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Smart Cities are Green Cities

22 mai 2015, 08:46

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lexpress.mu | Toute l'actualité de l'île Maurice en temps réel.

Artistic view of what Omnicane’s new airport city in Mon-Trésor-Mon-Désert would look in future.

 

A look at some green initiatives in the USA, Canada, Australia and Brazil would be of interest to conceivers of Mauritius’ Smart Cities, says the author.

 

Several cities around the world are thinking green, taking green initiatives and implementing green projects. It would be a good idea for the conceivers of our “Smart Cities” to take a look at what is happening elsewhere and encourage, if possible through legislation, our future cities really go green.

 

Let us have a quick random look at some green initiatives in selected cities around the world. The city of Portland in the State of Oregon, USA has been able to contain urban sprawl and in the process protected 25 million acres of forests and wetlands.

 

Talking about wetlands, the picture in Mauritius is very gloomy indeed. During the ‘70s and ‘80s, the government reviewed its policy and encouraged the expansion of the tourism sector. In this perspective, several hotels were allowed to be built in the region of Flic-en-Flac. While Flic-en-Flac was becoming a popular tourist resort, wealthy Mauritians who settled abroad and local middle class residents bought land in the area to build bungalows as their second home and which now occasionally serve as tourist residence during their holidays. The area around Flic-en-Flac witnessed an uncontrolled inland exodus and all kinds of residential and commercial buildings mush-roomed encroaching on and in the vicinity of wetlands.

 

A wetland is an area of great ecological significance and has to be preserved by all means. We all know about that. Well ! Do we? It has been noted that throughout the years, the wetlands at Flic-en-Flac have been decreasing in terms of area. Aerial pictures of Flic-en-Flac from 1960’s onwards clearly show that the area classified as prime wetlands has dwindled considerably. The built up area inside and around wetlands increased from around 30 450m² to 125 0000m2 nowadays.

 

The negative impact of constructing on and around wetlands becomes obvious during periods of heavy rainfall. Over and above, more high toxicity value leachates are constantly oozing into the Flic-en-Flac lagoonnow-adays than say 40-50 years ago.

 

Coming back to the city of Portland, authorities there are encouraging and helping a fourth of its workforce to commute by public transport, in car pools or by using bicycles through well designed bicycle paths, green trails and lanes. It is reported that 8 % of the population consider their bike as their primary mode of transportation.

 

Vancouver, with its green parks within walking distance for any of its citizen, is reputed to have the lowest per capita carbon footprint in any north American city and the city has embarked to become the greenest city in the world by 2020 by planting an additional 150 000 trees. Its energy infrastructure (more than 90% of the city’s power comes from renewable sources) comes from carbon neutral wind energy and 80% of all waste is recycled.

 

Another example of green thinking is provided by the city of Sydney, where the construction of a new green neighbourhood called Central Park is underway and where roof tops are designed to turn rain into drinking water and walls, like in Singapore, turned into vertical gardens and where roof gardens are increasing.

 

As it readies for the 2016 summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is boosting mass transit and added bike lanes and planting 11 000 trees along green corridors. The scenery is far from our roads where zig zagging motorcycles are becoming a dangerous hazard for everyone.

 

The above are a few ideas for Mauritius to adopt as we move towards being a sustainable island and an intelligent island.

 

 

(prem.saddul@orange.mu)

Boston. USA