Mejora en la calidad del Alojamiento

the capital of Bangladesh. Dhaka had a population of over 16 million in 2011

of whom upwards of 3 million lived in slums. Dhaka is said to be the world’s

fastest-growing megacity. Bamboo structures built over the water line the

shore between Gulshan Lake and Banani Lake.

try to turn a slum into the beginnings of a sustainable urban paradise. On 9 April 2012, with one day’s notice, the Dhaka City Corporation authorities began forced evictions of this vibrant community, who were living on state- owned land. They began clearing homes on Gulshan Lake where some of the capital’s poorest people lived, homes that face wealthy, Western-style housing all around. The city authorities plan to build apartments on the sides of the lake. There are major concerns about this – the demolition of sustainable, low-impact homes for 100,000 people which work with the lakes, and the building of unsustainable, Western-style, high-rise apartments for 40,000 middle-class inhabitants in this city of fl ooding.

A. This bamboo platform serves as a community meeting place.

B. View across the lake showing the stilted construction over the water.

C. The Pevez family home.

D. Across the lake is more expensive housing. E. A place for children to learn.

F. Paradise but without security.

G. A bare and bleak environment transformed.

As we write the evictions have been temporarily halted by court order.

G F E D C B

Climate change involves a rise in average temperatures and extreme weather conditions as well as sea level increases and fl ooding, and threats to the water supply. The response involves switching to a low-carbon economy and addressing energy production by harnessing wind, water and tidal power. Landscape architects in many Western European countries, led by the Danish, have advised on both onshore and off shore windpower generation and the location of wind farms through environmental assessment studies. Tidal barrages or surge barriers are on the agenda in some locations, including the Thames estuary in the UK; such a major change will aff ect the coastal landscape to protect against fl ooding but can result in loss of marine habitat and marshland.

A low-carbon economy also involves a reduction in the use of private cars in favour of public transport, cycling and walking. In the West, eff orts to remodel the city around the motor car have proved dangerous and destructive. Cities should be for people to walk, trade, meet and mingle in, and the centrality of the automobile should be diminished. Most city streets are currently dominated by the car. Landscape architects can play a part in moving urban spaces away from car-based transport planning. The example of Copenhagen since the 1960s, where planning has favoured people over cars, shows a way to reverse this trend. Both Paris and London have seen increases in cycling and public transport use in the past 20 years, but at the same time cities in China have been moving in the opposite direction.

Eff orts to ameliorate the eff ects of climate change need not be high-tech. Take the heat island eff ect in cities. Street tree planting provides shade and is a way of reducing high temperatures in the summer – high temperatures lead to both increased geriatric and perinatal death rates. Similarly SUDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) are a way of dealing with threats of falling groundwater levels (necessary for vegetation growth) as well as reducing fl ood risk.

We referred above to urban heat island eff ect and how street tree shade in cities can reduce air temperature in the summer. Tree planting has wider environmental benefi ts, however. It can reduce air pollution by removing particulates, small solid particles that aff ect lung function and make it diffi cult to breathe. Trees also absorb gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide which can cause respiratory problems and increase asthma problems. Views of urban greenery have also been shown to improve mental well-being, not to mention encouraging exercise. In short, urban tree planting – at its most direct in the form of avenue tree planting – provides a healthier urban environment for humans as well as promoting biodiversity and a habitat for birds and other creatures.

HOW LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE AMELIORATION OF THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

A current checklist is:

• ecological corridors to promote migration of fl ora and fauna; • water conservation;

• use of drought-tolerant, genetically diverse plants and changes in cultivation;

• shade structures (e.g. roadside trees) to promote human comfort, and ameliorate the urban heat island eff ect; • urban tree planting to capture

atmospheric dust;

• green roofs to slow surface water run-off and promote biodiversity; • management of coastal retreat policies

due to rising sea levels;

• agricultural and landscape restructuring as the tree line moves upwards;

• aff orestation (the planting of new forests);

• promotion of recycling and composting;

• river basin management to cope with the loss of fl ood plains; • soil conservation and soil carbon

sink policy;

• promotion of cycling and walking in cities and elsewhere;

• promotion of wind farms and solar and hydroelectric energy, and network environmental assessment of energy distribution;

• environmental assessment and design of public transport including road, rail and bus transport;

• increase in the albedo of urban surface area (e.g. roofs and roads to improve refl ectivity).

The last requires a little explanation: albedo is a measure of refl ectivity on a low to high scale of 0–10 with 0 as black and 10 as white. Urbanization changes areas from vegetated green fi elds (about 5) to black roads and roofs. Avoidance of black asphalt, by planting roadside tree planting and green or vegetated roofs, are ways of raising the albedo of a city, increasing the refl ectivity of the Earth’s surface, reducing the absorption of solar heat, and thus reducing global warming.

A. Newly planted living wall showing supporting structure, Venlo

D C

B A