Climate and cities
Cities play a central role in the climate crisis. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, cities contribute 67-72% of global carbon emissions. The IPCC also highlights that ‘How new cities and towns are designed, constructed, managed, and powered will lock-in behavior, lifestyles, and future GHG emissions’. Given that cities represent such a large portion of carbon emissions and are continuing to expand, there is an opportunity to address climate change by making interventions that foster a more sustainable urban life.
MIT City Science group approach
At the MIT City Science group, we believe that, for future cities to thrive, they should be composed of a network of dense and diverse human-scale high-performing districts. These districts would give citizens access to everything necessary for daily life within a walkable distance.
This model of the city has several socio-economic benefits, but it also has the potential to help to alleviate the environmental burden of urban life. As environmental, social, and economic factors are closely intertwined, these ideas do not only contribute to lowering CO2 emissions but also to improving the social and economic performance of cities.