7 principles for building better cities | Peter Calthorpe | TED

Key Concepts:

• Climate change mitigation through urban planning
• Sprawl (low-density and high-density) and its negative impacts
• Compact development as an antidote to sprawl
• Co-benefits of urban form
• Transit-oriented development (TOD)
• Mixed-use development
• Auto-free streets and pedestrian-friendly design
• Geographic equity in circulation systems
• Autonomous vehicles (AVs) and their potential drawbacks
• Seven universal principles of urban planning

1. The Challenge: Climate Change and Urban Growth

• The world faces the dual challenge of solving climate change and building cities for an additional three billion people, effectively doubling the urban environment.
• The way cities are shaped significantly impacts environmental sustainability, social well-being, economic vitality, and community connectedness.
• "Fundamentally, the way we shape cities is a manifestation of the kind of humanity we bring to bear."
• Our behavior, not just corporations, drives climate change, emphasizing the importance of how we live.

2. The Villain: Sprawl in All Its Forms

• Sprawl is identified as a major problem, not just in the form of low-density suburban development but also in high-density forms like Chinese superblocks.
• The key characteristic of sprawl is that it isolates and segregates people economically and by land use, separating them from nature and hindering social interaction.
• Sprawl prevents the "cross-fertilization, the interaction, that make cities great places and that make society thrive."

3. The Antidote: Compact, Mixed-Use Development

• The solution to sprawl is compact development, such as walkable neighborhoods and streetcar suburbs, characterized by low-rise, integrated, mixed-use environments.
• A model for California compared sprawl to compact development scenarios for accommodating 10 million new residents by 2050.
• The results showed significant differences in land consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), healthcare costs, and household costs.

4. Co-Benefits of Urban Form: A Win-Win Scenario

• Compact development offers "co-benefits" that address the concerns of various special interest groups simultaneously.
• Land Consumption: Sprawl nearly doubles the urban footprint, impacting environmentalists, farmers, and neighborhood groups concerned about open space.
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Compact development significantly reduces emissions, especially in car-dependent regions like California, where transportation is a major contributor.
• Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): Reducing VMT by an average of 10,000 miles per household per year has a huge impact on air quality, carbon emissions, and household finances.
• Healthcare Costs: Compact, walkable cities promote physical activity and reduce pollution, addressing healthcare issues proactively.
• Household Costs: Compact development can reduce household costs by $10,000 annually (in the California context), primarily through reduced car and utility expenses.
• These co-benefits create common ground for affordable housing advocates, environmentalists, and politicians, fostering collaboration.

5. Los Angeles: A Case Study in Transformation

• Los Angeles is transforming itself into a more transit-oriented environment.
• Since 2008, voters have approved $400 billion in bonds for transit and zero dollars for new highways.
• The strategy involves focusing on transit corridors, adding mixed-use development, and making existing neighborhoods more walkable.

6. China: Addressing High-Density Sprawl

• China faces the challenge of high-density sprawl, characterized by isolated superblocks and severe air pollution.
• 12% of China's GDP is spent on the health impacts of air pollution.
• Traditional Chinese cities were based on small, local shops, services, and pedestrian-friendly environments.
• New superblocks, with up to 5,000 units, are gated and lack sidewalks and ground-floor shops, creating sterile environments.
• In some cases, residents have illicitly set up shops in their garages to provide local services.

7. Chongqing: A Model for Sustainable Urban Growth

• Chongqing, a city of 30 million people, is experimenting with alternatives to sprawl.
• The approach involves creating walking radii around transit stations, investing in metro and BRT systems, and distributing development to ensure that residents can live and work within walking distance of transit.
• Principles include preserving green space and ecological features, creating auto-free streets, and designing small blocks with local shops and services.
• The concept of "geographic equity" in circulation systems is introduced, suggesting that if only a third of the population owns cars, the majority of street space should be allocated to pedestrians, cyclists, and transit.

8. Seven Universal Principles of Urban Planning

• Preserve: Protect the natural environment, history, and critical agriculture.
• Mix: Create mixed-use environments with diverse incomes and age groups.
• Walk: Prioritize pedestrian-friendly design.
• Bike: Promote cycling by providing dedicated bike lanes (China has adopted policies for 6-meter bike lanes on every street).
• Connect: Create a street network with multiple routes and street types.
• Ride: Invest in transit systems.
• Focus: Structure the city around transit rather than freeways.

9. Autonomous Vehicles: A Word of Caution

• There is excessive hype surrounding autonomous vehicles (AVs).
• AVs may increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and congestion, potentially revitalizing sprawl.
• If privately owned, AVs could encourage people to live in more remote locations.
• Even with ride-sharing, AVs could still increase VMT by 30%.
• The focus should remain on walking, biking, and transit, as these are the most effective ways to create thriving cities and communities.
• The image of AVs running errands without their owners is concerning.

10. Conclusion: Hope and Action

• There is hope because most people intrinsically understand what a great city can and should be.
• Data analysis allows people to connect the dots and form political coalitions to create the communities we need.
• Changes are well accepted in California, the United States, and China.

Notable Quotes:

• "Fundamentally, the way we shape cities is a manifestation of the kind of humanity we bring to bear."
• "...the cross-fertilization, the interaction, that make cities great places and that make society thrive."

Technical Terms:

• Sprawl: Low-density or high-density development that isolates people and segregates land uses.
• Compact Development: Walkable neighborhoods and streetcar suburbs with low-rise, integrated, mixed-use environments.
• Co-benefits: Multiple benefits that arise from a single intervention, such as compact development.
• Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): The total number of miles driven by vehicles in a given area.
• Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): Development that is centered around transit stations and designed to promote walking, cycling, and transit use.
• Mixed-Use Development: Development that combines residential, commercial, and other uses in the same area.
• Auto-Free Streets: Streets that are designed primarily for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit, with limited or no access for cars.
• Geographic Equity: Fair distribution of resources and opportunities across different geographic areas.
• Autonomous Vehicles (AVs): Self-driving cars.
• BRT: Bus Rapid Transit