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URBAN LIVING

AFRICA’S 1,340 MILLION PEOPLE Africa’s population is growing. Africa’s population is growing fast. More and more people are being born, and more are surviving to grow up into adults. In twenty years, there may be twice as many people in Africa as there are today. In many ways, more people are a cause for celebration. Each human is unique; a person, a personality, and many believe a soul. The problem is that for each new person, the world’s natural resources, the riches on offer from trees, the soil, water, are more divided. Nature’s bounty is very wide, but it is not inexhaustible. As this book has shown, many of the world’s environmental systems can become worn out. We need to ensure that each child has a good life. This may mean each person having fewer children, which means we are able to nurture each child better. One important way to reduce birth rates (number of children born per woman) is education, for women and especially, for men.

Traditionally, Africa’s people are gentle on the natural environment, hunting and farming in sustainable ways. But as populations increase, sustainability is more challenging. Most people want the many positive things that industrialisation brings, including all manner of gadgets and equipment such as cell phones, TVs computers, air conditioners, refrigerators to keep food fresh, cookers to turn on with a switch. We want to enjoy the advantages of modern transport, access to modern medical care, help with childbirth, internet, fertilisers, processed food, and food in durable attractive packages. Yet as development comes, in each of our lives, our communities and our nation’s culture, traditions, natural healing and an understanding of humanity are often damaged.

We all have a responsibility to make wise choices so that progresss comes without harming the things that are good - like clean water, indigenous knowledge and wild places. We must face the future with a mind to the natural environment and the wealth of plants and wildlife we share it with.

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IN 1950, OUR URBAN POPULATION WAS 33 MILLION...

The principles of sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

...IN 2050, IT WILL BE 1,489 MILLION. 175

URBAN POPULATIONS ARE GROWING RAPIDLY

In 1950 the urban population of the world (that’s the number of people living in cities) was 751 million. In 2018 it was a massive 4.2 billion!

The 2020 global population was estimated at 7,794 million, with 55% living in urban areas. By 2050 we expect 68% of the global population to live in urban areas.

Africa is still mostly rural, 43% of its population live in urban areas, but the number is increasing at a very high rate. This is mostly due to people moving from rural to urban areas.

MEGACITIES have more than 10 million inhabitants.

There are two megacities in Africa - Lagos and Cairo. By 2030 there are expected to be six or more.

Most of the fastest growing cities are not actually the biggest ones. Most of the fastest growing cities are those with a population of less than one million. Many of these are in Africa, and because they are growing so fast by 2025 Africa is likely to have more than 100 cities with more than a million residents.

City living may be the future for humankind. Cities provide many, many opportunities, but they can also be dangerous, overcrowded, ugly, with dirty air and dirty water.

Cities can be a drain on the environment, using up agricultural land and natural habitats, releasing pollution. The food and fuel that feeds a city, not to mention the raw materials and processed goods used in any urban area often travel a long way, in diesel trucks, on ships and aeroplanes. Read about why this is a bad thing in the Energy & Climate Change booklet.

We need to make sure our cities are pleasant to live and work in and kinder to the world around.

All over the world, cities are getting greener: urban populations are growing their own healthy food, using energy from sustainable sources, and making safe green spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Can you think of 10 advantages and 10 disadvantages of living in a city?

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Africa’s urban population

%

32,659,000

14%

414,675,000 -

101,199,000

25%

2000

810,984,000 -

285,998,000

35%

2025

1,508,935,000 -

698,149,000

46%

2050

2,489,275,000 - two hundred and seventy five thousand

1,488,920,000

60%

Year

Population of Africa

1950

227,794,000 -

1975

Two hundred and twenty seven million, seven hundred and ninety four thousand

Two billion, four hundred and eighty nine million,

(Data from un.org.wpp)

1,488,920,000 46% of people live in cities

25% of people live in cities 32,659,000 1950

1975

2000

2025

2050

FUN FACTS The world’s largest city is Tokyo in Japan. It has a population of 26 million.

Tokyo is a megacity. What’s the biggest city in your country?

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GOOD CITY Vs BAD CITY

GOOD CITY Waste Disposal Clean Electricity

Electric Vehicles Green Spaces

Piped Water Motorways for Heavy Traffic Public Trams & Trains Pedestrain Walkways & Cycle Paths 178 | Urban Living

BAD CITY

ACTION SHEETS 76: Growing Vegetables in the City, 77: Fuel Briquettes, 78: Permaculture, 79: Sanitation in the City

Watch the films on Recycling Rubbish, Recycling Paper, Recycling Plastic 179

AFRICA’S BEAUTIFUL CITIES

Africa has some stunningly beautiful cities, from historic Marrakesh and Timbucktu, Great Zimbabwe that was built and shone in the 11th century, to the modern skyscrapers and bright lights of Luanda and Lagos.

