Balancing the Scales of City Sustainability

"I spend virtually all my professional time thinking about the intersection of human settlement and environmental sustainability. I am particularly interested in the built environment of American cities, towns, and suburbs – what I like to call our people habitat – and how it relates to the natural world. How can we make these two realms – people habitat and natural habitat – more harmonious? These issues are acutely on my mind today because I am preparing a talk I have been invited to deliver early next month on Urbanism and Sustainability."

Through this lens, Benfield goes on to discuss:

• The scales of urban sustainability
• Growth challenges ahead
• The geography of impacts from traffic
• Similar issues for watersheds

And wraps up by forecasting where balancing the scales between cities and the environment might take us.

Population, jobs, and investment dollars sprawl across the countryside, while our older neighborhoods deteriorate. Image: F. Kaid Benfield.