Just 200 years ago, a few percent of the world's population had moved into cities. Today, around 50% of the 7 plus billion people on this planet have done so, and this number will almost certainly increase to around 80% by 2050. The underlying causes of this mass urbanization are less important today than deciding how we, as a species, will deal with the enormous environmental strain moving forward.

The building sector is responsible for an eye-popping 40% of global energy use, and over 30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, numbers which should rightfully cause concern. Exploding urbanization has made it abundantly clear that systematic changes must be put in place, in order to decouple the negative environmental impacts from continuing growth in the building sector.

The growth of cities is not going to slow down soon, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Over the past several decades, increasing urbanization in countries such as China and elsewhere in East Asia and Latin America has played a major role in diminishing extreme poverty worldwide.

This decreasing poverty has come, of course, at a staggering cost to the environment in these countries, due to the usual effects of massive industrialization. These nations are quick to point out, however, that developed countries would do well not to point the moralizing finger, having had their own industrial revolution a few hundred years ago, with similarly deleterious effects.

A point that is true, of course. And yet today, thanks to new and emerging technologies and increased awareness among policy makers, there exist several measures which have highlighted very real opportunities in both the developed and developing world to usher in an era of responsible urbanization.

In the developed world, the sustainable building agenda has already gained significant momentum, with several zero-energy, climate friendly building initiatives already being launched.

Support for sustainable building

In Europe, for example, CECODHAS Housing Europe has kicked off the POWER HOUSE nearly-Zero Energy Challenge. This aims to provide a structure for a pan-EU knowledge exchange between social housing practitioners to learn from each other about the practical implications and costs of ambitious energy performance codes and to inform policy makers of the outcomes of this exchange.

URBACT, a European exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development, comprises 500 cities and works on capacity building, technology transfer and awareness raising to enable cities to grow while incorporating economic, social and environmental dimensions. One of their flagship projects, the Cities Action for Sustainable Housing (CASH), worked to increase energy efficiency in social housing units, which typically have very low environmental standards.

This retrofitting of buildings – going back after the fact to improve efficiency – is no doubt necessary, but implies huge investments of time and money. The developing world can make up ground by building the original infrastructure in an environmentally responsible, energy efficient manner.

In the coming decades, political will and increasing regulatory frameworks in the developing world will be crucial to ensure that corners are not cut, and that the most efficient materials, practices and technologies are used to their fullest potential.

The Sustainable Social Housing Initiative (SUSHI)

The Sustainable Social Housing Initiative (SUSHI), which was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2009, set out to promote the use of resource and energy efficient building solutions in social housing programs in developing countries.

The initiative was carried out in two phases of case studies, first in Brazil and Thailand, and then in India and Bangladesh. The objective was not simply to boost environmental performance, but to build momentum for a larger shift towards sustainability in the residential housing sectors of these countries, in order to apply lessons learned to other urban centers across the developing world.

Knowledge sharing will be crucial moving forward, with international platforms such as the Global SCP Clearinghouse, hosted by UNEP, allowing for porous exchanges of information across both sectors and national borders.

As we head further into the 21^st century, the rapid urbanization being experienced, particularly in the developing world, can easily be construed as a threat, impossibly overwhelming in its breadth.

And yet the initiatives mentioned here show that political willingness can translate into concrete action in the developed and developing urban landscapes.

We would do well to remember that sometimes, within the seemingly insoluble problems of the day, lurk the greatest opportunities if we are willing to stand up to the challenge.

Photo Credit: Growing Urbanization/shutterstock