Ready to give up access to electricity? Given the rising costs of conventional utilities, it’s a lifestyle more people are willing to try. Embracing an off-the-grid lifestyle is also driven by a desire to reduce carbon footprints while reducing dependence on utility companies.

But like most aspirations, you need practical tools and implementation to make an off-the-grid lifestyle possible. Knowing what your options are to achieve your goal of greener living helps determine which path you need to take. Rechargeable lighting plays a key role in environmentally sustainable lifestyles. And here are some of the options you can take advantage of.

Battery Power

Yep, batteries don’t need to be connected to an outlet to provide reliable power. While some rechargeable batteries “refuel” by storing electricity, others recharge using renewable energy sources. Solar-powered rechargeable batteries are a good example.

Lighting sources that use rechargeable batteries include an LED flashlight, a generator, and an outdoor solar light fixture. Flashlights are some of the more versatile lighting choices, since these devices offer various sizes and brightness. Brightness capability is also known as lumens. If you need strong lighting, choose a device with a higher lumen output.

But if you want something for everyday use, you might go with the lower end of the lumens range. Plus, flashlights come in smaller sizes, with some even fitting on a keychain or lanyard. Choosing a rechargeable device means you’re reducing the waste and cost associated with frequent battery replacements.

Solar Power

With solar panels, you can generate enough electricity to run the lights and then some in your home. The adoption of solar as a renewable energy source is growing, with installations expected to triple by 2034. Furthermore, solar is projected to be the largest source of energy fueling the U.S. grid by 2050.

But you don’t have to use lights connected to the grid to harness the power of the sun. Cabins can run off solar-powered generators. Lights, from outdoor fixtures to portable lanterns, can also use solar as a fuel source.

You can take lanterns with you, whether you’re hiking or sitting outside on your porch. Outdoor solar-powered fixtures can illuminate the exterior of your property, supporting your safety and security. Solar-powered lights usually don’t require much work, either. These devices are long-lasting without the need for a ton of troubleshooting or maintenance.   

Wind-Ups

If you’re not afraid of a little elbow grease, wind-up lights can be a way to embrace a greener lifestyle. These lights are usually portable and run off an internal capacitor or battery. The difference is that these devices have a crank you turn to generate energy.

By winding up the light, your actions create the energy the device needs to emit light. Although wind-up lights reduce dependence on traditional power sources, they won’t necessarily light up a whole room. These devices work best in situations where you need a reading lamp and want to illuminate a smaller space.

Wind-up lights are also sustainable solutions for campsites, RV travel, and other outdoor adventures. They’re typically small enough to pack and take with you on the trails. As long as you’re prepared to be the energy source behind these lights, they can be a viable choice.

Gas Lanterns

Before the grid existed, people used gas lanterns to light the way. Some communities still use traditional gas-powered lanterns, which rely on fuel like kerosene. These lanterns contain a smaller amount of fuel in a base. You switch on the lamp when you need light, burning a bit of the fuel at a time.

Gas lanterns are convenient because they’re also portable. While they do require some maintenance and safety considerations, you can use them at home and off the beaten path. Gas lanterns tend to emit a bright, white flame as long as there’s enough fuel to burn.

Besides kerosene, propane, butane, and natural gas are other fuel options. You can usually find gas lanterns at home improvement stores, sporting goods retailers, and online. Options include the more well-known portable lamps and decorative outdoor fixtures for homes.

Candles

Another traditional source of light that doesn’t require electricity is the candle. You can light them with a match or a lighter if matches aren’t your thing. Like gas lanterns, candles require a few safety considerations.

You may need a base to hold the candle steady. You’ll also want to be mindful of wind, which could cause the flame to spread to nearby objects. It’s also important to extinguish candles before turning in for the night or lying down for a nap.

If kids are in your household, teaching them about fire safety and proper candle use is an additional must. However, there are flameless candle options for those who don’t want to deal with the caveats. These are battery-powered devices that emit a soft glow. You simply turn them on and off as you need to use them.

Living Off the Grid

Supporting a greener lifestyle does mean making conscious choices about what tools and energy sources you use. You still need lighting when natural sunlight isn’t available. Devices that use rechargeable batteries, solar power, human energy, and non-electrical fuel sources can keep your surroundings bright. When you want to live off the grid, know there are sustainable ways within your reach.                 

The post Off-the-Grid and On Point: Rechargeable Lighting That Supports a Greener Lifestyle appeared first on Green Prophet.

