Shiffman says that going green isn't a fad but a necessity. I think a lot of people still view going green as something cool to do but not really thinking of it in terms of how it impacts the future generations. Once more people overall really believe in the cause of going green, then I think there will be a bigger push for builders to be more environmentally conscious.
I agree with Shiffman that going green is necessity. I also think that New York citizens have learnt a lesson from the hurricane Sandy last October. Sea level rise and lost wetlands and oyster reefs that once protected the coast from storms are some examples of the lessons New York city learnt to prepare for future disasters. It comes down to the administration of New York City to design suitable projects to keep sustainability improvement going.
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