With More People Moving to Cities, We Need to Get a Handle on Building Emissions

With over half the human population living in cities, we need to become intentional about how we construct them

Hiya!

I don’t know about you, but I can easily picture myself being perfectly content living far away from civilization, somewhere in nature—probably surrounded by trees. Though, being the introvert that I am, living in a city is probably better because I’m forced out of my house from time to time to run errands or visit with friends.

And I do love city life. I like the convenience of having our grocery store only a mile away or that I can walk to a nearby cafe or bar to write if I want to. I enjoy our neighbors and the community feeling, along with the billions of other people who live in cities.

Urban life has a lot of perks, but the way we’ve gone about building cities leaves much to be desired. Currently, building emission rates are a major problem when it comes to global warming, and it’s only going to get worse if we don’t start thinking critically.

A Bit of Personal Backstory

So, I’m not sure if I told you, but if it weren’t for a decision I made to drop out of university life to instead become a licensed massage therapist, then there’s a solid chance I’d be an interior designer right now instead of writing to you every week.

I enjoy the power a space holds, the versatility and subjectivity of a blank canvas. Space — a room, a house, a building — incite feelings, a vibe or energy within us as soon as we walk in. How we decorate space reveals part of who we are in the same way we choose to present ourselves to the world through our style.

But beyond our personal occupancy of space, the way architects design our homes and buildings must also be intentional. Especially considering that in 2018, over half of the global human population lived in cities — and by 2025, that number is predicted to rise to two-thirds.

Global Building Emissions

The way we’ve been going about construction and architectural design is in desperate need of an update. Recently the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report written by over 270 researchers focusing on “the impacts of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels.”

The report states that in 2019, buildings contributed 21 percent (or 12 gigatons) of recorded global emissions. Since then, estimates show the emissions rate has increased to almost 40 percent. Building operations (keeping it running and maintained) are annually responsible for around 28 percent, while the remaining 11 percent is caused by construction and building materials.

The lead author of the IPCC report, Yamina Saheb, explains that while some architects and builders do their best to be environmentally minded, current policies and zoning laws do little to encourage the shift. Sometimes even hindering the industry’s ability to lessen its carbon footprint.