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.