What is an unsustainable city? An unsustainable city: ü Requires continual input of non-renewable resources ü uses renewable sources faster than the rate of renewal ü causes cumulative degradation of the environment ü requires resource in quantities that could never be available FACTS: · The population of Mexico City in 1996 was about 20 million, roughly equivalent to 2/3 of entire Canada’s population. · Air quality in Mexico City is unsatisfactory by international standards 324 days out of a year · Mexico City consumes at …showed first 75 words of 206 total…

…showed last 75 words of 206 total…every day and another 150,000 to 200,000 are added every year. · The per capita income per person in Calcutta is $150.00. Clearly the facts speak for themselves. Governments in the world’s wealthiest nations may support the notion of ‘sustainable’ cities without admitting that it is consumers and enterprises in their cities that need to make the largest reductions in resource use and waste generation. The idea of an environmentally sustainable city is a DREAM, not a REALITY.