What is a sustainable city?

A sustainable city is defined as, “investment in public transport, creating green spaces, and urban planning and management.

Sustainable cities can also fall under the idea of Urban Sustainability, which is defined as, “organized without excessive reliance on the surrounding countryside and be able to power itself with renewable sources of energy. The aim of this is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land, compost used materials, recycle it or convert waste-to-energy, and to make the city’s overall contribution to climate change minimal.”

With these ideas in mind, your challenge is to make a model of a sustainable city. There are many factors to consider when you plan a city, such as:

Transportation-How will people get around?

Buses

Having a fleet of buses in your city will help reduce not only the amount of traffic on your roads, but also the environmental impact. In fact, a single person that rides the bus 20 miles instead of driving their car can reduce their annual CO2 emission by up to 20 pounds per day. Fully electric buses can travel up to 175 miles on a single charge.

Street Cars

Just like downtown KC has a streetcar system, your city could have one too! In fact, over 8 million people have ridden the streetcar since its inception, which leads to a big drop in CO2 emissions. The KC streetcar uses overhead electrical wires to power it. This means it never has to charge and can continually run if there is power.

Subways

In bigger cities, a subway can be a great way wo help move people around since they are underground and don’t interfere with other systems. The London Underground moves up to 5 million people a day. Most subways around the world rely on electricity to operate.

Energy Needs-Where will your electricity come from?

Solar Power

Solar power uses photovoltaic cells to take in energy from the sun and produces electric current. Although solar power is very clean, it obviously can’t be used at night or on cloudy days. To offset this most solar systems have batteries that can store extra charge to be used later.

Wind Power

The blades of a wind turbine catch blowing wind to spin the rotor their attached to. This spinning rotor is also connected to a generator that creates electricity. Wind can run into some of the same problems that solar has, in that it might always not work. This means a battery system might be necessary even with both solar and wind power in your city.

Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric power works almost the same way as wind power. The difference is that hydroelectric uses flowing water to spin the turbine instead of blowing wind. Hydroelectric can be very useful if there is a big river next to your city because the water will continue to flow regardless of the sun or wind.

Food Production-Where will people get food?

Urban Farming

Urban farming is growing or production food in a city or heavily populated town. Urban farms can be set up by a neighborhood, a business or organization, or even the town itself. Although an urban farm might now support the entire city, it can help the people that specifically set it up or are responsible for it.

Greenhouses

A greenhouse serves as a shield between nature and what you are growing inside of it. It helps protect crops during inclement weather. Greenhouses can be used as a part of urban farming, or an individual could have their own greenhouse specifically for their needs. Some greenhouses even include heating elements that allow for growing throughout the winter.

Public Services-Where will departments be?

Make sure to think about your hospital, fire department and police departments when planning your city. You don’t want to only have 1 fire station on the edge of town.

Green Space-Where will people have fun?

Be sure to include green spaces, such as parks or even a nature reserve in your plans. Part of building a sustainable city is including green spaces to help combat CO2.

DESIGN CHALLENGE

With all these things in mind, your challenge is to design and build your version of a sustainable city in Minecraft. For example, minecarts could easily be made into an above ground streetcar system, or an underground subway. A daylight detector can be a stand-in for solar power, and you can easily put a farm in a neighborhood to represent urban farming. Let your imagine run wild though! Even though Minecraft doesn’t support wind power you can still build a few turbines on top of a hill in your town. You could also try to build a hydroelectric dam if you’re near a river.

Supplies

Internet Connection

Step 1: Design a Sustainable City to Meet All the Needs of Its' Citizens

With all the necessities of sustainable city in mind, your challenge is to design and build your version of a sustainable city in Minecraft. For example, minecarts could easily be made into an above ground streetcar system, or an underground subway. A daylight detector can be a stand-in for solar power, and you can easily put a farm in a neighborhood to represent urban farming. Let your imagine run wild though! Even though Minecraft doesn’t support wind power you can still build a few turbines on top of a hill in your town. You could also try to build a hydroelectric dam if you’re near a river.