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Ellie Thiemann
Professor Vaughn
Intermediate Comp 2089
26 October 2015
Sustainability Problem of the People and the Planner
Much like leg warmers in America during the 1980s, sustainability is something that is
very trendy but no one seems to be sure what it really is or why it has become so popular. When
the word comes up, everyone seems to support it but does not exactly know what the word
entails. So instead of putting on these leg warmers without thinking, it is important to define
sustainability so that it can be achieved and become more than a trend. It is very important to
future generations that this one adopts the idea of sustainability as more than just a silly trend. In
the context of this paper, sustainability can be defined as, sustainability implies moving toward
the long-term welfare of the three Es, or economic opportunity, environmental quality, and
social equity (Gough 2). For these reasons, both scholarly articles catered towards the
professional community of urban planners and more popular news sources have addressed the
ideas of greener, more sustainable city planning and adaption.
For most people, the extension of action does not really go beyond the three Rs they
learned in middle school. Reducing, reusing, and recycling is the basic underlying set of goals
for the barely involved, environmentalist ally. In short, it seems that to most people the idea of
being green has been reduced to a popular trend that involves wearing earthy tones, buying
organic foods and recycling. Theres nothing wrong with these actions but in a lot of ways these
actions are not enough. The current standards of livability are reliant on mostly unsustainable
resources which provided a lifestyle that cannot really support itself. The actions of one person

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are not enough when they are outweighed by the actions of most. In the past few decades the
research has been undeniable that the problem has become more than just caring for the
environment. While it is true that the focus of sustainability is environmental, we cannot achieve
environmental sustainability without employing ways to improve economic and social
sustainability. The easiest, cheapest ways to develop communities in order to boost their
economies are often not environmentally or socially sustainable. However, greener methods of
building and living are often easier and more likely for richer, higher class peoples to adopt. The
easiest way to achieve one form of sustainability doesnt really support the other two pillars.
However, it is true that adopting new social norms can benefit all three forms of sustainability.
One of these norms to be addressed is the urban sprawl following the 1950s. This made the
current population in rural and suburban areas completely dependent on the automobile to get
from point A to point B and created unsustainable communities. This complex problem of
achieving 1triple bottom line sustainability is addressed in multiple genres and therefore towards
different audiences in the three articles referenced in this essay.
As mentioned previously, the idea of the three Rs is nice, but when considering the fuller
picture, large scale action has to be made as well as individual action. For this reason, the
language and reasoning meant to motivate action must vary when addressing different audiences.
In The Green Case for Cities, published in The Atlantic in October 2009 by Witold
Rybczynski, an argument for the overhaul of current residential and living expectations and a
transformation into something much more sustainable. He articulates the need for a shift to
denser living spaces as such Putting solar panels on roofs doesnt change the essential fact that
by any measure, spread-out, low-rise buildingshave a larger carbon footprint than a high-rise
1 Triple bottom line sustainability encompasses economic, social, and environmental
factors, it is the modern interpretation of sustainability in a business-like context.

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office tower (Rybczynski 2). The article itself is meant to persuade readers to agree with
Rybczynskis idea to condense societal structure. It is laced with opinion and makes statements
without much backing by scientific cases. This is different from Goughs Reconciling Livability
and Sustainability: Conceptual and Practical Implications for Planning in The Journal of
Planning Education and Research. Gough repeatedly references case studies done in cities
across the United States. The Atlantic article is much briefer and is summarized in a conclusion,
not an abstract like a scholarly article could be. In The Atlantic, the article is very much aimed at
influencing someone that already cares about the environment. It is meant for the
environmentally aware citizen. For planners, it is very important to consider all factors that
contribute to sustainability. Planners must try and find a middle ground with citizens that creates
what they would define as livable but also meets criteria that creates a sustainable, green
environment. In turn, this must be presented to the public in a way that will be convincing and
inspiring.
Huang, in her article titled What Does the Data Say About Cities for People? addresses
the issue of density versus sprawl specifically in the country of China. She uses infographics and
simple eight step process to define a call to action for citizens. Her language and images are
much different than those in the scholarly article by Megan Z. Gough. Notably different between
the two is the length of the articles. Huangs article is short and sweet and uses approachable
language that appeals to the average human being such as, [g]reater mobility saves time wasted
in traffic jams and expands economic and lifestyle choices for urban dwellers (Huang 1). In
Goughs work, the idea of sustainability is juxtaposed with the concept of livability. Therefore,
her article goes more in depth in the complexities of creating an acceptable solution. In contrast
to speaking on travel in a way that relates to the reader, Gough relates the concept of more

