A study in the April issue of Environment and Urbanization by David Dodman of the International Institute for Environment and Development is another powerful tool in understanding the environmental benefits of cities.  It says that greenhouse gas emissions of city dwellers are often far smaller than the national averages.  

The study, titled “Blaming cities for climate change? An analysis of urban greenhouse gas emissions inventories”, looked at 11 major cities on four continents, including London, Tokyo, New York and Rio de Janeiro and concluded that city dwellers often have a smaller carbon footprint that the country they are located in.

The study found that per-capita greenhouse gas emissions for a Londoner in 2004 were the equivalent of 6.2 tonnes of CO2, compared with 11.19 for the UK average.  In the US, New Yorkers register footprints of 7.1 tonnes each, less than a third of the US average of 23.92 tonnes.   Those of Barcelona residents are half the average for Spain.

The results also showed that wealthier nations produced most of the emissions — with the United States being the biggest culprit of all.  The US average was more than twice as much as that of the UK.

“Many cities have surprisingly low per-capita emissions but what is clear is that most emissions come from the world’s wealthier nations,” says Dodman. “The real climate-change culprits are not the cities themselves but the high consumption lifestyles of people living across these wealthy countries.”

So why are cities responsible for lower carbon footprints you ask? 

According to the authors of the report the use of public transportion and denser housing are two of the reasons for urbanites’ comparatively low carbon footprints” the authors said, adding that the design of cities significantly affects their residents’ emissions. “Tokyo has considerably lower emissions per person than either Beijing or Shanghai and this shows clearly that prosperity does not lead inevitably to greater emissions,” said report author David Dodman. “Well-designed and well-governed cities can combine high living standards with much lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

Overall, what this study shows is that there are many environmental benefits to living more compact and connected lives — cities offer an opportunity to live more sustainable lifestyles.    It also shows the importance of mass transit and well designed, walkable, and sustainable cities.  It shows that the United States requires serious action to change unsustainable habits.  That the lifestyle of Americans is the most wasteful in the world — much of it dictated by the inefficient design and layout of our autocentric towns and cities.  

(Click Here for Link to Study Abstract)

Related posts:

1. The Broader Connection between Public Transportation, Energy Conservation and Greenhouse Gas Reduction
2. Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation
3. Transit Ridership Up in 2008 – New Report
4. Suburbs: The Hidden Costs
5. Driving and the Built Environment Report – The Effects of Compact Development on Motorized Travel, Energy Use, and CO2 Emissions