Megacity debate with the mayor :
Imagine we live in a megacity encountering stark inequalities within its population as well
as informal settlement on its outskirt, but also sharp air pollution problems and increasing
hot temperature issues.
A new electoral campaign is going to start very soon. The current mayor has decided to
gather a team of specialists in order to debate and come up with realistic and innovative
ideas to tackle these challenges and improve the living conditions in the city.
So, please read the following file carefully in order to prepare the debate. You will have to
come to the meeting with at least one idea to propose and defend.
At the outcome of the debate, the mayor will choose the most advantageous idea for the
city.
Your are :
Après un premier entraînement en groupe, les groupes seront mélangés pour un débat
qui fera l’objet d’une évaluation avec la grille d’évaluation de terminale spé, colonne
interaction orale.
Le maire sera tiré au sort au début de chaque débat.
1
Air pollution: How three global cities tackle the
problem
4 November 2019 - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50287565
London
When was pollution at its worst?
Thick smog used to frequently blanket the UK capital in the 19th and 20th centuries, when people
burned coal to warm homes and heavy industry in the city centre pumped chemicals into the air.
Referred to as "pea-soupers", the most famous of these events was the so-called Great Smog of
London in 1952. It was recently dramatised in the first series of the Netflix drama, The Crown. Cold
weather in the preceding days meant people had burned more coal - often of low quality, which
released more sulphur dioxide - while inner-city coal power stations added to the haze. An
anticyclone then settled over London, trapping cold air under a layer of warm air. The smog lowered
visibility to a few feet and, over four days, is thought to have killed more than 10,000 people.
What was the solution?
In 1956 the UK passed the Clean Air Act. It regulated both industrial and domestic smoke, imposing
"smoke control areas" in towns and cities where only smokeless fuels could be burned and offering
subsidies to households to convert to cleaner fuels.The act was extended in 1968, and air quality
substantially improved in London through the following decades.
What's it like now?
Air pollution remains at hazardous levels in London.
The city recently introduced an Ultra Low Emission Zone, which charges drivers of more polluting
vehicles. London City Hall said in October that toxic air pollution had dropped by a third in the six
months since the measure came into place.
But the UK capital still has some of the highest pollution levels in Europe. Particulate matter and
nitrogen dioxide remain the greatest concern, and thousands are thought to die prematurely every
year because of pollutants in the air.
Beijing
When was pollution at its worst?
China's rapid industrialisation brought a huge rise in air pollution. Coal-burning power stations and a
boom in car ownership from the 1980s onwards filled Beijing's air with hazardous chemicals.
In 2014, a report by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences said the city was nearly "uninhabitable
for human beings" because of the pollution.
What was the solution?
Years of hard work.
A UN report this year shows that in the space of just four years, between 2013 and 2017, fine particle
levels in Beijing dropped by 35%, while levels in surrounding regions dropped by 25%. "No other city
or region on the planet has achieved such a feat," the report says.
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But this was because of measures introduced and refined over the course of two decades, beginning
in 1998. Since then, the Chinese government has imposed ultra-low emission standards, created an
advanced air quality monitoring system, and built more public transport.
What's it like now?
Beijing hasn't entirely fixed its problem. The city still struggles with pollutants - notably the particles
known as PM2.5, which are badly affecting Delhi. Commuters in face masks to protect against the
poor air remain a common sight.
And numerous cities around China still face pollutant levels far above internationally recommended
standards.
But the UN data shows the importance of cutting vehicle emissions, government incentives for private
businesses, data transparency, and diversifying the economy away from heavy industry to
successfully cut pollution levels.
Mexico City
When was pollution at its worst?
Mexico's capital was infamous in the 1970s and 1980s for its poor air. Just breathing was the
equivalent of smoking dozens of cigarettes a day. Its tens of millions of inhabitants driving across the
huge city in hundreds of thousands of cars pushed pollutant levels sky high. The city's position within
a high-altitude valley means the poor air is often trapped by a ring of mountains. In 1992 the UN gave
it the dubious honour of being "the most polluted city on the planet".
What was the solution?
In 1989, the city became the first in the world to impose curbs on car usage. It cut the number of cars
on city roads by 20% from Monday to Friday, depending on their number plates. It immediately
helped lower pollutants.
