[00:04.36]American officials are seeking ways for cities to grow without expanding into surrounding open space.
[00:14.00]They are trying to rebuild the centers of older industrial cities.
[00:19.91]And they want to help people use less resources such as fuel and water than are being used now.
[00:28.84]A new book tells about how some cities in Europe have found answers to these problems.
[00:37.25]The book is called, "Green Urbanism, Learning from European Cities."
[00:43.76]Timothy Beatley wrote the book.
[00:46.52]He is professor of urban and environmental planning at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
[00:54.60]The book tells about the experiences of twenty-five cities in eleven European countries.
[01:02.46]Some of the cities in the study are large, such as Copenhagen, Denmark and Stockholm, Sweden.
[01:10.61]Some are small, such as Freiburg, Germany and Leiden, the Netherlands.
[01:17.66]Cities have been described as organisms that use up resources and produce wastes that pollute the environment.
[01:26.49]Sustainable cities try to restrict their use of resources such as energy and water
[01:33.47]and to pollute less so people in the future will be able to survive.
[01:39.19]Cities that were part of Mister Beatley's study have some things in common.
[01:45.43]Growth takes place within the city limits.
[01:49.71]This means the centers of these cities are fully developed, not left partly empty as in most American cities.
[01:58.94]Buildings are reused or taller ones are built as the city grows.
[02:04.11]This protects the open space or farmland outside the city.
[02:09.96]Sustainable cities try to make it possible for people to easily move around without using cars.
[02:18.55]Reducing the use of cars reduces the pollution produced by cars.
[02:24.35]Many cities support the use of bicycles to replace cars.
[02:30.23]Some cities build separate safe paths for bike riders within the city limits.
[02:36.97]Other cities like Copenhagen provide public bicycles.
[02:42.19]A bicycle can be used to ride from one place to another and left for someone else to ride.
[02:49.51]And sustainable cities are green. City officials keep open areas in the city for parks and children's playgrounds.
[02:58.86]Trees are planted along city streets.
[03:01.84]Some cities teach people how to plant on rooftops and in window boxes.
[03:07.01]Professor Beatley says American cities can learn from sustainable European cities about providing for people |