Course Outline

GEOG 3

WORLD CITIES

TECTONICS

World Cities

• Contemporary urban process• Urban Decline and regeneration• Retail • Global patterns• Contemporary sustainability issues

Contemporary Urban

Process

ReurbanisationLagos

Suburbanisation Urbanisation

Counter -Urbanisation

MUMBAI

Decline

LAGOS

LAGOS CASE STUDY

Ten Key Points 1. Overpopulation has resulted in a range of problems

2. Transport: 165km of road added between 2007 and 2010

3. Water: an increase of over 600 MGD is required before 2020

4. Space: a lack of space has lead to “Lagos Venice”

5. Tropical climate

6. Environment: 900,000 square miles of parkland

7. Environment: 1 million new trees

8. Major economic city in Nigeria produces 25% of Nigeria's GDP 10,000 business industries

9. Population increase of over 17 million between 1950 and 2011 estimated population of 25 million by 2025

10. Poverty due to high unemployment rates has lead to poor health resulting in problems in the spread communicable diseases

Re-urbanisation • London Docklands• Located along the river Thames in London• LDDC – 1981 to regenerate the London docklands • Social: • 24046 new homes new health facilities 5 new centres • 11 new primary school 2 secondary and 2 sixth forms • Economic:• 85000 work in LD • Transport links – LDLR, jubilee line extension• Environmental:• Lead to congestion• Transport links – congestion

Also see London Dockland regeneration

Re- urbanisation• Singapore• Location: Asia: south of Malaysia small island city state• Characteristics:

-population 5.5 million -GNI same as USA

• Social:• Improvement or HR and IT• Increase in education• Shortage of unskilled workers• Economic Effects • Export and import orientated industry• Capital intensive industry• Worlds busiest port – ship docking every 2 minutes handles 1/3 of world trade. • Environmental:• Improvement of building appearances • Development of green spaces • Clearing slums

Suburbanisation

• Surbiton • 13% increase in population in 40 years• Caused to transport links (A3/ trains) (zone 6) • Housing• 70% car ownership • 40% drive to work • Surbiton neighbourhood committee (reclassify as zone 5) • Secure units for bicycles• pedestianisation

Suburbanisation

• LA – USA , California• San-san urban corridor• Population: 24 million 2nd largest city in USA • PULL: infrastructure, cheaper land – larger properties more space.

Better quality of living• PUSH: fear for safety, high cost of land, stress of travelling• Problems: decline in population in LACC leads to derelict buildings.

Characterised by crime. Poverty. Low social class• Use of land

Urbanisation

• Mumbai• Population has increased from 5.9million – 12.5 million (1971-2011)• Half of the population live in slums• Living conditions are poor –health care services don’t meet the need of the

population. Only 30% of poor's needs met • Infant mortality high at 40/1000• Increased demand for water = rationing• Infrastructure cannot cope especially roads• Waste has lead to pollution• 2004: gvm project to redevelop and clear the Dharavi slum, this would

include improving services – slum sanitation programme also started in 1995 by a group of NON-gvm organisations which built 330 communal toilet blocks.

• Rainwater is harvested from systems on new buildings. • Public transport has improved with 140km of new metro lines due for

completion in 2021

Urbanisation • SAO PAULO • Largest city in the southern hemisphere.

-2008 pop- 19m, -pop den – 21000 per km2 - increase of 16% between 1991 and 2001

• Initially an area of agriculture exporting coffee and cotton.• 25% of all vehicles in brazil circulate around Sao Paulo • $1 million spent a day on rubbish

- lead to improvements in waste services - 2001 2 landfill sites - so 2 huge waste incinerators built

• Highest unemployment rate in the country• Huge divide between rich and poor• Different housing types

-condominiums -cortices-favelas

• 150000 people live in a mix of poverty • In favelas services are limited. Electrical power is limited there is also a lack of healthcare which leads to diseases • This has lead to improvements in favelas in the form of improvement schemes • In 1990 funding was supplied to the groups• Authorities provided serviced plots for buildings

Counter- urbanisation

• ST IVES • 100km N of London/ 25km NW of cambs • Links to London via infrastructure (trains £3920 / A1)• Rural area characteristics like Georgian housing and traditional

chapel • Surrounding rural area mainly farmland • Recent farming developments on periphery of the town• Change in population structure • Greater demand for property • Increase in education services required• High status services and retail required. • CU has lead to a loss of culture

Counter- urbanisation

ST IVES

100km N of London/ 25km NW of cambs

Links to London via infrastructure (trains £3920 Huntingdon- Kings cross in 1Hr / A1(M) / A14/M11)

Rural area characteristics like Georgian housing and traditional chapel

Surrounding rural area mainly farmland

Recent farming developments on periphery of the town

Change in population structure

Greater demand for property

Increase in education services required

High status services and retail required.

