IB Geography Urban Environment Case Study
For your IB Geography Option G: Urban Environments exam, you will need to be able to reference specific case studies that explore the subject’s themes. As you go through your course, it’s a good idea to keep an organised list of the case studies you learn about, whether in class or through independent research, and the themes they explore. This will be a useful reference document as you prepare for your exams and will reduce the amount of time you spend looking for case studies, allowing you to concentrate on the important bit of understanding their relevance to the theme and your course overall.
To get you started, we’re giving you a sneak peak of a case study featured in our Geography SL & HL: Urban Environments study guide written by Duncan McCulloch. The full guide, complete with six case studies covering different themes, in-depth syllabus review, and lots of practice questions is available from our online store and other booksellers.
Case study: Environmental strategies to create eco-cities – Vancouver
Vancouver, Canada (Population: 631,490)
In 2011 Vancouver released its ‘Greenest City 2020 Action Plan’ which had an overall goal of reducing its Ecological Footprint by 33% (of 2006 levels) by 2020 and achieve one-planet living by 2050. This was as a result of findings that Vancouver residents had an ecological footprint three times larger than what was available per person worldwide. Furthermore, a new goal of zero waste/zero carbon by 2020 was set in 2015, and in 2016 the Vancouver City Council passed the Zero-Emission Building Plan. In 2017 Vancouver began a ‘Neighbourhood Footprint Campaign’ to help the city move closer to its goals (Global Footprint Network, 2017).
There are 10 main goals of the Action Plan.
Green Economy: double the number of green jobs and businesses with green operations
Climate Leadership: require all new buildings built after 2020 to be carbon neutral
Green Buildings: reduce CO2 emissions in existing buildings by 20% over 2007 levels
Green Transportation: reduce driving and make the majority of trips by foot, bicycle, and public transit traffic
Zero Waste: reduce solid waste going to landfills to 50% of 2008 levels
Access to Nature: increase accessibility of green parks, greenways, and other green space, so that all Vancouver residents live within 5 minutes of these spaces
Lighter Footprint: reduce Vancouver's ecological footprint by 33% over 2006 levels
Clean Water: increase water quality and reduce water consumption per capita by 33% from 2006 levels
Clean Air: increase air quality, measured against Metro Vancouver and World Health Organization guidelines
Local Food: increase amount of locally grown food
Successes so far include an additional 28km of cycle paths on the Vancouver seawall, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have seen an 18% decrease per capita from 2007-2015 and cigarette recycling bins have been placed around the city.
Resources
More updates on the action plan can be found here: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/greenest-city-2020-action-plan-2015-2020.pdf
Global Footprint Network. 2017. ‘Vancouver kicks off neighborhood Footprint campaign.’ 20 February. www.footprintnetwork.org/2017/02/20/vancouver-kicks-off-neighborhood-footprint-campaign/ (accessed 24 April 2019)
Study guides by Duncan McCulloch
Continuing your IB Geography study
As you progress through you IB Geography course you may find yourself looking for resources to help you fully understand the material you are covering. If so, be sure to check out our IB Geography resource page where you’ll find articles and tools created by our IB authors and trusted contributors.