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"Researchers at Yale, Texas A&M and Boston University predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by more than 463,000 square miles, or 1.2 million square kilometers. That is equal to 20,000 American football fields becoming urban every day for the first three decades of this century. The growth in urban areas will coincide with the construction of roads and buildings, water and sanitation facilities, and energy and transport systems that will transform land cover and cities globally. Recent estimates suggest that between $25 trillion and $30 trillion will be spent on infrastructure worldwide by 2030, with $100 billion a year in China alone."

Climate scientists have told city planners that based on current trends, Chicago will feel more like Baton Rouge than a Northern metropolis before the end of this century. So, Chicago is getting ready for a wetter, steamier future. Public alleyways are being repaved with materials that are permeable to water. The white oak, the state tree of Illinois, has been banned from city planting lists, and swamp oaks and sweet gum trees from the South have been given new priority. Thermal radar is being used to map the city's hottest spots, which are then targets for pavement removal and the addition of vegetation to roofs. And air-conditioners are being considered for all 750 public schools, which until now have been heated but rarely cooled.

There is a vitally important national and state-level discussion taking place about how to address the government's frighteningly large deficits while limiting disruptions for all Americans. But while federal and state actions affect us all, much of what concerns Americans most directly and personally happens closer to home and increasingly, this means in our cities. Budget cuts simply can't derail efforts to make our cities smarter. Today our nation's cities are facing a "perfect storm." For many cities, their populations are growing at the same time that their budgets are shrinking. Today, for the first time, more than 50% of the world's population lives in cities. In the last decade large metropolitan areas in the U.S. grew by a combined 10% - nearly double the rate of the rest of the country. Our large metro areas now house two thirds of America's total population. They have become the dominant forces in our economy and society.

Back in 2009 Mayor Bloomberg prohibited vehicle traffic on Broadway between 42nd Street and 47th Street in Times Square to create a pedestrian plaza (video here). Now, the city's most recent Community Air Survey found that, "After the conversion to a pedestrian plaza, NO pollution levels in Times Square went down by 63 percent while, NO2 levels went down by 41 percent." Unlike N2O, which makes you laugh at Phish shows, NO2, or nitrogen dioxide, destroys your lungs and may cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Nitric oxide (NO) isn't good for you either.

At PdF Europe 2010