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cities > glossary
GlossaryBiodiversity: The term biological diversity, or biodiversity, refers collectively to the full range of species, genes and ecosystems in a given place.
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CFC�s (Chlorofluorocarbons): A group of chemicals containing chlorine (Cl), fluorine (F) and carbon (C), sometimes referred to by their trade name Freon. These synthetic compounds were used extensively for refrigeration and aerosol sprays until it was realized that they destroy ozone (they are also very powerful greenhouse gases) and have a very long lifetime once in the atmosphere (more than 100 years). The Montreal Protocol agreement of 1987 has resulted in the scaling down of CFC production and use in industrialised countries.
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Cholera: A bacterial disease caused by drinking water contaminated by sewage or eating food that has not been washed or is inadequately cooked. It is common in areas where the growth in population has outstripped the development of facilities for providing clean water or disposing of sewage. The problem is most severe in warm climates where high temperatures encourage the growth of the cholera bacteria.
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City: There is no agreed international definition, but a city is generally understood to be a relatively large or important urban centre. In some nations, an urban centre�s designation as a city brings a higher political and administrative status. Most large cities are made up of many different local government areas and this often leads to the designation of a metropolitan area encompassing these, and some administrative or political system to promote co-ordination between them.
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Conservation (nature): Protection against irreversible destruction and other undesirable changes, including the management of human use of organisms or ecosystems to ensure such use is sustainable.
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Development: A process of economic and social transformation that defies simple definition. Though often viewed as a strictly economic process involving growth and diversification of a country's economy, development is a qualitative concept that entails complex social, cultural, and environmental changes. There are many models of what 'development' should look like and many different standards of what constitutes 'success'.
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Ecology: Originally defined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866, ecology is the study of the relationships that develop among living organisms and between these organisms and the environment.
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Environment: A combination of the various physical and biological elements that affect the life of an organism. Although it is common to refer to �the� environment, there are in fact many environments eg, aquatic or terrestrial, microscopic to global, all capable of change in time and place, but all intimately linked and in combination constituting the whole earth/atmosphere system.
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Environmental hazards: Environmental factors which pose a threat to health. Most arise from biological disease-causing agents (pathogens) that cause infectious and parasitic diseases, physical hazards such as houses built on dangerous sites and made of inflammable materials and chemical pollutants, especially in the home and workplace. These are not the same as environmental degradation which implies the depletion or degradation of some resource or eco-system - for instance a depletion of soils, forests, freshwater and fisheries or the emissions of wastes or pollutants with serious local, regional or global ecological consequences.
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Environmentally-sound: The maintenance of a healthy environment and the protection of life-sustaining ecological processes. It is based on thorough knowledge and requires or will result in products, manufacturing processes, developments, etc. which are in harmony with essential ecological processes and human health.
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Human settlement: A place or area occupied by settlers. The term is generally used to include all concentrations of human habitation beyond a single isolated shelter from the smallest rural settlements (including villages and hamlets) to the largest cities and metropolitan areas. The term has consciously been used within the United Nations for more than 30 years to ensure that attention is paid to both rural and urban settlements.
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Infrastructure: "The basic equipment, utilities, productive enterprises, installations and services essential for the development, operation and growth of an organization, a city or a nation" (Abrams, Charles, 1971, The Language of Cities: A Glossary of Terms, The Viking Press, New York). The term �infrastructure� is often used in a more restricted sense to refer to the built facilities that link buildings and human activities - including transport infrastructure, infrastructure for water, sanitation and drainage, power stations, and telecommunications systems. It is sometimes used to include health and educational facilities. The dividing line between infrastructure and services is often unclear - for instance water pipes are generally considered infrastructure but water vendors are not; roads are infrastructure but buses are generally not.
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Local Agenda 21: The term Local Agenda 21 comes from Chapter 28 of Agenda 21, the document formally endorsed at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (also known as the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This Chapter recognises that the successful implementation of most aspects of sustainable development depends on competent and effective local authorities. Local Agenda 21s are the local plans for environment and development that each local authority is meant to develop through a consultative process with their populations, with particular attention paid to involving women and youth.
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Migration: Usually defined as the permanent change of residence of an individual or a group. Immigration and emigration refers to permanent changes of residence that cross national boundaries while in- and out-migration refer to such changes within national boundaries. Virtually all urban centres have complex patterns of in- and out-migration, and worldwide, natural increase accounts for more of the growth in urban population than net in-migration.
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National conservation strategies: Plans that highlight country-level environmental priorities and opportunities for sustainable management of natural resources, following the example of the World Conservation Strategy published by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in 1980. Though governments may support preparation for the strategies, they are not bound to follow IUCN's recommendations.
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Sustainable development: Sustainable development has as many definitions as subscribers. In essence, it refers to economic development that meets the needs of all without leaving future generations with fewer natural resources than those we enjoy today. It is widely accepted that achieving sustainable development requires balance between three dimensions of complementary change:
- Economic (towards sustainable patterns of production and consumption)
- Ecological (towards maintenance and restoration of healthy ecosystems)
- Social (towards poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods)
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Urban centre: A concentration of people, buildings and economic activities which meet the criteria set by the government in its definition of what constitutes an �urban centre�. Most governments define urban centres in one of three ways: population thresholds; population thresholds combined with other criteria (for instance the proportion of the economically active population in non-agricultural activities); and administrative or political status. There is no agreement about what population threshold to use; some nations classify all settlements with more than a few hundred inhabitants as urban while others use thresholds of 10,000 or 20,000 inhabitants.
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Urban environment: The physical environment in urban areas, with its complex mix of natural elements (including air, water, land, climate, flora and fauna) and the built environment. Its quality is much influenced by its geographical setting; the scale and nature of human activities within it; the wastes, emissions and environmental impacts that these generate; and the competence and accountability of the institutions elected, appointed or delegated to manage it.
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Urbanisation: A process driven by net rural-to-urban migration through which an increasing percentage of the population in any nation or region come to live in settlements that are defined as �urban centres�. The level of urbanisation is the percentage of the population living in urban areas. Populations tend to urbanise as their per capita income increases, since increasing proportions of the economic base are in industrial or service sectors, most of which are based in urban areas. The term �urbanisation� is also used for the process by which agricultural, forest or other �rural� land gets built over by urban areas or converted to other urban uses.
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Water-washed diseases: Diseases spread from one person to another due to inadequate supplies of water for personal hygiene. These include infections of the skin and eyes (e.g. trachoma) and infections carried by lice, e.g. louse-borne epidemic typhus.
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WHO (World Health Organisation): A UN agency created in 1948 to deal with global health issues and to achieve as high a level of physical, mental and social well-being as possible for peoples of the world. It is involved in a variety of environemental studies, including the impact of climate change and ozone depletion on health, in conjunction with other agencies such as the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program(UNEP).
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World Commission on Environment and Development: Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1983 to examine international and global environmental problems and to propose strategies for sustainable development. Chaired by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, the independent commission held meetings and public hearing around the world and submitted a report on its inquiry to the General Assembly in 1987.
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World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD): The World Summit on Sustainable Development takes place from 26 August - 4 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Governments, UN agencies, and civil society organisations will come together to assess progress since the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio in 1992 (hence the title 'Rio + 10' for the Johannesburg meeting). Sustainable development is defined in the report from the Rio meeting as being 'economic progress which meets all of our needs without leaving future generations with fewer resources than those we enjoy'.
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