Keywords
energy
peak oil
climate crisis
sustainability
transportation
How to Cite
Abstract
This essay relates three issues that have not been sufficiently associated in the public discussion in Puerto Rico: Energy, the climate crisis and urbanism. Current urbanism, characterized by suburbanization and consequent sprawl, is one of the major causes of energy consumption and a chief contributor to the climate crisis in the United States and Puerto Rico since this type of urbanism entails a high dependency on the private car as a mode of transportation, a lack of effective alternative transportation modes, and cities and towns that are not very walkable. Suburbanization and sprawl are great energy consumers. It was found that Puerto Rico per capita production of CO2 from driving cars is 5.4 to 6.1 times higher than European countries like France or Spain because of its sprawling and suburban type of urbanism. These data lead us to propose that in the current historical moment of climate emergency, the type of urbanism that Puerto Rico currently practices is environmentally irresponsible. In addition, it is argued that the arrival of peak oil will cause a serious crisis especially in countries characterized by urban sprawl, as is the case in Puerto Rico, unless we take urgent action. All this points to the need to include urbanism as a central issue in the current discussions in Puerto Rico on energy and the climate crisis, in which public transit and walkable communities may be regarded as priorities. It is also proposed that the necessary changes to generate a socially, environmentally and energetically responsible urbanism are not possible under current concepts of sustainable urbanism, smart growth or new urbanism, but require a move to a condition of urbanistic democracy through a critical sustainable urbanism, which recognizes that urbanism is a political and ideological matter associated with issues of power and economic interests,
and not just a technical issue of limited to design, planning or science. What is required is a change in the current urbanistic paradigm that questions and challenges the status quo, instead of limiting ourselves to modest adjustments in design, planning, legislation or public policy.
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