Energy in the Ecopolis

• Date: 01 June 2015

45 ELR 10514 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 6-2015

Energy in the Ecopolis

by Sara C. Bronin

Sara C. Bronin is Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut.

I. Introduction

Climate change, resource scarcity, a nd environmental

degradation demand a pa radigm shift in urban develop-

ment. Currently, too many of our cities exacerbate these

problems: they pollute, consume, and process resources in

ways that negatively impact our natural world. Cities of

the future must make nature their model, instituting circu-

lar metabolic processes that mimic, embrace, a nd enhance

nature. In other words, a city must be a regenerative city or,

as some say, an “ecopolis.”1

Why focus on cities? Cities hold the greatest promise for

leading change.2 ey are more nimble, and more likely to

experiment with innovation, than are state or federal gov-

ernment actors. eir approach toward land uses, transpor-

tation systems, trash collection, building design, and water

management, among other areas, have great impact on

1. “Eco-city” is another term that has been used to describe the same concept.

See, e.g., R R, EC: R C  B

W N 5 (2006) (“Cities need to be rebuilt from their roots in the

soil, from their concrete and steel foundations on up. ey need to be re-

organized and rebuilt upon ecological principles”). He adds, “[W]e need to

establish the principle of restoration and regeneration.... In and adjacent to

cities, we should re-establish those living ribbons of blues and greens, mak-

ing a very serious commitment to restoring waterways, shorelines, ridge-

lines, and wildlife corridors for continuous habitats of plants and animals.”

Id. at 19 (emphasis added). “Eco-ecient city” is yet another term. See, e.g.,

P N  ., R C: R  P O 

C C 79-81 (2009) (identifying the eco-ecient city as reect-

ing a “view of cities as a complex set of metabolic ows”).

2. Many recent books have argued that cities, and the mayors who lead them,

are the best hope for democracy, economic development, and residents’ hap-

piness, among other goals shared by their authors. See B R. B,

I M R  W: D N, R C

(2014); B K  J B, T M R-

: H C  M A F O B P 

F E (2014); E G, T   C:

H O G I M U R, S, G,

H,  H 6 (2012) (calling cities “our greatest invention”);

D O, G M: W L S, L C,

 D L A  K  S 13 (2009) (arguing

that cities’ “qualities are ones that the rest of us, no matter where we live, are

going to have to nd ways to emulate, as the world’s various ongoing energy

and environmental crises deepen and spread in the years ahead”).

natural ecosystems. And cities’ explosive growth predicted

for the next several decades will necessitate urban adapta-

tion a nd response. By 2014, over one-half of the world’s

population already lived in cities3; the United Nations

predicts t hat by 2050, two-thirds will.4 In real numbers,

the urban population will increase by 2.5 billion people

by 2050.5 Experts agree that we are experiencing the most

rapid population growt h in human history, which may

yield potentially catastrophic impacts on both the environ-

ment and on human quality of life.6 Even with the popula-

tion as it stands today, global cities are hardly sustainable,

much less regenerative.

So, how to get there—to ecopolis—from here? In this

Comment, I propose a partial answer by focusing on certain

legal frameworks that must be reenvisioned to enable the

ecopolis. Part II denes the ecopolis, drawing on accounts

from leading thinkers. It then dierentiates between regen-

erativity and the better-known concept of sustainability.

at part also identies the many facets of regenerativity,

including food production, browneld revitalization, inte-

gration with nature, waste management, water use, trans-

portation, building considerations, and energy.

Part III then focuses on one of those facets: energy.7 e

ecopolis must not only use less energy than our cities do

today, it also must produce energy in a way that positively

contributes to its surroundings. is means taking advan-

tage of new generating technologies that harness renewable

resources, such as biomass, sun, and wind, and that cleanly

3. U N, W U P 1 (2014) [hereinafter

U.N., U] (stating that 54% of the world’s population lives in

cities; P R B, 2014 World Population Data Sheet

1 & 19 (2014) (stating that the gure is 53%, but noting that it was de-

rived from data reported both by countries and by the United Nations and

adding further that “[c]ountries dene urban in many dierent ways, from

population centers of 100 or more dwellings to only the population living

in national and provincial capitals”).

4. U.N., U, supra note 3, at 1. is number represents a 30% in-

crease over the 2014 population. See P R B, supra

note 3, at 7.

5. U.N., U, supra note 3, at 2.

6. See, e.g., P I., F 6 B  7 B: H P-

 G I C  C O W 29-30

(2011) (noting that we are depleting renewable resources faster than their

capacity to regenerate, suering extreme weather patterns that will impact

human survival and health, and dealing with rising food prices resulting

from inadequate investment in food production).

7. I chose energy for two reasons: First, it is legally complex, with layers of

regulations contravening the ecopolis in many respects; and second, it seems

to be a good vehicle for a discussion of urban metabolism.

     

     

     





F RO M T H E 2 015 A A L S A N N UA L M E E T I N G

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