This was followed by a package of reforms dubbed ProAire, which expanded public transport and
imposed stricter vehicle emissions standards, among other measures. All this helped improve Mexico
City's air quality substantially in the years that followed.
What's it like now?
Deteriorating. Studies show some locals ignore the Hoy No Circula programme, or buy second cars
to ensure they can drive every day.
The population keeps growing, and spreading out - meaning longer trips in more cars. And those who
don't drive often rely on older, less environmentally friendly buses to travel.
In May this year city officials declared an environmental emergency after PM2.5 particle levels rose to
more than six times the World Health Organization daily mean recommended limit.
Just as with other cities, Mexico City's experience show there is no easy solution to tackling air
pollution.
3
What would a heat-proof city look like?
By Philip Oldfield – The Guardian 15 Aug 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/aug/15/what-heat-proof-city-look-like
Cities are already up to 10°C hotter than surrounding areas. As temperatures rise, here
are four ways to cool cities down – saving both lives and energy.
If you’ve felt uncomfortably hot in a city this summer, chances are it’s not just
because of the weather. Look around any urban centre and you’ll see the built
environment itself exacerbates summer temperatures. Vehicles stuck in traffic emitting
heat. Airconditioners pumping waste heat into the air. Concrete and asphalt across almost
every surface, absorbing and radiating the sun’s rays. Urban canyons formed between tall
buildings, trapping heat at the street level. All these factors contribute towards a
phenomenon called the “urban heat island” effect, which results in cities being up to 10°C
hotter than the surrounding countryside. How do we to tackle this?
A typical response on a hot day might be to turn up the aircon 1. But this fuels a
vicious circle of heating the outdoors to cool the indoors, making external spaces more
uncomfortable still, and at a significant cost. Airconditioning currently accounts for around
one-fifth of building-related global electricity usage, or 2.5 times the total electricity use in
Africa. With a warming climate and rapid population growth in hotter, increasingly wealthy
countries, our use of airconditioning is set to skyrocket in what the International Energy
Agency calls a “looming cold crunch”. They estimate that the energy needed for cooling
buildings will triple by 2050 – a growth equivalent to the current electricity demand in the
USA and Germany combined.
Yet our disproportionately warm cities do not simply pose an energy challenge.
Ultimately, urban temperature presents us with life-or-death situations; an increase in
mortality and strokes is reported when temperatures head above 25°C. In the US
heatwaves kill more people on average than any other natural disaster, while in the UK
heat-related deaths are set to increase 257% by 2050 and 535% by 2080. And it is not just
an issue in hot countries – in Moscow an estimated 11,000 people died due to a heatwave
in 2010.
With the frequency and intensity of heatwaves increasing we need to urgently tackle
the excess heat we face both inside our buildings, and in our cities’ outside spaces.
Fortunately, there are many ways in which we can mitigate the urban heat island effect –
while also creating more attractive places to live, work and play.
1 Air con : air conditioning (= climatisation)
4
As is obvious to anyone who has sat under a tree on a hot day, vegetation can be a
powerful tool in the fight against excessive city heat. Not only does greenery provide
shade, it stimulates evapotranspiration, the process by which water evaporating from
plants’ leaves reduces the adjacent air temperature.
Many cities recognise the value of parks and trees for urban cooling, not to mention
residents’ psychological wellbeing, but few have embraced greenery to the extent of
Singapore. The city-state embarked on its ambitious “garden city” plan in 1967 through
intensive tree-planting and the creation of new parks. As the population grew and buildings
got taller, the focus shifted to include skyrise greenery encompassing “skygardens”,
vertical planting and green roofs.
Today Singapore accommodates 100 hectares (240 acres) of skyrise greenery, with
plans to increase this to 200 ha by 2030 – an area equivalent to Regent’s Park. This
growth is fuelled by building regulations such as the Landscaping for Urban Spaces and
High-Rises (Lush) policy. Lush requires any new building to include areas of greenery
equivalent to the size of the development site. These can be at ground level or at height,
and often include luxuriantly planted balconies, shaded skygardens and vertical green
walls – which can help cause temperatures to drop by 2-3ºC.
Many new buildings go far beyond the minimum required. The Oasia Hotel,
designed by WOHA Architects, accommodates greenery across virtually every surface.