CU has lead to a loss of culture

St Ives

Counter urbanisation • Mumbai – LEDC• India – Maharashtra , Arabian sea• Home to Bollywood • Decline in population. Current: 12 million • Development in transport • People relocating to small housing • Low crime rates• Dense population • $2 billion development projects• Local shops and markets in decline • Increase value0 of land • Poor infrastructure due to vast increase.

MUMBAI FAT ASS CASE STUDY

Decline and Regeneration

• Decline (Boscombe)• Property Led Regeneration • Partnership schemes• Gentrification

Urban DeclineUrban decline is the deterioration of the inner city often caused by lack of investment and maintenance. It is often but not exclusively accompanied by a decline in population numbers, decreasing economic performance and unemployment.

Urban deprivation is a standard of living below that of the majority in a particular society that involves hardships and lack of access to resources. Places suffering from urban deprivation have visible differences in housing and economic opportunities been the rich living alongside poor people.

Characteristics of Urban Decline

• Poor quality housing - with outside toilets, overcrowding, no hot water or central heating

• Poor building maintenance - many buildings would have leaking roofs, draughty windows and crumbling stonework

• Many empty buildings, and these have the potential to be vandalised; gap sites where buildings have been knocked down turn into derelict land

• High levels of air, noise, land and water pollution• Social characteristics of urban decay include high unemployment rates, high crime

rates, depopulation, and split families.

URBAN DEPRIVATION

BournemouthWard Central

BournemouthBoscombe West Throop and

Muscliff

Location

Resident POP 7955 7598 (8000) 8411

% working age 74 (73.9) 71 (70.9) 60

Av. Age Largest proportion 85+

41.4 39

Av. House size/type Smaller than national AV. Mostly flats: 4305housing: 495 Other: 136

Small than Av. Mostly flats and houses 50% privately rented 20% council

2.3 rooms88% houses

Economically Active 68% are young well educated city dwellers

96.6

Qualifications 14.8 % none 3% lower income workers

22% none

Unemployment 4.5% BMHAV: 3.4 7.7% UKAV: 3.8 1.8%

BournemouthWard Central Bournemouth Boscombe West Throop and

Muscliff

Resources BMH libraryRussel coats M BMH+ Poole CollageBUBMH gardens

Surf Reef Seafront Facilitiesvolunteer centre BARGPSNT 2 Primary Schools

Town communityMarket Fruit mill Shack YC community centre Settley Gardens

Overcrowding Significant % 29% 4%

Life ex. M/F BMH: 76.1/81.5 (80.7)73.7/80.3

68.5/77.9 77.3/81.2

Level of deprivation

25+53rd most locally 4/7 LSOAs10% most deprived in ENG

4th most in regards to services65th locally

TAX – Children in P

17BMH AV: 21

35 13

% no car 39 44 Very low

Transport Yellow buses Public is good Yellow buses

Little

BOSCOMBE• Boscombe thrived with the growth of the English seaside holiday. Between the wars Boscombe was one

of Bournemouth's wealthiest areas with many large Victorian and Edwardian family houses. In 1935 construction started on the San Remo Towers block, located between Sea road and Michelgrove Road, the Grade II listed block of 164 flats was designed by Hector Hamilton,[11] in a Los Angeles Spanish style. Post war there was a boom in the seaside holiday market and Boscombe with its large number of smaller guest houses enjoyed this period of prosperity. In 1965 Boscombe railway station closed.

