Lesson video

Hello, I'm Mrs. Grey, and I'm so excited that you decided to join me to learn geography today.

Today's lesson is in our unit of cities: what are they like to live in? And the title of today's lesson is sustainable cities.

By the end of the lesson today, you will be able to explain how cities can be made more sustainable.

There are some keywords that we'll come across in today's lesson.

They are sustainability, carbon footprint, and green space.

Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Carbon footprint is a measure of the total amount of greenhouse gases that are released as a result of our actions.

And green space are parks, trees, and nature in cities.

Our lesson today on sustainable cities is split into two learning cycles.

The first, what makes a city sustainable? And the second, how do sustainable cities support people's lives? So let's take a look at our first learning cycle.

What makes a city sustainable? A sustainable city meets the needs of people today without damaging the environment or making life worse for future generations.

And here are some features of a sustainable city.

So what features would a sustainable city have that makes it sustainable? So the first is renewable energy.

If a city gets some of its energy from renewable sources, such as wind or solar.

Sustainable transport, so having transport networks that are set up that work really well for people and that will continue to work well in the future, and that don't damage the environment.

Waste reduction, so if a city has got strategies in place to look at different types of waste and how we can reduce that.

And improved wellbeing, so finding ways to improve the wellbeing of people that live there.

Our first check for today then, which of these is not a feature of a sustainable city? A, renewable energy.

B, recycling.

C, heavy car use.

D, green spaces.

So pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which of these is not a feature of a sustainable city? The answer is C, heavy car use.

Did you get that? Well done.

Right, so now we're back to our features of a sustainable city.

And what we're gonna do now is look at each of those features in a little bit more detail, starting with renewable energy.

Now cities can reduce their carbon footprint by using renewable energy.

There are lots of different types of renewable energy, such as solar power, which you can see on the image there, that's where we get our energy from the sun.

Wind power, so harnessing the energy of the wind and getting energy from that.

Hydropower, and that's getting energy through water.

Geothermal power, and that's getting energy through the natural heat of the earth.

Now, Reykjavic in Iceland runs almost entirely on geothermal and hydroelectric power.

So almost entirely run on renewable energy.

This is an image of Reykjavic.

And most homes and businesses in Reykjavic are heated and powered using low carbon natural energy from the earth.

So very, very sustainable power in Reykjavic, which is excellent.

Which of these is an example of renewable energy that helps reduce a city's carbon footprint? So a little check for us.

Is it: A, coal power.

B, geothermal energy.

C, diesel fuel.

D, natural gas.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which of these is an example of renewable energy that helps reduce a city's carbon footprint? The answer is B, geothermal energy.

Did you get that right? Well done.

Right, so now let's take a look at sustainable transport and how that is a feature of a sustainable city.

So sustainable transport helps reduce pollution and make cities easier to move around.

Sustainable transport include creating more footpaths and cycle lanes and improving public transport.

This leads to less traffic and clean air.

So if we have more footpaths, more cycle lanes, that's gonna encourage people to walk more places and to use a bike to get to more places which doesn't have any negative environmental impacts.

So that's not going to be damaging the air.

So that's gonna mean that the city's got cleaner air.

Also, there's gonna be less traffic in the city if people are walking, or using cycle lanes.

And if we improve public transport, a lot public transport is gonna be traffic.

If more people use public transport, then we've got less people using cars.

So overall, less vehicles on the road.

Izzy asks, "I've heard that lots of people use bikes in Amsterdam, is that true?" Yes, it is true.

Amsterdam in the Netherlands has more bikes than people, and excellent public transport including electric tram.

Another check for us now then.

Which of these helps make transport in a city more sustainable? A, more cars on the road.

B, more cycling and walking paths.

C, more petrol stations.

D, longer traffic jams. What do you think? So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which of these helps make transport in a city more sustainable? And the answer is B, more cycle and walking paths.

Did you get that right? Well done.

So now we're gonna move on to looking at waste reduction.

How does that make a city more sustainable? So cities create waste, but sustainable cities they deal with that better.

So they might reduce the amount of waste, so they use less, reuse, so use things again, and recycle, turn old into new.

So using that then, those three things, reduce, reuse, recycle, that's gonna help limit the amount of waste.

San Francisco in the USA has a goal of zero waste and recycles over 80% of its rubbish.

So really, really sustainable use of waste there and making sure that they've got less waste.

Let's look at our final one now then improved wellbeing.

So how is that a feature of sustainable city? Now a sustainable city helps people as well as the planet.

Curitiba in Brazil created a world famous bus system and lots of green space for all citizens.

They promote clean air and water, safe and inclusive spaces, and easy access to education and healthcare.

This is a way that improved wellbeing makes a city more sustainable.

With a check for us now then.

True or false, sustainability is only about protecting the environment.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? True or false, sustainability is only about protecting the environment.

That's false.

But why? Sustainability also includes people's lives and meeting their needs fairly.

It's not just about the environment, it's also about people.

Did you get that right? Well done.

So we're on to our first task of the lesson now then.

And that's filling the table below.

So we've got our four features of a sustainable city that we've looked at.

We've got renewable energy, sustainable transport, waste reduction, and improved wellbeing.

And then for each of those we've got a column to do a description, so what that is, and then a column for a real city example.

Now some of them have been filled in, but some of them have still got gaps.

So you need to have a look at where the gaps are and add in either the description or the real city example.

So renewable energy, we're missing a description there.

So the real city example is there, but we're missing the description.

So you need to add in a description.