Wrapped in a dramatic 200m-tall planted trellis, the building almost drips with vegetation,
and is wildly at odds with the corporate steel and glass of many urban structures.
“We’ve almost created, in some ways, the notion of a huge tree in the city,” says
Wong Mun Summ, Founding Director at WOHA. “[It’s] a device in the city that really
supports a thriving eco-system three-dimensionally in a very dense environment.” The
result is a building that accommodates greenery equivalent to 11 times its own footprint. As
well as cooling, such abundant vegetation contributes many other benefits too – absorbing
pollutants from the air, producing oxygen and creating a calming, natural setting within the
hyper-dense city.
5
If we are to make cities cooler we must also change the materials they’re built from.
Urban areas are dominated by dark and hard materials – concrete, asphalt, paving – most
of which absorb, rather than reflect, solar radiation. According to Australia’s Cooperative
Research Centre for Low Carbon Living, conventional paving can reach temperatures up
to 67°C and conventional roofs up to 50–90°C on a hot day.
Such temperatures can have significant health impacts. According to Arthur
Rosenfeld of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, living on the top floor of a
building with a dark roof was identified as a risk factor of mortality in the 1995 heatwave in
Chicago. “Government has a role to ban or phase out the use of black or dark roofs, at
least in warm climates, because they pose a large negative health risk,” he said.
The best way to overcome this is to use cool coatings– typically lighter pigments in
asphalt or white-coloured coatings applied to roads, roofs and facades, which reflect more
solar energy away from the city.
The New York Cools Roofs initiative, for example, has seen more than 500,000m² of
roof space covered in a white reflective coating, saving an estimated 2,282 tonnes of CO2
per year from cooling emissions. Cool roofs are installed at no cost in public buildings, for
non-profit organisations and in affordable housing. In other buildings free labour for
installation is offered by the city with the owner just paying for the materials.
It may sound simple, but the results can be significant – research by Nasa has
suggested a white roof could be 23°C cooler than a typical black roof on the hottest day of
the New York summer.
In Los Angeles, it’s roads, not roofs, that are the challenge. More than 10% of the
city’s land area is black asphalt, which absorbs up to 95% of the sun’s energy, contributing
to the urban heat island. The city is responding by painting roads in a white-coloured
sealant with a high reflectivity, at a cost of $40,000 per mile. Initial measurements suggest
a reduction in temperature of 10-15ºF, though one road was found to be as much as 23F
cooler after painting.
6
Water has been used as a tool to cool
cities for centuries. The 14th century
palace of Alhambra, for example, housed
courtyards with pools and arching
fountains, stimulating the evaporation of
water and cooling the hot, dry Andalusian
air.
The contemporary heat-proof city could
follow, accommodating ponds, pools,
fountains, sprinklers and misting systems
to cool outdoor spaces.
Chongqing is known as one of the “three
furnaces” of the Yangtze River Delta,
given its long hot summers. To provide
moments of relief, the city is experimenting by using water misters at local bus stops. These spray
clouds of water chilled to 5-7°C, cooling the air as well as the waiting passengers.
Combining water with other urban cooling strategies can yield significant temperature
reductions. The University of New South Wales, the CRCLCL and Sydney Water studied the urban
heat island effect in western Sydney, where temperatures can often be 6–10°C hotter than the
coastal regions of the city little more than 15 miles away and found that adding water features and
cool coatings would reduce cooling requirements by 29–43% and lower the overall average air
temperature by 1.5°C. Temperatures taken adjacent to water features were up to 10°C lower, the
study found.
One of the challenges in keeping the
built environment cool is overreliance
on fully-glazed facades. Many windows
permit desirable natural light and views
but can mean buildings trap unwanted
heat in summer and don’t retain it in
winter. We can easily design shading
systems to protect buildings from the
sun, but for the best possible results,
these shading systems need to move in
tune with the local weather and the
path of the sun.
A radical example is in Abu Dhabi, where summer temperatures rise as high as
48°C and buildings need to be shielded from the harsh desert sun. The Al Bahr Towers
take inspiration from a Middle Eastern shading device known as a mashrabiya. Historically,
these are wooden screens, patterned with Islamic geometry to allow for filtered light and
views while protecting inhabitants from the intensity of the sun. But the modern
mashrabiya in the Al Bahr Towers move to create a dramatic, adaptable façade, estimated
to reduce the building’s CO2 emissions by 20%.
