The Core of Sustainability

There are many ideas to learn from Cohen’s book but there are a few that struck me to the core. He discusses in length, at the start of chapter 6, the attributes that define a sustainable city and I was surprised as to how much work needs to be done to meet these criteria. The piping system, air we breathe, materials we use, transport systems, our economic means which earn us a livelihood and many other factors go into play when trying to create a sustainable society. Another takeaway which surprised me was the idea that a city’s energy use will be determined by actions that take place beyond its borders. This is highly due to New York’s high import-export rate and how we are known to only focus on the money aspect of life as opposed to the sustainable aspect of society. People generally think that whatever happens literally within the physical boundaries of society is the only thing which defines a city, environmentally speaking, and this holds to be false because beyond our borders also has an influence on society. Another idea which struck me was the fact that so many different societies have initiatives in place to change it for the better and although some might fall through the cracks, the idea that nations and cities as a whole are recognizing the danger of not taking action. Furthermore, I notice how each city is taking upon itself something specific to that city meaning that everyone is focusing on one project in their area, creating a diverse amount of innovative solutions to sustainability. The diversity is seen with waste management in Beijing, energy efficiency in Africa and even public space in D.C. and each city is doing what suits its environment and not forcing initiatives which wouldn’t work for them.  Lastly, I was able to learn from Cohen the foundation and basis of sustainability. For example, I was able to learn what happens to our food waste, where our energy comes from, and many other ideas which people aren’t aware of at its core and they only know of these problems superficially.