Sustainable development in Edinburgh
Sustainability is a way in which people meet can be able to meet their own needs without affecting future generations that are coming after them in meeting their own needs. Sustainability can have grouped into three broad groups, namely; social, economic and ecological sustainability. Development in Edinburgh means that it will be catering for many people. Therefore their needs must be met while at the same time ensuring that sustainability is achieved at the highest level. Since Edinburgh will be accommodating many people, meeting all their needs while ensuring that there is sustainability will not be an easy task. However, it is still achievable by having plans on what will be acted while developing the city. For instance, having the environment in mind while designing the structures and the premises will help la in solving the issue.
Social sustainability
Social responsibility means that the rights of an individual with other people are met and are respected. The rights include exposure to the resources that will enable an individual with proper upkeep. Social sustainability, therefore, means that health-wise and even security-wise, the person is fully covered and won’t have to struggle in having the life that the person desires.
The first way in which to achieve social sustainability is by ensuring that the residents of Edinburgh get to enjoy peace, social justice as well as security. The first step to ensuring that there is a peaceful coexistence between the members is to have law enforcers at their disposal by building police stations to help curb petty crimes.
Knowing how to share of natural resources like water among the occupants of the city is crucial in ensuring that there is social sustainabilty. This is vital in a way that the natural resource will benefit all the people and will not bring disputes in that some will be helping and others are not satisfied.
Economic sustainability
Economic sustainability means that there exists a way that the economy is not dependent on one form of acquiring goods, commodities and money, meaning that the supply chains have to be replenished and don’t run dry. For instance, as many people will be working in the city, there should be a supply chain that supplies them with other products such as farm produce which will enable them to get food. Sustainability and economic balance can be achieved by building markets that will help them to get replenished.
Environmental sustainability
The environment is essential and should not be destroyed in the name of developing the city as it carries the city heritage alongside it. The environment is very delicate and should be able to sustain even after the city development has been done. The Edinburg city has many features that are of benefit to the locals and therefore should not be destroyed while developing the city. Natural environmental elements like water, flora and fauna existing as well as the greenbelt that is in the city need to be protected against destruction while development is still on and even after completion. The resources, therefore, offer a unique environment and therefore, should be protected at all costs. The most significant natural resources available in Edinburgh is the ocean coastline, River Leith, the greenbelt, Edinburgh zoo, parks and forests as well as the atmosphere itself.
To start with, the atmosphere is the most important of all and should not be polluted as it harbours life in it. The city of Edinburg is set to have many industries after development in addition to the agricultural, fishing, food and beverages, shipbuilding and many more existing in Edinburgh. The added industries, some of them, using fossil fuels will be emitting carbon dioxide and other toxic gases to the atmosphere. The gases will be polluting the air and consequently lowering its quality in the city and causing acid rain which in return corrodes steel and other metals. This challenge, however, can be mitigated by having the industries built using renewable energy sources rather than using fossil fuels. Rehabilitating the already existing industries using fossil fuels to have vacuum filter exhausts and process vents so that toxic gases are not released into the atmosphere will be an option in ensuring that there is clean air. This will be a milestone in ensuring that the quality of air is maintained, as acid rain is avoided as well as reduction chlorofluorocarbons that degrade the ozone layer causing global warming in return.
Oceans, on the other hand, play a vital role to the people and residents of Edinburgh and other organisms in the food chain and, also, help in regulating the weather and the climate of the city. Given that the ocean are very vast, using it as a dumping site can be seen as an option while in the real sense, the repercussions will not go unnoticed to the people who depend for the ocean to provide food. Dumping waste such as industrial water and greywater can cause the fish to die, and bleaching of coral reefs. Deaths of fish and destruction of coral reefs will cut down the supply of fish as many will die and reproduction will not take place as coral reefs have been already destroyed. As plastic and other waste kill fish, another effect is notable is climate change since acidification of the water will mean that it will be retaining more heat. The rise in water temperatures will cause melting of ice caps, causing an increase of water levels hence affecting the nearby structures. In order to solve the effects of associated with dumping waste in the ocean, proper waste disposal will be given a top priority. At the same time, recycling will also be considered to reduce the released waste, thus attaining sustainability.
Additionally, freshwater from River Leith is critical to the residents of Edinburgh. It, therefore, will have to be used sparingly by metering so that freshwater will be accessible to all. This will be achieved by having wastewater to get recycled and be treated so that there will be sufficient use of water while at the same time ensuring that water is supplied all times. As a result, as development project is being considered, water treatment and recycling plants will have to be incorporated into the plans.
Furthermore, land use while development is carried out needs to be an aspect that cannot be ignored as land affects the outlook and the nature of the environment. Development in Edinburgh will be carried out in a way that balance between development and the environment will be considered. Land clearing will not be done on parks such as Figgate Park, Holyrood Park, Princes Street Gardens, the green belt and many more as they ensure that there is ecological balance since they help in clearing the air. Avoiding to clear such land will, as a result, assist in providing environmental sustainability.
Lastly, forests play a crucial role in the environment as they clean up the air and are home to many animals and organisms. Forests like Craigmillar Castle Park and Blackford Hill and Pond are crucial as they conserve biodiversity, provide shelter, preserve soil quality and texture and help in the production of pharmaceutical products. Forests are therefore essential to the environment, and therefore a crucial factor thus cannot be ignored. Consequently, they cannot be destroyed for development as other available lands will be used.
In conclusion, sustainability is a crucial aspect of all living things. It should be encouraged at all levels so that humans can live in harmony with each other, with other animals and even better life on earth. Hence, in the development of Edinburgh, sustainability will be given a top priority.