In the new Portal 9, the first Arabic-English journal about the city, the founder of Abu Dhabi’s urban planning department talks with editor Todd Reisz about planning crowded Cairo, working with Sheikh Zayed and practicing in mid-century Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Todd Reisz: It seems planning has failed in Cairo. No one even knows how many people live in Cairo because demographics are not reliable. How do we plan, then, when it’s impossible to plan?

Abdulrahman Makhlouf: There is no impossibility.

TR: Can Cairo be planned?

AM: Yes, Cairo can be planned. It happens partly on paper: the principles and basic elements. We first have to know the problems. Then, we can find the solutions in between. But the means of doing it is another matter. For example, one solution was to promote birth control. But is that really a solution? No. Because birth rates go down on their own when people are more educated. People who go to school learn how to think. They think about having a family. They have a plan.

TR: So in the end, modernization leads to a sustainable urbanization?

AM: This word “sustainability.” I say this is the most cheating word. What does it mean? It means “no change” at a time cities need to be able to change. Through change is how we take care of our cities.

I heard this word already in 1976, when I was in the US. I was visiting universities, companies, etc. I discovered they were using this word to avoid saying “planning.” Planning is what we need.

Sustainability is like a dance. The word is a fallacy. Nobody is buying it except for rulers. They are saying “we are making things sustainable.” I say sustainability is only for God. We can go at anytime. Does anyone know when he is going to die? There are two things we do not know: what we will earn tomorrow and where we will die. Plan for whatever you plan. But nobody can know what will happen.

TR: Islam seems to have a significant role in your life. What kind of role do you define for Islam in urban planning?

AM: Islam gives us the rules of living. There are two Hadiths concerning the neighbor that come to mind. The first one, on the authority of Aisha, is when the Prophet says one should treat a neighbor as a family member. The second Hadith, according to Abu Hurairah, tells that in addition to having good feelings about the neighbor, you should not do anything that annoys him or disturbs him in his own house. He who violates this does not have the merciful God in him.

As town planners, we are trying to provide everyone with what he wants within the given means. We are making the plan to make the city a place of living among neighbors.

TR: If one part of your planning education comes from a religious or moral education and another part from the planning ideas you studied in Munich, can you tell me then how you brought the two parts together?

AM: When I was studying in Europe, I never thought that we would simply copy these ideas in Egypt. We belong to a civilization that we cannot ignore. We have to understand Western planning concepts and see what is good in them. But we should also know what we should not take from them.

Read the full interview, “Plans the Earth Swallows: An Interview with Abdulrahman Makhlouf,” on portal9journal.org.

This interview was first published in Portal 9: Stories and Critical Writing about the City by Solidere Management Services s.a.l. All rights reserved.

Image via Ziyah Gafic

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This Green Prophet tours Turkey and sees a mosaic of eco-sensibility.

Little Eid, a Muslim holiday, is a great time for a getaway. So I reeled in my family from disparate zip codes for a week spent touring someplace new.  Years back, plump thighs on my enormous babies tagged the kids as “turkey legs”.  It feels right that we meet up in Istanbul. Turkey seems so sustainable. Look past the blinding kaleidoscope of colors and textures, tiled surfaces, carpets, spices and foods and spot clever detailing that tips off intrinsic enviro-awareness.

Atatürk International Airport has quiet little features that scream sensitivity to energy consumption. Overhead lighting throughout the main terminal is operated only when natural daylight is insufficient.

Ceiling fixtures include artsy parabolic reflectors that amplify artificial lighting, bouncing brightness to the check-in counters and arrivals hall below.

Escalators spring to life when you alight, for an enormous power savings. Likely lots more happening there, and it warrants a closer look: this is just what I caught as we ran for a cab.

Turkey is clean.  Very, very clean.

Unlike Amman, trash bins are everywhere in Istanbul and people use them.  They come in all shapes and sizes.

I saw covered metal bins, bigger versions of your kitchen pail: step on a foot pedal and the door pops open.  The smart design keeps seagulls and cats at bay, and smells stay mostly inside.

But these gizmos have a brilliant maintenance feature:  the bins sit atop enormous underground waste containers, giant metal boxes which are lifted out of the ground for efficient cleanout by special garbage trucks. (Jordan, are you seeing this?).

Massive capacity to accept public waste means minimal garbage on footpaths and streets.

Even small businesses step up to the plate.

