Our climate matters — also in the suburbs!

While last week was all about the city and governance at the municipal level, this week we talked about the governance of regions and suburbs around the city. And that is important. Because what we learned is that Canada is in fact a very suburban nation. Suburbanization, as defined by one of this week’s readings, is “the non-central growth of population and economic activity combined with the spatial extensions of urban areas”. In Canada, two-thirds of its population lives in suburbs. Only 14% actually live in active core neighborhoods. And often a 5 times higher population growth in suburban regions can be observed. And who cannot understand it? During the pandemic, more people wished to live in a green environment. Further away from monotonous streets, a noisy transit, honking cars, and smelly streets. New company regulations of flexible work and home office policies made this dream become true.

Suburbs are very significant to study. They undergo different policy challenges than the urban region. They are deciding battlegrounds for elections. And the suburban sprawl is indeed a major contributor to climate change.

This comes by surprise? Indeed, suburban areas are often overlooked in climate discussions. But actually, they represent a significant factor as on average, suburban areas emit more greenhouse gas per person than rural and urban areas. And just take a moment to think about it. The long distances between the houses and essential services (such as grocery stores and health care) result in a strong reliance on a daily use of a car. Furthermore, large housing lots in suburban regions require a massive amount of energy. In times of an energy crisis (for example the one currently dominating the thoughts of all Germans) this is actually nuts. And who can afford this much heating and gas anyways? But the list continues: Sprinklers and other irrigation systems contribute to water pollution, the unrestricted suburban growth into untouched land can destroy viable agriculture and thus decrease available land for food production.

And climate change itself is very noticeable in suburbs. I am thinking of the massive bushfire that regularly destroys suburbs — not only in Canada but also in the US and Australia for example.

So what next? Is it still so appealing to move suburbs? Let’s talk about some suggestions at this point. How about renewable energy? There are many ways (solar panels, wind energy) to improve energy consumption in suburban regions and make it more sustainable. It comes at a high cost but is surely worth it. What do we think about a few more smart policies and stricter government regulations for suburban growth? I am thinking of for instance further incentives to increase renewable energy in suburban regions or stricter regulation for water pollution and water use in private households.

What have we learned? Suburbs are essential for us as policymakers to study in order to understand and develop more effective cross policies, such as climate policies. Cooperation across regions is necessary, too. But so is a better understanding and higher willingness from the suburban population on what each individual household can do for our climate.

Sources:

https://theowp.org/reports/the-detrimental-impact-of-suburban-sprawl-on-the-environment/

Gordon, David. 2018. Canadians increasingly live in the auto-dependent suburbs.

Jean-Paul D. Addie, Rober S. Fiedler, and Roger Keil. 2020. Cities on the Edge — Suburban Constellations in Canada.