AN APPROACH FOR NET ZERO EMISSION
Net zero energy cities are defined as the city where the total carbon-dioxide emission is balanced by its elimination, from the environment. Most countries across the world aim to reduce the emission and achieve net zero. As per the net zero cities, annually over 75% of co2 emissions are discharged from urban areas. Globally over 240 cities have targeted to achieve net zero or carbon neutrality by 2050 [1]. Many, get inspired by the campaigns like Race to Zero initiated by the United Nations. According to reports presented by World Economic Forum more than 1000 cities have participated in Race to Zero initiative(United Nations, 2021). However, out of one thousand only 240 cities are successful in setting the target for net zero. This is because, despite public concern, raised pollution, and global warming, the government is still struggling to arrange funds and investors, as the net zero concept is too expensive in practice. The ideology of the net zero approach is to explore the different strategies, including policies, design frameworks, and natural ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to achieve net zero.
As per the net zero Newcastle 2030 action plans, several goals are set down. Yet, the concept of sustainable farming has taken no notice. Urban farming in Seol, Korea is one the best example of carbon reduction from urban farming. It not only reduces the co2 but also urban heating. Another example is underground farming in Clapham, which uses 100% renewable energy for its 6500 sq.m farm. Despite many good practices, urban farming is not taken under consideration for big-scale projects.
This blog aims to understand the urban context and design a district with an emphasis on Urban Farming to achieve a net zero energy district. The overall aim of this discussion has the following objectives:
- For advanced green innovation, making the city a truly sustainable ecosystem.
- Create a complete, innovative, sustainable, and economic ecosystem with the green schema.
- Expand innovation assets for future business investors.
Examples: the Innovation Hubs, Singapore, labs in the city center (Helix Plus) connected by sustainable transport.
- Via a sustainable design approach, solve the city’s problems.
- Attract the attention of local and international business investors.
- A good standard of form, orientation, passive design, building fabric, and green infrastructure to reduce energy demand.
- Creating an ideal model for easy adaption throughout the UK.
- A substantial level of sustainability is demonstrated by the applicant’s adoption of the latest technologies in the project. Which include site management, site water usage, site transport, waste recycling and reuse, and environmentally friendly materials and construction methods.
- A decrease in overall CO2 equivalent emissions.
- Use a hierarchy to optimize the use of local renewable or low-carbon energy. prioritizing decentralized energy programs, then additional renewable energy options, and finally additional lower-carbon energy solutions. Where no decentralized energy scheme exists, strategic and other large-scale developments must assess the feasibility of providing such an infrastructure and, if feasible, implement such schemes.
Discussion and Conclusion
As Newcastle City has an industrial background, before world war I, the major occupation in the UK is agriculture and farming. During world war II, the industrial era started which convert the majority of fertile land into an industrial zone. This led to heavy land/soil contamination. After 100 years, these industries are still operating, and are responsible for huge carbon-dioxide production annually. The vacant land is highly contaminated, which requires strategies like crop rotation and crop irrigation to become healthy land. Many cities have already the progress to becoming net zero emission cities, however none of their strategies talks about the sustainable natural approach for overcoming this issue. As many cities want to be NZEC but due to the lack of funding and investors failed to achieve this goal. As a designer, before choosing the technology, we should plan the form and orientation of the building in a way that requires less energy to operate.
List of references.
- Bindman, P. (2022). Which cities are in the race to net zero? Available at: https://capitalmonitor.ai/sdgs/sdg-11-sustainable-cities-and- communities/green-cities-race-net-zero/.
- Doroudchi, E. (2018). Approaching net zero energy housing through integrated EV. [online] pp.534–542. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210670717309629?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=7c06e5a80f4971b7.
- Komninos, N. (2022). Net Zero Energy Districts: Connected Intelligence for Carbon-Neutral Cities. Land, 11(2), p.210. doi https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020210.
- Allam, Z., Bibri, S.E., Chabaud, D. and Moreno, C. (2022). The ‘15-Minute City’ concept can shape a net-zero urban future. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 9(1). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01145-0.
- Toh, C.K. (2022). Tokyo’s city sustainability: Strategy and plans for net zero emissions by 2050.
- Uspenskaia, D., Specht, K., Kondziella, H. and Bruckner, T. (2021). Challenges and Barriers for Net‐Zero/Positive Energy Buildings and Districts—Empirical Evidence from the Smart City Project SPARCS. Buildings, 11(2), p.78.
- United Nations (2021). Race To Zero Campaign. [online] Unfccc.int. Available at: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign.