• It was in the 1970s and 1980s with the decline in the traditional English holiday market that Boscombe's fortunes began to wane. Many of the small guest houses and large family houses became HMOs,

• "By the 1970s this transition in character was attracting vulnerable people, people on low incomes and those in receipt of benefits to the area ... With this increase in less affluent, vulnerable people came an increase in transience in the population, a more 'chaotic' environment in Boscombe and the beginnings of a drug using community in the area. This was coupled with an influx of Liverpudlian drug users and dealers to Bournemouth in the 1970s. Bournemouth was becoming an importer of people with drug and alcohol problems, and the drugs market expanded around these circumstances. By the 1980s this was being further stimulated by the setting up and proliferation of treatment centres for drug misuse."

• —Quoted from: Vulnerable Area Profile Boscombe [12]• Boscombe saw an increase in social problems during this period with drug and alcohol dependency

levels well above the national average. In 1990 in an attempt to revitalize the shopping centre Christchurch road between Palmerston road and Ashley road was pedestrianized and the Sovereign shopping centre opened. In 1993 Boscombe Hospital was demolished having moved to a new site in Castle lane.

PROPERTY (MARKET) LED REGENERATION

This is private companies make the decisions and are given government benefits such as tax breaks.

For example in London Docklands economic regeneration was seen as a priority and the government felt that property developers would know what businesses would want, and so they could develop the area appropriately.

- focused on employment and regeneration/ creation of housing.

LONDON DOCKLANDSCAUSES: - counter urbanisation between 1939 and 1980. There was a net

migration to small towns and villages. Rapid population increase seeking cheeking property and better environmental quality

- Deindustrialisation makes it more expensive to produce products in UK and so moved abroad so increased unemployment (accounted for 6% unemployment)

- Closure of the dock: ships needed deeper water and 60% of men unemployed 10,000 lost jobs

CONSEQUENCES- Infrastructure- Jubilee Line, Light Railway, City Airport- Government: tax breaks, deregulation, longer working hours

LONDON DOCKLANDS SUCCESS?

SUCCESS- Major financial centre- 600,000 jobs gained- Alpha ++ world city ranking- Improved transport, environment, services

CRITICISMS- Only benefited well qualified- Wealth and poverty side by side- Social wedge (income 25% lower than national average)- £400,000- £1 million flats

THE LONDON THAMES GATEWAYCAUSES- dereliction; in-attractive; poor housing and social facilities; poor

education

BARKING RIVERSIDE- 10,000 new homes; green space; improved healthcare

EDUCATION- School renovation; UEL and Birkeck established new campus in

Stratford

LTGDC- 10 year programme and £210 million investment

TOWN CENTRE

- Road networks, pedestrianisation, retails, Canning Town

SUCCESS?SUCCESS?- Population of Barking and Dagenham rose 13.4% in 10

years- 17% improvement of students achieving 5A*-C grades

CRITICISM- Objections to a block at Virginia Quay which would lead to

over crowding- Ignoring public opinions when building a night clubs which

add to noise

PARTNERSHIP SCHEMES

Partnership schemes represent a major switch in funding for redevelopment projects. To get funding a local authority would have to put up a bid to national government. A partnership would have to be formed between the locals the private sector and the LA before the plan could be submitted to the central gov. for approval.

Hulme, Manchester

Park Hill, Sheffield

HULME, MANCHESTERCAUSES- Slum clearance scheme- 98% dwellings council owned and of these, 50% were poorly designed- Social difficulties- most residents are single parents

CONSEQUENCES- 3000 new homes, shopping areas, more traditional style housing, Zion

Centre, Hulme Arch re-established Stretford and provided a local landmark, improved appearance with the Birley fields, more businesses, improved leisure

SUCCESS?

-new homes to cope for a larger population; improved facilities; more sustainable

CRITCISM

- Less council ownership so benefits a more affluent population

PARK HILL, SHEFFIELD

CAUSES:- dereliction, unemployment, poverty, social insecurities, poor environment

CONSEQUENCES:- 2007 urban splash- 257 new flats for sale- New GP, retail, city centre redesigned- PHASE 2: 180 new homes due to be completed by March 2015 and over 150 new

flats

SUCCESS: - £9.85 million investment made housing more affordable and improved the facilities

CRITCISM:- Polluted ground form iron had to be cleaned- expensive- Renewal of flats meant many were no longer council owned so made it difficult

GENTRIFICATION

NOTTING HILLCAUSES- Victorian period meant housing

was tired and catered for a less affluent society; slums; social mix

CONSEQUENCES- Estate agents improved housing

– Hillgate Village- Property prices rose- Secluded communal gardens- Desirable to families