What do you love about cities in your country?

Eco Cities Eco cities or sustainable cities have a small ecological footprint. They are planned to have a low impact on the natural environment - the economy and business flourishes at the same time as being low carbon, resource efficient, fair and socially just. There are many different ways to do this.

• Rensource energy in Nigeria provided solar generated electricity to the country’s major urban markets. Traders had been using diesel generators with power taking up to half of their income. The solar electricity was reliable, produced locally and reduced the money they spent on energy by a whooping 30%. Good for the environment, good for business!

• Mariannhill landfill site near Durban in South Africa collects and treats liquid from the waste. The treatment process means that the water can be reused for irrigation. It also collects methane gas produced by the landfill, and uses it to generate electricity - $20,000 worth of electricity every month. That’s a definite WIN-WIN - less climate pollution, locally generated electricity.

• Africa’s first waste to energy plant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia incinerates city rubbish (domestic waste) and uses the heat to generate electricity - waste is disposed of and 30% of the city’s energy produced.

• Taka Taka Solutions in Nairobi, Kenya, collects 30 tonnes of city waste every day, sorts it into 45 different categories (glass, metal, paper, plastic, etc.) and then sells 95% for re-use. Good for business: good for the environment.

DID YOU KNOW? • In Singapore technology is already used to make sewage safe to drink.

• The world’s cities have been producing 10 billion tonnes of waste each year!

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• Kigali in Rwanda has won international awards for providing water, sustainable energy and roads to informal settlements, and the way it cleared slums and upgraded services like housing, sanitation and refuse collection.

• Rwanda’s largest new housing project has solar powered streetlights. It has permeable roads that are strong but absorb water runoff, to prevent erosion and floods.

Kigali’s development plan includes preserving its hillsides, forests and wetlands to ensure vital ecosystem services continue.

• By fitting efficient lighting and solar water heaters into low income housing in Cape Town, South Africa, the city reduced respiratory diseases by 75%, saved 6,500 tons of carbon emissions and cut people’s energy bills. Another WIN : WIN scenario for conservation!!

Creating good cities, that are fair, healthy and sustainable depends on governments and city councils doing the right things - just as we have seen in these examples. But there is a huge amount that each one of us can do, in our household, neighbourhood, our schools and places of work.

Ecosystem Services Things provided by ecosystems and species, from providing a home for biodiversity to insects pollinating our crops, wetlands controlling floods, trees preventing erosion, forests regulating climate and keeping air fresh, to purifying water.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT Which ecosystem services do people in your community often take for granted?

How can these services be protected?

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LIFE STORIES

Saving the planet can be very complicated. How do you know whether something you do or buy will damage the environment? One way is to think about the ‘life history’ of anything you buy or use.

Where has this thing come from? How was it made? Did it pollute the environment? What will happen to it when I have finished using it? Will it damage wildlife? Or litter the place where I live? Is it harmful to livestock or to humans?

Bahati is a basket. She was grown and harvested sustainably. The reeds to make her were cut from a beautiful lake. Reeds are replanted to ensure there will be always be reeds to make baskets. The basket is woven by a skillful woman. Then Bahati is bought as a present by an aunty for her niece, Tamsin. All her life the girl uses the basket to do her shopping. As an old woman, she is still using the baskets. Even if the basket breaks, because it is made of natural materials, it is biodegradable. It will disappear in the environment safely, doing no harm. Perfect!

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Pili the plastic bag is different. She was made at a factory using polluting chemicals and fossil fuels which damage the air and water. Very few human skills were used in making it. The money to buy it goes to a big company designed to make a few people wealthy rather than directly to an individual craftsperson. Pili is given to a shopper who uses it once and then throws it in the bin. When he is old, he will be surrounded by more bags than happiness! If the bag escapes his bin, it may end up suffocating a cow or goat who eats it by accident, killing fish, birds or harming a wild animal entangled in its non-biodegradable fibre. It never disappears but remains forever ugly and damaging to the world.

One salvation for the plastic bag may be to be woven into strong and reusable bags and hats such as in the So Afr-Eco Women’s Project in South Africa.

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SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS

Plastic waste is a problem all over the world, but African governments were amongst the first to take action. Thirty one African countries have now banned or put high taxes on single use plastic - Eritrea banned single use plastic bags way back in 2004, Tanzania in 2006, Uganda and Botswana in 2007.

In 2017 Kenyans were still using 100 million thin plastic supermarket bags every year! The government said no, and didn’t just impose a ban but penalties of up to 4 years in prison or a $38,000 fine! In South Africa the penalty for using thin, single use plastic bags can be up to 10 years in prison!!