This blog offers helpful insights into the notion of net zero energy cities and emphasises the necessity of urban farming in achieving sustainability goals. I appreciate the emphasis on creating a district with urban farming as a key component in order to develop a really sustainable ecosystem.
Indeed, urban farming has numerous advantages, including carbon reduction and urban heating mitigation. Successful urban farming programmes in Seoul, Korea, and Clapham, England, which use renewable energy, demonstrate the promise of this strategy. Unfortunately, despite its favourable environmental impact, urban farming is frequently disregarded in large-scale projects.
The goals expressed in this blog are admirable. The city can attract local and international business investors by combining sophisticated green innovation and developing an economic environment with a green schema. It is critical to use a sustainable design approach that tackles the city’s challenges while reducing energy consumption through shape, orientation, passive design, building fabric, and green infrastructure.
The goal of developing an optimal model for easy adoption across the UK is especially significant. The project can serve as a model for sustainability by using cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practises such as site management, water utilisation, transportation, waste recycling, and environmentally friendly materials.
Additionally, prioritising the use of local renewable or low-carbon energy and investigating decentralised energy programmes demonstrates a complete strategy for lowering CO2 emissions. For strategic and large-scale developments, the viability of deploying decentralised energy schemes should be thoroughly studied.
The historical context presented regarding the shift from agriculture to heavy industrialization in the United Kingdom emphasises the importance of addressing soil contamination and promoting measures such as crop rotation and irrigation to restore the health of unoccupied lands. In order to achieve long-term success, communities must incorporate sustainable natural ways into their net zero programmes.
As a designer, I agree that thoughtful building form and orientation planning may considerably help energy efficiency and operational sustainability. It is critical to consider these aspects early in the design process.
Overall, this blog makes a solid case for incorporating urban farming and sustainable design ideas into net zero energy districts. It provides useful insights and recommendations for creating a fully sustainable and environmentally friendly urban habitat.
Thank you for introducing us to the concept of net zero energy cities and their implications for urban development. The blog explores the challenges and objectives associated with achieving net zero emissions, offering insights into the current progress and future potential of this sustainable approach. It also focuses on the global context of net zero energy cities. It highlights the growing momentum worldwide, with over 240 cities committing to achieving net zero or carbon neutrality by 2050. By citing the Race to Zero initiative, initiated by the United Nations, the blog underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in addressing climate change. However, it also acknowledges the financial challenges faced by governments in implementing net zero strategies, which can hinder progress despite public concern and raised pollution levels.
The blog then dives into the key objectives and principles behind net zero energy cities. The objectives of Articles 8 and 10 excite me, and I believe they are achievable. The rapidly changing technology environment of today has produced new sources of detailed data on energy use, air quality, traffic patterns, and geospatial data as well as new methods to manage them. Particularly about judgements involving sustainable urban planning and operations, they can assist cities in making wiser, more knowledgeable decisions. Combining these new information flows can help energy systems operate more effectively.
Consumers may use energy more effectively and adapt their behaviours and lifestyles to use energy sustainably with the use of digital solutions in buildings, such as smart sensors and controls employing thermostats and lighting.
As outlined in this insightful blog, exploring strategies to achieve net zero emissions is an urgent and timely issue. This staggering figure shows that more than 75% of annual carbon dioxide emissions come from urban areas, suggesting that cities play an important role in contributing to global warming. The fact that many cities have already set goals to achieve net-zero emissions or carbon-neutral status by 2050 illustrates the global call to action.
However, I have found statistics showing that only 240 out of 1,000 cities have successfully established net zero emission targets, which shows that there are challenges. The role of financial constraints and the costs associated with implementing the net zero concept in practice are highlighted as major barriers, drawing attention to the need for pragmatic and affordable solutions.
The importance of various strategies, including policy measures, design frameworks and natural approaches to reducing CO2 emissions, is well explained. What specific policies can help bring about this transition? What might these design frameworks look like?
The examples of urban farming in Seol, South Korea and underground farming in Clapham demonstrate innovative ways to reduce CO2 emissions. I find it interesting how urban agriculture can help achieve net zero emissions goals while also helping to reduce heating in cities.
Overall, the vision of designing an urban agriculture-focused area to achieve a net-zero energy zone is an exciting proposition. However, implementation details, challenges, and potential mitigations will further enrich this discussion. The wider aim of creating a sustainable ecosystem in the city, scaling up innovative assets, attracting investors and creating a model for the rest of the UK makes this a compelling case study for future sustainable urban design.
In conclusion, the blog provides a valuable examination of the path to net zero emissions in urban areas. A deeper look at proposed strategies and potential barriers will provide a more comprehensive roadmap for achieving this critical goal.