Pros and Cons

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Cities hold the key to sustainable living for the world's rising population
For	Against
many cities already have eco-projects it's possible for cities to partly feed themselves the size of a city creates economies of scale for energy generation, recycling, and public transport	cities are concentrated areas of resource consumption, and so cannot be self-sustaining the growth of cities has created huge environmental and social problems

cities are concentrated areas of resource consumption, and so cannot be self-sustaining
For	Against
cities consume water from the surrounding water catchment, not just from within themselves	a city has to be seen as part of its environment, and that whole environment can be sustainable

the growth of cities has created huge environmental and social problems
For	Against
reduce the use of cars to a minimum reduce, re-use, recycle and re-think as much as possible many cities are made up of socially deprived neighbourhoods cities expel clouds of greenhouse gases, tonnes of solid waste, and rivers of toxic effluent

reduce the use of cars to a minimum
For	Against
increase the use of public transport	planners have designed cities around cars rather than people

planners have designed cities around cars rather than people
For	Against
they idealised mobility and freedom e.g. cities in the U.S. were based on Frank Lloyd Wright's vision of suburban homesteads connected by highways

many cities are made up of socially deprived neighbourhoods
For	Against
cities with multiple centres allow people to live close to their work in high-rise blocks that are also near public transport hubs they are organized into residential, commercial, and industrial zones

cities with multiple centres allow people to live close to their work in high-rise blocks that are also near public transport hubs
For	Against
the density of high-rises can create an heat-island effect

the density of high-rises can create an heat-island effect
For	Against
green roofs, supporting plants, can help control temperatures planting trees along the streets can help reduce air temperatures buildings can be designed to reduce direct sunlight through windows, increase ventilation, and cut energy absorption by painting external walls white	dense cities heat the air around them

cities expel clouds of greenhouse gases, tonnes of solid waste, and rivers of toxic effluent
For	Against
the high volume of pollutants over-loads the systems that dispose of them

many cities already have eco-projects
For	Against
e.g. the eco-city of Dongtan, near Shanghai, is the first ever built from scratch e.g. wind turbines and solar cells generate up to 85% of the electricity used in the building that housed the Melbourne city council e.g. garbage trucks in San Diego run on methane extracted from the landfills they deliver to e.g. Germany's new parliament building in Berlin uses carbon-neutral vegetable oil to cut its CO2 emissions by 94%

it's possible for cities to partly feed themselves
For	Against
cities can have vertical farms

cities can have vertical farms
For	Against
	vertical farms are only in the design stage, no real ones have been built, so there is no evidence that they are practical