SUCCESS: -Stabilisation of communities-Reduces vacancy-Improved environment

CRITCISM-Displacement of locals-Conflict-Economic segregation

NEW YORK

CAUSES:

-growing slums, dereliction, poverty, inequality crime, healthcare, unemployment

CONSEQUENCES- 225000 forced to move, mass

rezoning, tax breaks, - Green Fort- loss of housing- Architects and investors

improved housing

SUCCESS:-Improved area-More protected and pleasant-Improved facilities

CRITISM- Too expensive for former home owners; displacement of people caused friction between locals

Sport - Led regeneration LONDON 2012

Aims: To regenerate and transform one of London's poorest areas, using sustainable principles. To help the local people.

SOURCE: BOB DIGBY

The project was finished on time and under budget !!!

Sport - Led regenerationCONTEXT

LONDON 2012

Why was regeneration necessary ?• Open/ brown field sites which were being used as dumps• Run down derelict buildings• Lea Valley• Docklands • Low EQI • Deep rooted deprivation • LD regeneration failed to help local people.

The 2012 Olympics will be taking place in five boroughs of east London; one, Newham, is – according to the 2001 UK census – the poorest and most deprived area of the UK. As the census data for Canning Town South (Figure 8) show, regeneration projects to date have barely trickled down any benefits to local communities. How far will the 2012 Olympics impact on areas such as this? Newham has the most diverse population of all areas of the city, a factor which helped to win the bid for London. But it is the youngest borough; 41% of the population are under the age of 24, and with the highest percentage of one-parent families in the UK, many are unable to work. This gives Newham’s population the UK’s highest dependency ratio. Typically, its wage earners average one fifth of the annual salary of the population of west London in boroughs such as Richmond-on-Thames. Statistically, young people in east London, compared to others in the city, are most likely to have – • worse health • poorer housing • lower education qualifications • been a victim of crime. Poverty impacts upon health; for every tube stop on the Jubilee line between Westminster in central London and Stratford, an adult male loses 1 year of life expectancy – 9 stops and 9 years. ¼ houses is overcrowded, and housing policies in recent decades have not provided for the needs of larger families. Housing for key workers, including nurses and teachers is unaffordable, even though east London has the cheapest housing in Greater London. There is a severe need for affordable housing of several types and sizes – and for a definition of what is ‘affordable’ that is based on earning capacity and not on existing average house prices.

Sport - Led regenerationPLANS

LONDON 2012

The Games makers wanted to avoid what happened in Athens in 2004, where the clear up effort was huge after the rubbish left around their Olympic park.They also wanted the Olympic Park to be used after the event:• The Athletes village would become social housing • Olympic Park would have green spaces and be good for the EQI • The 2800 housing units would be made of sustainable materials• Employment would be created based around sport and tourism• Tourism • Invictus Games 2014• The Olympic stadium would go to football/ rugby clubs• The Olympic Park would also be able to hold Music Events • Media Centre now home to BT sport • 3000 tech jobs created • A new “silicon” Valley • Recycled venues: some of the prefab buildings were moved to create classroom space

at Lychett Minister school after a fire.

Sport - Led regenerationPLANS 2

LONDON 2012

• In November 2013 the first residents moved in• In Easter 2014 the swimming pool open as a local leisure facility • Also at Easter 2014 the orbit and southern park opened to the public. • Summer 2015: West Ham FC will take over the Olympic Stadium 2017: • World athletic Championships• Summer Concerts• Rugby World Cup• Cricket 2018: • Crossrail

Sport - Led regenerationResults

LONDON 2012

Regeneration of East London• An accelerated process of urban regeneration has taken place in East London during the

past decade.• The future of eight out of eight retained Olympic Park venues has been secured within

one year of the Games.• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is re-opening to the public between summer 2013 and

spring 2014.• iCity has been confirmed as the occupier of the Press and Broadcast Centre with tenants • including BT Sport, Loughborough University and Infinity.• £6.5 billion of transport investment has supported development across London.• 11,000 homes are planned and more than 10,000 jobs will be created on the Park–

conversion of the Athletes’ Village into homes is well advanced and developers are preparing to start building on Chobham Manor.

