Summary of Capitulo 6: Ciudades sustentables.

00:00:00 - 00:25:00

This video discusses the importance of making cities sustainable in order to reduce their impact on the environment. It looks at the three main problems with sustainable cities- waste, energy, and transportation- and how they are exacerbated by the increasing population in cities. It also discusses how Buenos Aires, Argentina, is struggling with all of these issues.

• 00:00:00 The video discusses the problems that arise when large cities grow rapidly and without regard to the environment. One solution is to make cities sustainable, which would involve reducing their impact on the environment while still providing necessary services to their inhabitants. There is no one definition of sustainability, but it generally refers to finding a way to provide for the needs of present and future generations without damaging the planet. A city that is sustainable would have a lower environmental impact than a non-sustainable city. Urban planners typically measure sustainability by looking at how much land a city needs to support its population. A city could be considered sustainable if it required only four hectares of natural resources to function.
• 00:05:00 This video looks at the three main problems with sustainable cities- waste, energy, and transportation. It discusses how these problems are exacerbated by the increasing population in cities, and how this issue is only going to get worse. It also discusses how Buenos Aires, Argentina, is struggling with all of these issues.
• 00:10:00 This video discusses how cities can be both massive urban centers and huge centers of heat, known as "island cities." These cities have warmer temperatures than rural areas because of the way sunlight interacts with hard surfaces, such as brick, stone, and concrete. This heat is kept in the city by materials that absorb the sunlight, such as these surfaces. The heat is then released, and this makes the city warmer than the outskirts or even rural areas. The challenge for cities is to increase the amount of green space per resident while still growing. This is a difficult task, but one that can be achieved with cooperation between the government, businesses, and the civil society. The question is what is necessary to achieve sustainable cities.
• 00:15:00 In this video, Rafaela, a city in Argentina, discusses their program to become more sustainable, which includes initiatives such as a safer school route, a sustainable energy system for water heating, and a plan to reduce the amount of cars and motorcycles in the city. Rafaela is a small city compared to Buenos Aires or Rosario, but they are making progress by implementing sustainable initiatives such as a sustainable school route and energy system. The video ends with a challenge for the viewer to think about ways they can help make Rafaela more sustainable.
• 00:20:00 The video discusses the importance of green roofs and terraces in urban areas, and how they can help to improve the quality of air and environment. One example is the Toronto project, which reduced summer temperatures by 2 degrees by using green roofs and gardens. The project's director, Rubén Durán, discusses the importance of sustainability in the future and how it is possible to achieve it.
• 00:25:00 The video discusses how cities can be sustainable, but cautions that not every city can be successful in this goal.