- The first city I will introduce is the city of Pittsburgh,PA. Pittsburgh is located on the western end of Pennsylvania. There are approximately 305,850 people living in Pittsburgh. Though overall Pittsburgh is a pretty car friendly area,it is composed of a combination of different types of neighborhoods. The urban downtown area is designed for individuals to commute via public transit. There are shops, restaurants and places of work. However, not many people live downtown. Areas located right outside of downtown such as the South Side area or Oakland would be considered pedestrian oriented neighborhoods. These areas have many shops and restaurants. In addition, it has a high urban density. Many people in this area live in apartments or row houses. Pittsburgh also has many automobile suburbs .This is where I live. A car is required to travel most places.I feel very connected to Pittsburgh. It has greatly influenced my preference to drive most places as opposed to taking public transportation.
- The second city I will introduce is New York city. I chose New york city because it is very different from Pittsburgh. The population of New York city is about 8 million people. New York’s large population creates many opportunities for sustainability that I believe Pittsburgh could emulate. The population in New York is very dense. Many people live in very tall apartment buildings or tightly packed row houses. This provides the opportunity to have a lower environmental impact. The large population also increases the use of public transportation or walking which has a great impact on the environment. New York has many public transportation options including buses and trains that operate frequently and conveniently . Pittsburgh has an alright bus system however, the train system could be greatly improved. The train only operates on one side of the city which is not helpful to many people. This forces people to drive cars.
- The next city I will introduce is Venice , Italy. Venice has a population of around 260,000 people. This population is small,unlike that of New York, and resembles the size of the population in Pittsburgh. Unlike Pittsburgh, Venice is considered to be a car free city. I would consider Pittsburgh to be very car friendly. Much of the transportation in Venice is done by boat because of the large amount of water in the area. Though not as much as Venice, Pittsburgh is a city surrounded by water which is not used for public transportation. I think Pittsburgh could emulate some of the boating practices used in Venice to become more sustainable. If boats became a popular mode of transportation Pittsburgh could greatly improve its environmental impact
2 thoughts on “Sustainable Cities”
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Hi, Aaliyah! Here’s a link to my blog https://wp.me/p3RCAy-c6c.
I’m also from Pittsburgh! I happen to live in South Side, so I know all about the difficulty it is to get through the city sometimes. A lot of my friends live on the south side too, so we usually just walk to meet up with each other. I agree that a lot of areas in Pittsburgh are considered to be pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. Everything you need is extremely close!!!!
Hi, My name is Sarah, and here is a link to my blog post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/16/module-7-urban-planning-3/
I really liked the ides you took from both New York City and Venice to implement in Pittsburgh. Where I live there is not much public transportation available, except for taking the bus to school. If my city could implement better public transit, such as a bus or train system, I feel like my city could have a lower environmental impact, just like yours. I also like the idea of using boats instead of cars. This is not possible where I live, but if it could be used where you live, I definitely see the environmental benefits of it. I would love to see more cities using boats instead of cars like Venice. Great post!