For sustainable transport, we've got the description, but we're missing the real city example.

So you need to add in the real city example that we've used in the lesson today.

Now with reduction is completely empty, so you need to add the description and the real city example.

And improved wellbeing, that's got its example, but you need to add in the description.

So pause the video, have a good look at the table of what's there and what you need to add, add in what's missing, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Let's have a look.

So the description for renewable energy was there are lots of types of renewable energy, solar power, wind power, hydropower, and geothermal power.

And the real city example was already there.

Now for sustainable transport, we had the description, but we were missing the example.

And the example was Amsterdam in the Netherlands has more bikes than people and excellent public transport.

Now for waste reduction, both of them were missing.

So for the description we wanted you to write, reduce, reuse, recycle.

So reduce means use less, reuse, use things again, and recycle, turn old into new.

And the real city example was Francisco in the USA has a goal of zero waste and recycles over 80% of its rubbish.

For improved wellbeing, we were just missing the description.

And that was clean air and water, safe and inclusive spaces, and access to education and healthcare.

How did you get on with that task? Did you manage to fill in all of the gaps? Well done.

So we finished our first learning cycle now on what makes a city sustainable.

And now we're gonna move on to look at our second learning cycle, how do sustainable cities support people's lives? Our city is not truly sustainable unless it helps people live happy, healthy lives.

This is known as social sustainability.

Let's have a look at some of the features of social sustainability.

Green spaces, community and social wellbeing, and future preparation.

Let's look at each of those three features of social sustainability in a little bit more detail now.

First, let's take a look at green spaces.

Now, green spaces are areas of nature in a city.

Green spaces may be parks and gardens, trees along streets or in squares, allotments, urban farms, and any other green areas of nature which increase biodiversity.

Now, Aisha asks, "Why are green space is good?" That's a really, really good question.

Green spaces are good for lots and lots of different reasons.

It can help improve mental and physical health, reducing air pollution and heat, and providing places for people to meet and relax.

It provides shade to reduce temperatures.

So they have lots and lots and lots of positive green spaces, improving people's mental and physical health, reducing air pollution and heat, and giving people a space to go and meet and to relax.

So green spaces is a really, really important feature of social sustainability.

Now, Singapore is a city with lots of green space.

Singapore is full of rooftop gardens, parks, and vertical forests on buildings.

Gardens by the Bay is an urban park in Singapore, bringing lots of green space into the city.

And that image that you can see there that is in the city, that is Gardens by the Bay.

Look at all of that green space.

With a check for us now then.

Which is not a benefit of green spaces? A, cleaner air.

B, more traffic.

C, better health.

D, community spaces.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which is not a benefit of green spaces? And the answer is B, more traffic.

Did you get that right? Well done.

All right, let's take a look at the next feature then, community and social wellbeing.

So sustainable cities create strong communities where people feel they belong.

Sustainable cities support local businesses, healthcare and education, and have safe spaces for all ages and cultures.

Bogota in Columbia transformed its poorest areas with libraries, schools, and safe public spaces.

And you can see some images there of how those spaces have been transformed.

Another check for us now then.

Which of these is an example of how a sustainable city supports community wellbeing? A, building more motorways.

B, supporting local businesses and schools.

C, cutting public services.

D, increasing car parking spaces.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you go on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which of these is an example of how a sustainable city supports community wellbeing? And the answer is B, supporting local businesses and schools.

Did you get that right? Well done.

So we're gonna look at our final feature of sustainability, which is future preparation.

So sustainable cities are also resilient and they plan ahead for future problems. Sustainable cities work as smart, strong systems that protect people and nature from issues such as climate change, flooding or heat waves, so they're resilient in protecting against future problems. With a check for us now then.

Why does sustainable cities plan for the future? Is it: A, to build more shopping centres.

B, to reduce the number of green spaces.

C, to protect people from climate risks like flooding.

D, to make buildings taller.

So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Why do sustainable cities plan for the future? The answer is C, to protect people from climate risks like flooding.

Did you get that? Well done.

Okay, so our final task of the lesson now then.

There are five mistakes in the paragraph below.

Find and correct them.

Sustainable cities don't just protect the environment, they also care for animals.

They improve quality of life by creating blue spaces that support health and to bring communities together.

These cities provide access to education, healthcare, and unsafe public spaces so everyone feels included.

They also prepare for past challenges like climate change and flooding to keep people safe.

A truly sustainable city is one where both nature and the planet can thrive.

So have a read through that paragraph.

Find the five mistakes and correct them.

Pause the video while you do that and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, let's have a look at how you got on.

So this is what the paragraph should say.

Sustainable cities don't just protect the environment, they all full care for people.

They improve quality of life by creating green spaces that support health and bring communities together.

These cities provide access to education, healthcare, and safe public spaces so everyone feels included.

They also prepare for future challenges like climate change and flooding to keep people safe.

A truly sustainable city is one where both people and the planet can thrive.

How did you get on? Did you find all the mistakes? Were you able to correct them? Well done.

So we're at the end of our lesson today on sustainable cities.

Let's have a look at what we've learned so far.

Sustainable cities prioritise environmental and social wellbeing.

Renewable energy reduces a city's carbon footprint.

Sustainable transport reduces emissions and congestion.

Green spaces improve urban health, enrich society, and improve climate resilience.

Urban waste management is more sustainable if more people reuse, reduce, and recycle.

Thank you for joining me for today's geography lesson.

I've really enjoyed it, and I hope you have too.

I look forward to seeing you next time.