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Home > News > Green cities
Plants growing on high-rise building

Green cities

Fall 2016 Berkeley Engineer magazine cover
November 1, 2016
This article appeared in Berkeley Engineer magazine, Fall 2016
  • In this issue

    Features

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    • “Who is the Michael Jordan of computer science?”
    • Eco-friendly tiny house
    • Materials database speeds innovation
    • Q+A on homebrewed drugs with John Dueber
    • New home for Fung Institute

    Breakthroughs

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    • Neural dust
    • Green cities
    • Concrete thinking
    • Brand new glue

    Alumni notes

    • Following the New Sun Road
    • 2 professors among the “7 over 70”
    • 7 Berkeley engineers among 35 top innovators under 35
    • Farewell

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By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to live in urban areas, which are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. However, according to nuclear engineering professor Daniel Kammen and postdoctoral fellow Deborah Sunter (M.S.’08, Ph.D.’13 ME), cities have great potential to become building blocks of sustainability. In their review in Science, the authors examined the use of renewable energy in urban areas to promote low-carbon, livable cities. They found that cities could transform from being resource drains to becoming “green generators” through advances in smart monitoring and management systems, and through the integration of energy efficiency, renewable power generation and storage and waste management into the urban fabric. They determined that a significant shift away from using personal vehicles would contribute dramatically to cleaner cities. Urban areas also need to develop environmental justice programs as part of the sustainable resource management process. By making more eco-friendly options accessible, particularly to low-income populations, cities can become more livable for all residents.

Topics: Environment, Energy, Research, Transportation
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