The two small city hotels we stayed in were loaded with green features.  Sure, there were placards urging us to reuse towels, limit running water, and recycle newspapers. But these tiny businesses are as amped-up on efficiency as the airport.

Lights in hallways and public areas are on sensors, only flipping on when detecting human motion.  Air conditioners shut off automatically when you leave the rooms, portable fans are available if you want to skip the AC altogether.

Open air roof decks make copious use of shading; beautifully landscaped spaces that tempted me to hang out all day, drinking Turkish coffee, reading the latest Elif Shafak novel, and watching ships on the Bosphorus (or the people on all the other roofs).

The concierges were fans of walking, offering detailed directions and best routes to anywhere we could name.  For longer distances they tossed us maps for Istanbul’s three tramways and many small buses: these gents were all about avoiding taxis and rented cars. Sticking to the sidewalks, we experienced so much more.

From windows in town and country alike, laundry hangs out to air-dry like Buddhist prayer flags.

Until this summer, I’d been five years without a clothes dryer. Line-drying is commonplace where I lived in Ireland (although it could take a week for things to actually dry).

And we air-dry in Jordan, but always indoors, or risk clothes that smell like diesel exhaust and cigarettes.  Istanbul air is salty fresh.

Domestic hot water looks to be predominantly obtained through rooftop thermal heating units. Looking past the satellite dishes on city apartment buildings, I spied lots of solar panels.

In the countryside, almost every roof wore a solar collector with a storage tank mounted right above the panel.

This type of system is especially efficient: hot water rises to the storage tank through natural thermosiphoning.  No mechanical pumping is required.

With so many units installed, in every city we visited, I wondered if there was a national program to kit up each home.

Anyone have more info on this?If so, it’s an initiative worth sharing with Turkey’s neighbors in sunny Jordan, Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
The only “wild” plastic bags I saw had been strategically placed in the landscape.  They’re often used as planters edged along balconies and rooftops.

In rural landscapes, they’re intentionally tied to fruit-bearing vines and trees to keep animals and birds from stealing the fruit.

Other “trash” is also re-purposed.  I saw plastic containers and old paint drums used as planters everywhere.  Martha Stewart has nothing on these upcycling Turks.

So, yeah, maybe someone will pick up their camera to illustrate how unsustainable the country really is:  expose me as being too dazzled by the beauty of this place to see it’s environmental warts.

But positive first impressions are potent.  My family’s developed new “Turkey legs”: we will be back.

The post A Sustainable Postcard from Turkey: You’ll Wish You Were Here appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Lebanese housing market is a bit of a strange phenomenon. A largely unregulated construction market coupled with grandiose projects from ambitious rich gulf state developers and Lebanese expatriates has created a surplus of largely unaffordable houses. The result is that Lebanon is becoming a haphazard dumping site for cement buildings with little regard of the preceding cultural, historic and environmental resources.

Similarly, many believe Beirut has also turned into a mismanaged affair.

Following the Lebanese Civil War in 1994, then-Prime Minister Rafic Hariri aspired to create a new image of Beirut. The idea was to live up to its expectation as being “the Paris of the Middle East” and attract foreign investment. Hariri established a private development company, Solidere: Société libanaise pour le développement et la reconstruction de Beyrouth, with the expressed mandate to alter consumer sentiments of Beirut from an instable, bullet torn city into a hip , profit making national capital and port city.

Solidere decided to assign a new identity to downtown Beirut by,  on the one hand, invoking the historical roots of the Phoenician and Ottoman civilizations while using the urban layout and architecture introduced during the French Mandate years, and on the other hand, bulldozing down historical edifices to make way for large glass offices.

According to Robert Saliba, professor of architecture at the American Unversity of Beirut, this has been a mistake. Solidere seem to have misjudged consumer preferences and in an attempt to revise the ‘architectural language’ of the city center, Beirut now looks and feels like a place where the heritage and history of the old city have been commodified.

In its rebranding expedition, Saliba believes Solidere neglected to consider how residents might experience the new city, where many original buildings were destroyed, suffocated or replaced by kitsch reinterpretations of Phoenician and Ottoman architecture or ultra-modern structures. There are estimates that more buildings were destroyed to make space for the reconstructed center than during the war itself. In 1995, Elias Khoury, a novelist and journalist, wrote that “Beirut attempts to regenerate itself by recycling garbage and destroying its own memories.”