A building management system operates 1,049 hexagon-shaped shades, opening
and closing them like flowers. Their movements follow the sun, shading the parts of the
building in direct sunlight but opening up to allow for natural light as the sun moves by.
The result is a constantly changing and adapting façade, one that reflects daily and
seasonal patterns of weather, climate and occupation and responds to changing needs of
heat and light. Adaptable buildings and infrastructure like this one, which can morph to
respond to different seasons and weather events, will be crucial in the future battle to keep
cool and comfortable in a warming climate.
7
Can you redevelop a big city like Lagos
without displacing the poor?
Urban planner Lookman Oshodi seems to think it is possible.
From Design Idaba, April 2018, https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/can-
you-redevelop-big-city-lagos-without-displacing-poor
With a population of 21 million people, Lagos in Nigeria is one of the biggest cities
in the world. Trying to accommodate this many people can be a challenge especially when
it comes to redeveloping the city. Lagos has not been a shining example in this regard with
reports of people often being violently forced out to make way1.
Another aspect of an ever growing city like Lagos is slums. There are thousands of
people living Makoko, a floating slum, considered to be the biggest in the world. “In
Makoko, there were issues of flooding, environmental crisis, as well as sustainability. To
solve these problems in Makoko, the outright displacement and eviction was adopted as a
strategy,” says Nigerian urban planner Lookman Oshodi.
In trying to find sustainable solutions to the problems in Makoko, Oshodi was
involved in the 2011 project to build the Makoko Floating School as well as another project
for a community hotspot. The hotspot or community centre acts as a place for the fishing
villages of Makoko to smoke their catch, connect to the internet and hold community
meetings.
“The hotspot is a relatively new building and it was constructed of wooden
materials, not the cement system we are used to. It opened in September last year and it
is being used as we expected. It is being utilised by the community,” he explains.
The Makoko Floating School, where he worked with architect Kunlé Adeyemi and
was unveiled at the Venice Architecture Biennale, is what helped put him on the design
world’s radar. He said the floating school, which later collapsed due to heavy wind and
rainfall, was a signature development to show how one can develop that city while not
displacing people living in the slums. The school was made from local materials and built
using local resources. The structure provided a space and infrastructure for students to
use as a school, and community to use as a community centre.
“It’s like setting the direction of policy and, for the state, on how informal settlements
should be developed other than outright displacement and forced eviction. So what we had
in mind is another picture of Lagos,” explains Oshodi. For him, government policy is the
best way to redevelop the city in a way that the poor do not get displaced in order to make
way for big developments like luxury apartments being developed on Victoria Island.
It’s clear, he says, that for urban planning and design-based solutions to take shape
in these areas, the conflict between the way the rich and the poor are treated must be
resolved. “The argument in Makoko is, yes, we are low-income groups that is why we’re
being treated in this manner. Why not give them something befitting as well? I hope the
administration can manage this conflict by making provisions for other parts of the city.”
1 See other articles online through links proposed.
8
The Guardian Weekly,
Europe edition, 3 January 2025
9
The Toronto Transformation:
How Toronto is Becoming Canada’s Smartest City
April 2023 - http://gazette.blogs.rice.edu/2023/04/01/the-toronto-transformation-how-toronto-is-
becoming-canadas-smartest-city/
As we step into a new post-pandemic era of urban living, cities around the world are integrating modern
technology into everyday life. Toronto, Canada’s bustling metropolis and largest city, is leading the
charge in the development of smart cities across Canada. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the
fascinating initiatives and advancements that are transforming Toronto’s urban landscape.
City-wide Data Exchange Platform
Toronto’s city government is collaborating with researchers and technology companies to create
a city-wide data exchange platform called TO360. This project aims to collect and analyze real-
time data from multiple sources, such as traffic signals, sensors, and mobile devices, to facilitate
better decision-making processes for the city. The information gathered will help prioritize
resources, optimize services, and enhance the overall quality of life for Toronto’s residents.
Sidewalk Labs: The Quayside Project
In an ambitious initiative, Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto have collaborated
on the Quayside Project, a futuristic, 12-acre mixed-use community in the city’s waterfront
precinct. This neighborhood of the future will serve as a living lab for deploying, developing, and
refining new smart city technologies aimed at improving urban living. Some features of this
project include automated waste collection, dynamic energy-efficient building designs, and
heated pedestrian walkways for comfortable winter navigation.