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compact and public transportation as a call to action for planners. She states develop safe,
reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs,
reduce our nations dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, and promote public health (Gough 8). This makes it more of a global than personal
issue. This is one difference between the two articles. Another one is the difference in the type of
charts used. To engage her audiences Huang uses brightly colored graphics like the one pictured
below to communicate very serious facts. (Figure 1) They are presented in simple easy to
understand words and numbers. She conveys very effectively and in short bullet points the
benefits of converting to this smart city model. It is also broken into economic, environmental,
and social facets. In most work addressing urban planners, the sections are intricately intertwined
and can be very complex to break down into separate factors. As seen in Figure 1 similar types of
information is presented very differently. She does this for the reader so that it is easier to
understand and embrace. Huang defines the perfect plan for cities as, compact, walkable, and
transit-oriented development creates sustainable, healthy, and economically vibrant cities that
deliver a high quality of life to residents (Huang 3). This sounds great in theory and could be
found in works meant for urban planners. However, the article and this quote in particular do not
address the idea in a practical way and is very optimistic and far reaching. Scholarly articles for
urban planners do not have this luxury.

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between livability and sustainability. One trait of the article that makes it scholarly, the abstract,
states, Results show variation in local plan compliance with the livable sustainability guidelines
in the region, with particular challenge integrating nontraditional planning concerns. Attention to
issues of scale, context, and potential to enable change will help planners promote long-term
sustainability while recognizing local livability preferences. Another factor that indicates it is a
scholarly article is the plethora of resources she cites. This includes current urban planners and
past environmentalists like Rachel Carson (Gough 15). This is done regularly throughout the
article to support her theories on sustainability. Gough also injects the use of statistics and
references studies of quality of life. All of these facts contribute to the scholarly quality of the
article.
Differences
also occur
between The
Green Case
for Cities and
What Does
the Data Say
About Cities
for People?
Both are
obviously
written for a
Figure 1 Huangs graphic displayed to the left, in blue and green, and Goughs data (right) presented
in a much more formal way.

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more general audience. In Huangs article the approach is geographically centered and relies on
concrete data. This is suggested in the title and proven in her multiple points. In Rybczynskis
article the approach is a more general response with no specific location in mind. He references
regions and areas specifically in the United States, but not like Huang does. Huang also uses a
list format while Rybczynski uses a paragraph format that feels more conversational.
While it is doubtful many leg warmers were sustained past 1991, hopefully the
implementation of sustainable plans for future cities lasts for generations. Thankfully, through
articles such as the three discussed in this essay sustainability is being addressed in multiple
ways. This means that various audiences can interpret the meaning of sustainability and strive to
achieve it regardless of profession. Planners can reference scholarly articles like Goughs and
those without a planning background can read and interpret articles like Rybczynski and Huangs
to better grasp the ideas presented in both. Scholarly articles are important because they go in
depth to give a fuller understanding of their topic while other genres are important to give people
accessibility to similar information. Differences in vernacular, context, graphics, and components
such as abstracts or references give clues to which genre and article is and who it serves.

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Works Cited
Gough, Meghan Z. "Reconciling Livability and Sustainability: Conceptual and Practical
Implications for Planning." Journal of Planning Education and Research (2015): n. pag.
Web. 05 Oct. 2015.
Huang, CC. "What Does the Data Say About Cities for People? [INFOGRAPHICS]." RSS. 7
May 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
Rybczynski, Witold. "The Green Case for Cities." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01
Oct. 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.