How to Improve Urban Sustainability of Megacities Around the Globe

How to Improve Urban Sustainability of Megacities Around the Globe

The term megacity was first introduced almost a century ago, but it certainly didn’t stand for a 30-million-people city. Back then, it referred to the cities around the globe with a couple of million people living in them. Nowadays, with the urbanization of different areas of the world and the migration to bigger cities, the term megacity stands for a city with more than 10 million people. Around forty megacities on the planet hold more than fifty percent of the world’s population. 

The Right Kind of questions

Since this is a trend that will definitely stick and even expand in the future, the urbanization planners need to think a bit into the future and prepare for it. With more people moving to megacities, everything started to change. So, those held responsible for urbanization and creating a better living environment for the human race will have to act fast. But the question is how? What sort of demands such cities have that could improve urban sustainability?

How can the urban city planners make the megacities more sustainable and come up with the solutions that will benefit both the environment and the individual? It sounds difficult, but, some megacities around the world are already working on effective solutions for this issue. Making cities with multi-million citizens in them sustainable is challenging but it could bring great contributions to the environment. 

Heading in the Right Direction

The migration of millions and millions of people to the more urbanized megacities makes it hard to meet their essential needs and resolve all the arising issues. The most common issues are health problems and environmental problems caused by mass consumption, pollution, overpopulation, and finally, lack of resources. These megacities will have to find the most effective solutions concerning mentioned issues and make use of renewable resources. This would help reduce the emission of CO2, adjust energy consumption, the rise of ethical consumerism, improve recycling, and more.

Best Sustainability Solutions

Some of the best ways to improve the sustainability of the megacities around the world are not that unfamiliar, and they are quite logical in fact. First of all, one great step towards urban sustainability in these cities would be the effective use of the existing space. Building more might seem a logical thing to do in a city with over thirty million residents. But, what about the unused space? These cities need to maximize the effectiveness of the existing infrastructure.

Saving water and overall better water management is crucial for making megacities sustainable. Some of the solutions might include smart water systems that could control excess use and waste of water. These online water systems can also detect any network malfunctioning and collect rainwater as well. In addition, tree planting would have a similar effect on megacities’ sustainability.

One of the greatest air pollutants of megacities is traffic. This is why it is so important to work on the most effective solution for improving mobility in these cities. Improving public transportation system that could handle millions and millions of people on a daily basis is the key. Some other methods include promoting cycling, walking, and other healthy and environment-friendly transportation means.

Moreover, heating seems to be another great environmental enemy. The most common proposed solution is the use of co-generating systems for heating, cooling and more. This kind of system could reduce the emission of harmful fumes all around the planet. Additionally, food sustainability would have a great impact on any megacity’s sustainability. Urban farming is a term used to describe a potential Utopian situation where some people could produce some vegetables or fruits in their homes. 

Kevin