Graffiti in Achrafieh speaks against  Solidere’s construction staregy that is destroying the historical identity of Beirut

While the city center was rebuilt in a ‘historic’ style, and new quarters such as the Saifi Village were erected using a pastiche of traditional architecture, areas largely untouched by the war like Ashrafieh experienced the demolition of many heritage buildings and their replacement with office towers.

The end product is a downtown of mostly sterilized copies of the original with huge aesthetic and symbolic ambitions (yet paradoxically little resemblance of the old city) and suburbs that are expanding without a discernible planning framework.

Legal and illegal building activities and the speculation in building plots, made possible by a weak and corrupt government, favor a process of urban growth that is opaque and impractical.

In her research of Beirut,  Doctor Tamina Elias explores the origins and identity of the city and she finds that “Many Lebanese fear to see the humane dimension of the city disappear to the profit making prefabricated idea imposed by “others” structures that may look impeccable from the plane are unlivable at ground level”

Beirut is losing its identity, and it is not uncommon to see looted, suffocated and forgotten archeological sites or traditional red rooftiled houses amongst the high rising modern ideas. The worst part is that Solideres’ strategy has not attracted the foreign and domestic investment it had hoped for, the streets of downtown Beirut remain lively but its buildings are largely empty.

Having said this, Beirut is still an ambivalent city, in transition from a turbulent past to an uncertain future. How can you expect investment to flow in?

Images via Virual Tourist

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Saudi Arabia has an increasingly educated female population, but its ultraconservative interpretation of Wahabi sharia law and rigid tribal customs forbid women from interacting with men. The upshot is chronic female unemployment. An utterly Saudi solution is underway.  Why shift cultural mores, when, instead, you can raise up a completely new, self-sustaining city that will be fully devoid of men? The pilot project will go live in 2012 in the Eastern Province city of Hofuf. Smaller “ladies-only” communities will then pop up in capital city Riyadh.

Saudi businesswomen cooked up the concept, according to the paper Al Eqtisadiah, and the ruling monarchy endorsed the scheme as a way to lower female unemployment while staying “consistent with the privacy of women according to Islamic guidelines and regulations,” Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) said in a statement. Modon is leading the project development.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/alV4zS2FE20[/youtube]

“I’m sure that women can demonstrate their efficiency in many aspects and clarify the industries that best suit their interests, nature, and ability,” Saleh al-Rasheed, Modon Deputy Director General told the Guardian.

The Hofuf industrial zone will potentially employ 5,000 Saudi women in pharmaceutical, food-processing and textile industries, all of which will be female-managed.  There will be places to eat, to shop, and to pray, but no mention of childcare facilities or recreation centers. The women are expected to live in adjacent neighborhoods. But who will drive them to work?

“Restrictions on women’s lives and productivity are so extreme – Saudi women need a male guardian’s permission to travel, seek employment, or marry – that the country is letting a potentially huge sector of the productive economy sit idle”, wrote Sarah Goodyear in The Atlantic. Women make up over 60% of college graduates in the country and 78% of them are unemployed. Only 15% of the Saudi workforce is female.

Saudi has all-female factories and the largest women-only university in the world, but all-female communities on this scale have never been attempted.

“Hofuf will be exceedingly productive,” predicts writer Zoe Williams in The Guardian. “As an industrial town with no men in it, it will presumably contain none of those mini-impediments to productivity known as ‘children.'” She foresees a future where these Saudi women “will be South Korea to their male counterparts’ North.”

Critics envisage that the project will either economically fail, or succeed fiscally and further segregate women from free public living. Homa Khaleeli of The Guardian offers this provocative suggestion, “Women should flock to them, close the doors, and refuse to leave until the kingdom’s rulers understand just what it is like to live without women.”

Is it a positive step for women? Depends on your point of view.  What did you think of America’s special drinking fountains for “coloreds”? Was apartheid a winning proposition? A segregated city will never be as creative as one where different people can freely exchange ideas, unconstrained.

A year ago, King Abdullah announced that women would be able to vote in the 2015 local elections. In January, laws were enacted allowing Saudi women to be employed in lingerie and cosmetic shops, following a campaign by the women’s rights activist Reem Asaad, and by the end of 2012 women will replace salesmen in stores selling abayas too. Here again is that funny “perspective” phenomenon: the latter action could be viewed as progress in opening employment opportunities, or as a move towards further separation of the sexes.