Smart Buildings and Infrastructure
Canadian companies and government bodies are working together to develop smart building
solutions that promote energy efficiency, improve insulation, and reduce maintenance
expenses. The city’s initiatives, such as the Green Roof Bylaw and Toronto Green Standard,
encourage environmentally sustainable building designs integrated with innovative
technologies. By adopting these measures, Toronto hopes to lower greenhouse gas emissions,
enhance air quality, and reduce urban heat island effects.
World Class IT Services
Similar to the smooth functioning of many modern cities, Toronto also relies on efficient and
agile technology support systems. Ensuring the success of smart city initiatives, various private
IT services in Toronto provide essential assistance, maintenance and troubleshooting services
necessary for the seamless coordination between different technologies deployed across the
city. By fostering innovation in the IT sector, Toronto ensures consistent and optimal
performance of its smart city infrastructure.
Urban Connectivity: Public Wi-Fi and Transport Solutions
• Public Wi-Fi: Toronto is working hard to establish a city-wide, high-speed public Wi-Fi
network. With access points spread throughout the city, inhabitants can stay connected
wherever they go. Known as the Toronto Hydro project, this initiative aims to make Wi-Fi easily
accessible and affordable for everyone.
• Smart Transit: Public transportation in Toronto is getting a tech upgrade through the
implementation of the Presto Card – an electronic payment system that allows commuters to
pay for bus, subway, and train rides with a single tap. The city is also introducing smart traffic
signals that adapt to real-time road conditions, helping to reduce congestion and improve
overall transit efficiency.
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Waste Management and Clean Energy Initiatives
Adopting innovative solutions to manage waste, Toronto is making strides in reducing its
environmental footprint. One such initiative involves turning landfill wastes into renewable
energy resources. By extracting methane from waste decomposition and converting it into
electricity, the city successfully powers facilities and homes while reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. Furthermore, Toronto has invested in wind and solar power projects, aiming to
reduce its reliance on non-renewable energy sources and promote a cleaner, more sustainable
future.
Partnerships and Collaboration
The success of Toronto’s smart city development hinges on partnerships between government
agencies, academic institutions, the private sector, and local communities. City officials actively
engage with stakeholders to refine innovative approaches, attract investment, and promote
urban development. The spirit of collaboration has been instrumental in fostering a vibrant
technology ecosystem that supports creativity and drives the city’s advancement.
Focus on Citizen Engagement
Recognizing that smart city initiatives are ultimately for the benefit of its citizens, Toronto actively
seeks public input and feedback on new projects and technologies. Through public
consultations, workshops, and online platforms, the city encourages residents to voice their
opinions and ideas to create meaningful, personalized solutions for urban living. This
democratic approach ensures that the smart city initiatives being implemented are truly
designed to make life better for the people who call Toronto home.
Digital Inclusion and Accessibility
Toronto is committed to fostering digital inclusion and ensuring that every resident has the
opportunity to participate and benefit from smart city developments. Efforts to bridge the digital
divide include providing affordable internet access to low-income neighborhoods, promoting
digital literacy programs, and ensuring that digital public services are accessible to people with
disabilities. By addressing these challenges, Toronto aims to create a more equitable and
connected city for everyone.
Environmental Protection and Resilience
As a coastal city, Toronto recognizes the importance of environmental protection and resilience
amid a changing climate. The city’s commitment to sustainability is evident in initiatives such as
the Toronto Ravine Strategy and Climate Adaptation Framework, which aim to protect and
enhance the city’s vast network of green spaces while preparing for the impacts of climate
change. These forward-thinking plans demonstrate that Toronto is not only embracing
technological advancements but also prioritizing the well-being of the planet and its citizens in
the long term.
Toronto is embracing the future and solidifying its position as a smart city pioneer with
groundbreaking projects and initiatives. Its achievements are not only an example to cities
around the world but a testament to the power of collaboration, imagination, and innovation.
While there is still much work to be done, the city’s commitment to embracing new technology
and evolving urban solutions ensures that Toronto’s residents can look forward to a bright,
sustainable, and dynamic future.
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