SOURCE: .GOV

Sport - Led regenerationResults

LONDON 2012

Economic Growth• By 2020 the economic impact is estimated to be £28 billion to £41 billion in Gross Value

Added (GVA) and 618,000 to 893,000 years of employment.• So far £9.9 billion in international trade and inward investment has been won because of

the Games and Games-time promotional activity – with more being announced. • 70,000 jobs for workless Londoners.• £120 million of contracts already won by UK companies from the Brazil 2014 World Cup

and Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.• More than 60 contracts won by UK companies for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and • Russia 2018 World Cup.• 1% increase in international visitor numbers to the UK and 4% increase in visitor spend –

in 2013, tourist spend is expected to exceed £19 billion for the first time.

SOURCE: .GOV

Separating an economic assessment of the Olympics will be difficult in view of the broader regeneration

programmes that started in 1997, parallel the Olympics, and are due to run until beyond 2020. For

instance, the opening of the new high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) from St Pancras in

November 2007 has brought east London to within 2 hours of Paris and Brussels in 2009 when Stratford

International Station is opened. The new commercial and retail development in central Stratford, known as Stratford City, is independent of the Olympics, and will undoubtedly bring its own impacts. The

impacts of regeneration as a whole are clearly substantial. The transport infrastructure in and around

Stratford has been fundamental to the success of regeneration schemes. Stratford has London’s most

dense suburban transport ‘hub’ with nine surface and underground rail links. This was

fundamental to the Olympic proposals; in 2002, the IOC had identified transport as the issue on which

London was most likely to fail in its bid.

Retail

• Retail - led regeneration • Out of town shopping centres – Metro Centre • Southampton

Changes to retail

High streets are under attack, new retail developments out of town are encouraging people to forget the high street and the town centre traffic and travel to the out of town shopping centre, locally an example of which is Castlepoint just outside Bournemouth. Castlepoint is home to many “high street” names such as M&S, TK MAX, WH Smiths. To name a few. It is also home to two supermarkets, Sainsbury’s and Asda, Meaning that you can do your weekly food shop while getting those clothes from TK MAX, that scarf from M&S and that new wardrobe from Argos. This is obviously an advantage of out of town shopping centres. You can do everything in one place. A second major advantage over the town centre is that often these OTSC have provision for parking and so parking is free which differs greatly from that of town centres where it could cost up to £10 to park for the whole day.

The distinction

• There are 16 Major Out of town shopping centres in the UK.• These are different to the open air retail parks such as the previously

mentioned Castlepoint. • Brent Cross was the first of these OTSCs and opened in NLONDON

in 1976• OTSCs have been used to regenerate run down areas – Metrocentre • This move to wider open space has greatly affected the city centres

where shops have pulled out. Shoppers often go to OTSC rather than to city/town centres

Factors affecting development of OTSC

• POPULATION CHANGE – suburbanisation and counter urbanisation has taken wealthy shoppers away from the city centre. The shops move to suit these shoppers

• Push – High street shops are expensive, there is a shortage of space and there are high taxes. This forces companies to either move online or to cheaper out of town sites.

• Pull – Land out of town is much cheaper than in town, hence why many supermarkets are out of town. Rather than in the town centre. There is also more room as well for huge state of the art stores that attract customers for miles around. Retail space in town is so much more expensive than out of town. For example in 2009 retail rents in Oxford street were £4400/m2 where as in Sheffield meadow hall they were only £217/m2

Threats to the Centre

• There is high competition: • Supermarkets are often located on the outskirts of the town and have a range

of items not just food, most now have electrical, home, entertainment(DVDS) and clothing ranges. One stop shopping with free parking.

• Online: It is much easier to order online from the comfort of your sofa while watching FRIENDS rather than queue all the way into town and walk round the shops. Online shopping accounted for 10.5% of UK retail sales in 2010 3% higher than in 2009.

• Out of town leisure parks – again encourages people to go out of town for the cinema where there are better facilities free parking and less inner city queuing. – Tower park, Poole. – 16 screen cinema. Splash down variety of restaurants.

• Expense – the high-street is an expensive place to trade. Falling sales lead to less shops leading to run down high streets where no one wants to go. 15% of high street shops are empty. This figure is considerably higher in other places.