Ponder the possibilities: educated women, soon to be placed into economic production.  Once these women get a taste of  professional autonomy and experience financial independence, what cracks in the machine will ensue? Or will they be predestined to failure like their Saudi Olympian sisters: pushed into a corporate arena for which they’ve not been trained to compete.

I’m heading to Turkey this week, and in my lazy pre-trip research I see that the Amazons founded the city of Ephesus.  It’s one of my stops, and one of many single-sex towns allegedly built by that all-babe warrior nation that  featured large in Greek mythology.

Maybe, centuries on,  Saudi Ladytowns will be the stuff of legend too.

Image of Arab women from Shutterstock

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A relief to the environment as Israel allots money to upgrade poorly services sewers in Arab towns.

Last Wednesday, Israeli Energy and Water Resources Minister Uzi Landau announced the government is allocating NIS 355 million to improve the sewerage systems in Arab neighborhoods across Israel. In recent years, the neglected and dilapidated sewer infrastructures in several Arab towns have collapsed, polluting nearby streams and nature reserves, including Nahal Kziv and Nahal Beit Hakerem in the Galilee.

The environmental group Zalul appeared last Wednesday before the Knesset Interior (the Israeli parliament) and Environment Committee to propose the creation of a fund to support the repair of sewage problems in poor cities not serviced by major water or sewage corporations, mainly Arab villages. Zalul warned that the NIS 335 million (about $85 million) would be spent in vain without plans and funds to maintain these systems.

The group estimates that because small cities can’t afford to keep up expensive sewage systems, around 20 percent of their wastewater ends up in local streams – a reason why the Jordan River is nearly dead. Solid waste management is also a severe problem in these areas, as these municipalities generally lack the funds for regular trash collection.

Over half of Arab-Israeli families live in poverty according to a 2011 report by Adalah, a legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel. The study also revealed that a disproportionate amount of Arab-Israelis live in over-crowded areas. Compounding the strains caused by crumbling infrastructure.

Israel’s minority communities have been able to retain a high level of independence and self-reliance if they choose. For example, the city of Jisr al Zarka, a 500-year-old village inhabited by Arab-Israelis that traditionally live as fishermen. But, as with Jisr al Zarka, this seclusion often comes at the cost of insufficient infrastructure and scant access to national resources. In order to address this problem without diluting cultural identity, perhaps Israel should turn to the growing number of high-tech Arab-Israeli innovators.

The UN recently commended an Israeli wastewater treatment facility known as Shafdan, for utilizing local resources and leadership. Shafdan is primarily managed by the community rather than national corporations. However, Israel’s national water company still offers Shafdan support to strategize and resolve problems that arise. Arab communities need similar innovations, planned and operated by the community with support from national sources.

::Haaretz

Image of Acre via Shutterstock

Read more about the environment and infrastructure in Arab-Israeli communities:

Arab School Scoops a Coveted Israeli Green Globe Award

Acre Father Aims to Make His Capital Green

Israeli Arabs and Jews Throw Out The Garbage Together

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After being handed over a case filled with 12 brass molds and stumbling upon a jumble of colored tile fragments and exposed patterns in his family’s wrecked cement tile factory, retiree Edgard Chaya was destined towards a new chapter in his life: reviving Blatt Chaya, his family’s disused artisanal cement tile production in Lebanon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvU9LwEpGnU[/youtube]

Blatt Chaya began in 1881 when Edgard’s great grandfather opened a factory in blatt, the outskirts of Beirut’s town center, to produce cement tiles with imported motifs that, at the time, colored the floors of several houses and apartments along the Mediterranean coast especially Italy, Portugal and Morocco.

After 60 years of production, Blatt Chaya went through a period of hibernation marked by declining demands and that lasted through Europe’s second world war and Beirut’s civil wars.

As one can imagine the heritage that defined the architectural transition from the traditional marble lined floors of the reception area in Lebanese homes  to the “neo-traditional” Terrazo (sejedeh) tiled modern apartments of the wealthy families in Beirut has been largely destroyed.

Thankfully, Edgars’ initiative to revive Blatt Chaya along with his son’s, Karim, entrepreneurship have contributed to remember an ancient craftsmanship and reconstruct a forgotten architectural style  – piece by piece – through the production of these tiles.

The patterns often capture floral intricacies and geometric symmetry, while the choice of natural pigments (moghra) create the moods. Together these aggressive patterns and contrasting bold colors form – if I may say so – a canvass of tiles that merge Mediterranean and Middle Eastern tastes and that create an almost sickly feel to look at.

