KG/CO2/m2/year

When are tenants going to sue property-owners for not building sustainable buildings? When are citizens going to sue the government for negligence concerning creating sustainable transport?

Reinhard Joecks, partner at Foster and Partners, wonders when people are going to demand sustainabiltity in producing, designing and building. The only way an individual is able to reduce his carbon footprint is by living and working in a city that is sustainable in its complete structure. Joecks states (no sources given) that transport (30%) en buildings (40%) are responsible for most of the CO2 output produced in a city. Reducing CO2 output is best undertaken by looking at the big picture, a larger scale and an individual building or household. A sustainable building does not by definition save energy. When the users of the building do not know how to use the systems, the sustainability of the building is marginal. Users define the sustainability of a building, and good usage does not come naturally. It has to be taught.

Like Roberts (John Roberts – Arup) Joecks made clear that there is a lot to be learned form old urban and building designs for sustainable. High density cities and small city streets seem to be a factor in saving energy. A good natural ventilationsystem already exists in houses in the Middle East. Although building high in the Middle East demands different interventions form building high rise in Rotterdam, there is a lot to be learned from the experiences in the Middle East concerning sustainability. Especially seen from the perspective of the changing climate.

After this third and last lecture in this program re-inventing Rotterdam, what are the lessons learned for the city of Rotterdam?

A few hints:

-          Good governance makes and breaks interventions for sustainability

-          Sustainability is a way of living, not just building

-          There is money to be made through sustainability

-          Sustainability has effect when implemented systematically and on a large scale

-          Legislation plays a key role in creating sustainability

-          Saving energy is just one element for creating sustainability

-          Creating sustainability demands different ways of charging for energy usage

-          Sustainability does not equals high rise

-          Sustainability needs more living practices and combining and sharing research