THE METROCENTREREBECCA, BEREN, EMILY

SEE SEPARATE POWERPOINT

City Sustainability • Half of humanity – 3.5 billion people – live in cities today.• By 2030, almost 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in

urban areas.• 95 per cent of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in

developing world.• 828 million people live in slums today and the number keeps rising.• The world’s cities occupy just 2 per cent of the Earth’s land, but

account for 60-80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions.

• Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health.

• But the high density of cities can bring efficiency gains and technological innovation while reducing resource and energy consumption.

Transport

Green transport strategies in cities primarily focus on

• reducing car use or at least slowing its growth.• In Central London, the ‘congestion charge’ reduced daily

vehicles trips by ½ to 70,000 (TFL 2004 b) and CO2 emissions by 20% (Beevers and Carslaw 2005).

• Singapore’s Electronic Road Pricing and Vehicle Quota System slowed increasing car use and motorisation (Goh 2002).

• Bogotá’s BRT system has contributed to a 14 per cent drop in emissions per passenger (Rogat et al. 2009).

• It is encouraging, therefore, to see that BRT system has been replicated in Istanbul, Lagos, Ahmadabad, Guangzhou, and Johannesburg.

Energy

• Cities uniquely concentrate energy demand and rely on energy sources beyond their boundaries.

• Rizhao, China has turned itself into a solar-powered city; in its central districts, 99 per cent of households already use solar water heaters (ICLEI, UNEP and UN Habitat 2009).

• In Freiburg, PV systems, encouraged by Germany’s generous feed-in tariff, now supply 1.1 per cent of the city’s electricity demand.

• A biomass CHP system and wind turbines provide for a further 1.3 per cent and 6 per cent respectively of the city’s energy needs (IEA 2009).

WASTE• ‘Waste’ economy, has become a dominant role in a city’s

ecological footprint.• In LEDCs informal Systems have been implemented by locals, a

reuse and recycle system reduces waste. Zabbaleen in Cairo• In many European cities, recycling levels are in the region 50 %,

while Copenhagen only sends 3% of its waste to landfills. In 1991, • Curitiba established a green exchange programme (cambio verde)

that encourages people to exchange recyclable waste for fresh fruits and vegetables .

• Composting is a further critical component for greening waste. Positive examples range from Dhaka’s decentralised composting to San Francisco’s municipal food composting programmes.

SUSTAINABLE CITY Cities of the furture

All the buildings are directed against the sun, face north, so direct sunlight is eliminated- All the walking areas are shaded- Sixty per cent of the project is landscaped- 100 per cent of the sewage water will be recycled- Each villa has been designed in a very effective way to ensure 50% saving in electricity and water bills- Each house will have solar panels on the roof, which can hopefully produce 50 per cent of the consumption- There will be electric buses, operating every 15 minutes, in the city- The city will host social events all through the year to promote social sustainability- The city is open to everyone and is part of

Dubailand’s vision to have many attraction point- Source

Sustainable cities

General Transport Waste

Cairo • Population quadrupled in 40 years

• Pop Density: 30K/ KM2

• 2 million vehicles• Changed to

unleaded petrol• CAIP – US aid

funded • Air filter • Grid lock• Metro system to

reduce cars

• 10K tonnes of waste• No appropriate system• CCBA only collect 60% • Problem with vermin

Nottingham • UK, EU• 300k pop• 0.5 tonnes of waste/person/Y

• Before only 4% of waster Recycled • 10 million bins each year• By 2020 50% waste should be recycled • 75%of all biodegradeable waste should be recycled by 2020• Councils charged for waste to landfill. £32/tonne active

£25/tonne inactive• 5 landfill sites around Nottingham• New bins have been introduced• Fine for leaving bins in the street• Bulky waste collection• Separation of waste (bins)• composting• Education, schools and door to doors

General transport waste

Curitiba • 17 new car parks • 90 miles of cycle tracks • Pop:1.6 million

• Buses stop designed to reduce bus idling time and make loading/unloading more efficient

• 2 categories – organic/ inorganic

• Squatter families carry waste to a centre where waste is exchanged for food/bus tickets

• Trash goes to a plant which employs those out of work

• Items are recycled and the new system costs no more than landfill.

Mexico city • Pop: 18 million • Altitude: 2400m• Surrounded by mountains

that trap the pollutants

• 4 million tonnes of pollutants

• water pollution due to dumping

• Land sinking due to extraction of underground water supplies

• Food is grown in an area fed by open drains