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If you do use plastic bags, choose the thicker kind that can be used many times. That will REDUCE the number produced. Some shops and traders may appreciate it if you bring the bags back to be RE-USED. Rubbish can also be RE-USED for fun. Lots of the things we throw away can be made into art for school or home projects. You can make dragons from old cardboard, snakes from shiny sweet wrappers, mermaids from plastic bottles! Or they can be RECYCLED. This means they are melted down and the plastic is remoulded into another useful thing. Recycling one plastic bottle can save the energy to power an electric light for six hours. The best way to deal with plastic bags and bottles may be to REDUCE their use.

JUST SAY

NO!

ACTION SHEETS - 72: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, 74: Papier Mache, 75: The Plastic Bag Problem

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GREEN NEIGHBOURHOODS

Plants make our towns and cities better places. Plants absorb noise, wind, dust and the harsh heat of the sun. Shade trees in urban areas can reduce the temperature by up to 8ºC. Did you know that plants are not only a source of energy, they save it - trees in urban areas can reduce energy used for heating by 20–50% and for air conditioning by 30%! Plants are good insulation.

Read more about trees in chapter 4 on Forests and Trees Green neighbourhoods where children play safely and residents can relax improve people’s mental and physical health. They are happier, more comfortable places that make people feel better about themselves and feel better about where they live.

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DIY - ‘Do it Yourself’ We can make green neighbourhoods for ourselves, without needing money or government.

Flowers, herbs, food crops and even trees can be grown in pots, buckets, bags, in front of, up the side and even on top of a building. Plants grow on balconies, over a fence. There are no limits! If you choose plants that are versatile or naturally do well in your area they will need less maintenance: Bouganvillea and lemon grass are good starters in arid, dry and fertile places.

In Rwanda the last day of every month is ‘Umuganda’ or community clean-up day. Everyone, even the president takes to the streets to clean and pick-up litter. It is why Kigali is one of the cleanest cities in the world. The best way of course, is not to throw litter in the first place.

Why not install some litter bins in your neighbourhood?

ACTION SHEETS - 76: Growing Vegetables in the City, 49: Tree Planting

Watch the films on Urban Greening and Permaculture

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BUY! BUY! BUY!

As standards of living rise many people become overwhelmed with items they buy from the shops - gadgets, clothes, bags, accessories, games, music CDs, tools, technology, household items. People ‘over-consume’, always wanting more or something else, until it becomes a burden rather than a pleasure. While it can seem like a wonderful dream to own attractive and useful things, a sad reality of the modern world is that many people are not happy. A modern consumerist lifestyle can create a lot of stress and anxiety.

Mental health issues like depression and related physical health problems are becoming too common. As people have money to spend, other people want to take it from them.

Adverts are a way of persuading people to spend. They can make us feel as though our own lives are inadequate, that we are not beautiful enough, not well dressed or driving a good enough car, that our houses are not clean or big enough. If we feel like this, then we will be persuaded to buy more and more products to make us feel better. Excessive consumerism is not a good thing, for our health, our pockets or our planet.

Chemicals in the Home Smelly sprays for our hair and body, chemicals to kill pests, products for our cars, cosmetics to paint and colour our skin, straighten our hair, detergents and housecleaners: chemicals are in use everywhere. These chemicals do not just disappear!

They can be absorbed through our skin very easily. Each year 5% more people are told by a doctor that they have allergies like eczema, asthma and hayfever. Children in houses using lots of chemicals are more likely to suffer from such illnesses. Cleaning the house furiously is not always as healthy as it may seem!

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URBAN LIVING ACTIVITIES

There is much talk about the major environmental problems facing ‘the whole planet’, yet the planet could be viewed simply as all the ‘local’ places grouped together and called ‘the world’.

Global problems result from local problems. Were each locality, school or individual to find out how they contribute to global problems and then set out to reduce their environmental impact, many of the global problems would diminish.

ACTIVITY 1 Environmental Audit This activity will give you ideas about how to carry out an environmental audit of your school, centre or home, using knowledge learned about the environment.

Follow the instructions on the notepad on pages 191 and 192. There is an example grid for recording your results on page 193.

Discussing the results of this exercise will help you and your students to lessen your negative impact on the environment by thinking globally but acting locally.

An environmental audit is a fantastic first step to becoming a green school or an ecoschool. Why not be ambitious and aim for a Green neighbourhood, or Eco-Village?

DID YOU KNOW? AUDIT - an audit is an objective review of how you do things. It is an evaluation, to find out what's being done well, what isn't being done so well and how to get it right.

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191

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Very Good

Good

Neutral

Bad

Very Bad

Don’t Know

Food Waste

Water Use

Heating Lighting

SOURCE: Environmental Education Activities for Primary Schools, International Centre for Conservation Education, UNESCO-UNEP International Environmental Education Programme

You may consider the following as part of your environmental audit • Travel

• Litter

• School grounds/gardens

• Office Waste

• Sanitation

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