But this sickly feel can be, subjectively, a nice feeling and in fact Blatt Chaya has been on a roll: sales have been increasing 20% annually with architects from Barcelona to Dubai embracing the revival.

The interesting aspect of Blatt Chaya is that each tile is produced using artisanal and ancient practices  which gives a human aspect with its tiny imperfections, and allows for a greater flexibility in the choice of colors and disposition of patterns without forgoing durability (which has surpassed international norms).

After years of production Edgard Chaya dreams of carpeting Maarad street in Downtown Beirut with patterns of rust-hued reds, saffron yellows and deep blues to encourage artisanal work and promote a fragment of Lebanese contemporary heritage.

::Blatt Chaya

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When I told my husband that I want to build an urban beehive on the roof, he thought I’d flown the coop. It’s enough that we have 15 chickens running around the urban homestead. Bees sting, he reminded me. I, like many other “informed” eco-ists know that there is something up with commercially-produced honey. It no longer tastes like honey. Turns out a lot of our honey no longer has anything valuable in it. Enter the new Philips invention: half flower pot, half honey pot.

When in need of some honey, the owner taps the base. To keep the bees docile when doing so, a smoking system is in place. Unless you leave the window open year-round and you don’t mind bees buzzing through your kitchen, I suggest keeping the honey farm out in the garden.

Countering colony collapse disorder? Looks like it is only a concept product at this stage. Philips writes:

“This is a sustainable, environmentally friendly product concept that has direct educational effects. The city benefits from the pollination, and humans benefit from the honey and the therapeutic value of observing these fascinating creatures in action. As global bee colonies are in decline, this design contributes to the preservation of the species and encourages the return of the urban bee.”

::Philips

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Modeling traditional Arabic cities and using old innovation like windcatchers, Masdar has become an expensive showcase for sustainable living in the Middle East. The above video gives a tour of some of the renewable energy initiatives there, like heliostats, and its pod cars. I love the idea of incubating science fiction “green energy” ideas in the real world, but where are the people in this so-called sustainable community? Did the directors tell them to disappear when the cameraman arrived?

The post Masdar’s Sustainability Begins with Design, But Where Are the Humans? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Tehran’s recent Smog Holidays show’s us something is wrong in Middle East cities. “Is compact urban growth good for air quality?” The research conducted by Brian Stone, Adam C. Mednick, Tracey Holloway, and Scott N. Spak in 2007 is one of the researches that give a straight “yes” answer to the above question. Their paper, which was published in the journal of the American Planning Association, vol. 73, no. 4 showed that a 10% increase in population density can be associated with 3.5% reduction in household vehicle travel and emissions.

How does a compact city work?

In a compact city with a dense urban form, the destinations are near and more accessible in comparison with low-density urban forms. People can easily walk or bike to their destinations. Just like the traditional towns of the whole world. But what can be seen in the present cities is that due to the low population and construction density, the destinations are far from the starting points of the urban trips and this makes the trips longer. Therefore there is no other way for the urban dwellers except using personal cars. That occurs especially in the cities that have weak public transit, like in Iran.

The mentioned theory is not limited to the western cities, where the similar researches are usually conducted on. The Middle Eastern cities, which traditionally have a very compact built environment, can have the same influence on the urban travels and environment. A dense urban fabric is the first thing that a newcomer feels in such cities. However during the past decades, many of these cities have started to sprawl and grow fast.

The rate of urban growth of these cities is faster than the rate of the population growth. The result is urban sprawl, which can be seen in many cities of the region, for example the urban areas of central Iran.

High car ownership and automobile use in sprawled cities cause emissions and consequently air pollution. As we know the car emissions are highly associated with urban air pollution. In Tehran about 80% of the air pollution is cause by automobile emissions.

While the answer for solving a part of the air pollution puzzle is easy to see, many countries seek for complicated solutions. Sustainable urban forms are at least one of the best solutions for smoothing air quality in small and medium-sized cities of Middle East. Compact urban form and dense neighborhoods with sufficient public transit is the answer for a part of the problem.

Photo by Nima Fatemi

More articles on sustainable urbanism and transportation:

Why 60 Percent of Iranians Are Overweight

Traffic Accident Deaths In Iran Could Push Greener Transport

The Difficulties of Developing Cycling Routes in Iranian Cities

The post The Compact City As Sustainable Urban Form Can Reduce Air Pollution appeared first on Green Prophet.