Description of Sustainable Cities of the NGO Arca Tierra
Sustainable cities must be carbon-neutral, adapted to environmental conditions determined by their geographic location, natural disaster risk map, and socioeconomic reality, to provide a better quality of life and prosperity for their inhabitants, with equal opportunities to exercise human and environmental rights. Therefore, they must expand in step with population growth and migration movements, restoring and conserving ecosystems. To meet these standards, we design buildings and infrastructure, urban planning based on human rights and environmental conservation, in our sustainable city models: Tree, Globe, and Galaxies. All of these can be built separately or integrated into a single city.
Construction Parameters We Propose
The hectares of sustainable cities must represent the equivalent or greater capacity to absorb CO2 and emit oxygen than hectares of forest, and fulfill their functions of promoting groundwater recharge and contributing to atmospheric water recycling without water pollution. To achieve this, buildings and infrastructure must have:
BIOFACADES
Bio-skins of microalgae in photobioreactor systems that absorb CO2, emit oxygen and treat wastewater, in their photosynthesis process. The triangular meshes help for the arrangement of these systems and for the structural stability of the building.
WATER MANAGEMENT
Efficient water management systems that prevent flooding and scarcity, mainly including rainwater capture on roofs and paved and grass-covered floors, that store rainwater in special tanks. These components already exist today, which in turn filter the water and maintain the quality of the water in its storage.
WATER DYNAMICS
Inclusion in the previous systems of waterfalls, vegetation, sand, gravel and rocks in a constant circulation of the water, for its oxygenation, mineralization and quality.
PHYTORREMEDIATION AND BIO FERTILIZERS
Gardens in the infrastructures and soils that carry out phytoremediation for the treatment of gray water, CO2 capture and oxygen emission. Have vegetation and flowers to help thermal comfort and energy savings and for the repopulation and conservation of butterflies and bees.
Biodigesters for the treatment of sewage, production of biogas with algae and organic waste, and production of biofertilizers for aquaponic gardens and orchards for sustainable food production.
​To achieve carbon neutrality, cities' buildings and infrastructure must generate diverse renewable energy sources, integrated into a generation, distribution, and storage system in a water reservoir that runs through the city.
As an example, to demonstrate its feasibility, South Korea restored and integrated a river into the city of Seoul to provide thermal comfort, reduce CO2 emissions, and provide recreation by integrating nature into the city. Water reservoirs have been built around the world to generate hydroelectricity and store renewable energy, covering a significant demand for electricity. However, they have not been integrated into cities. If they were, they would solve the problems of renewable energy storage and make it feasible to reduce CO2 emissions in cities to zero.
Tree Building
Using currently available materials, we propose sustainable buildings that generate water and renewable energy, using hydrodynamics as a water battery, and sustainable food production. These buildings are highly resistant to any climatic conditions, featuring biofacades made of microalgae photobioreactors that absorb CO2 and release oxygen. These buildings can be built on existing cities and interconnected with other buildings.
​The water battery must connect rivers, lakes and natural and artificial, underground and surface waterfalls, and if it is near the coast it must include desalination plants that generate hydroelectricity, in our Series Against Climate Change, in the chapter "How to Create a Development Sustainable in Coastal Zones" we explain how to improve desalination plants in this way.
Various renewable energies must be generated that make up a backup system, so that the electricity supply does not fail due to weather events or natural disasters, we recommend underground connections of the supply of basic services. The various renewable energies that we consider viable are:
SOLAR
We recommend installing double-sided graphene solar panels in buildings and infrastructures, to generate energy by capturing solar rays and the albedo effect, so that they generate energy even in winter. And if possible microalgae solar panels. Solar energy corresponds to photovoltaic panels and thermal energy.
WIND POWER
In buildings and infrastructures that are harmless to birds. There are turbines that are easy to adapt to homes, buildings, public lighting,...
.png)
HYDROELECTRICITY
The surface and underground cascades of the water networks of the water battery must generate hydroelectricity. The large and small pipelines must have hydroelectrics inside. Usually the distribution of water uses gravity which helps make hydroelectricity viable.
BLUE ENERGY
Seawater and wastewater treatment systems can be used to run blue power plants, which generate blue energy. Even in the desalination process using capacitive deionization technology,
District energy for heating and cooling systems, we propose geodesic domes, similar to the Amazon headquarters in Seattle, so that mainly with microalgae and solar energy (photovoltaic and thermal) they generate hot and cold water, bioelectricity and biofuels based on microalgae, and that this supply is carried out underground so that it does not fail in any season of the year, and thermal comfort is generated through water sources and misting systems arranged in the city and heating in winter, in order to reduce deaths due to heat or cold.
15032022.png)
In this way, public infrastructures and buildings will generate water and energy, stored in water networks of a water battery, they will function as interconnected water, energy and clean air circuits.
Green Transportation in Cities
The abundance of renewable energy, which buildings and infrastructure will generate and store, will make 100% green transportation possible. The installation of rapid charging stations in homes, buildings, and public roads throughout the city will enable electric mobility. And transportation—the movement of cars—can generate kinetic energy and drive wind turbines on highways, energy that can be added to the renewable energy grid.
Kinetic energy can be measured and quantified, both on highways and pedestrian walkways. Thus, transporters would no longer pay to travel on highways; rather, they would receive compensation for the excess kinetic energy generated, just as pedestrians do. For example, if subway station steps generated kinetic energy, pedestrians would pay part of their transportation costs with their steps. Likewise, we recommend electrified roads that use the renewable energy grid for charging, meaning cars and trucks can recharge while traveling on the highway. There are several methods, but we recommend those related to Witricity.
GREEN SUBWAY
Due to the high toxicity of the air in cities (cars consume oxygen and release CO2; one car emits the same amount of CO2 absorbed by 10 trees in a year), we propose using available materials to create green metro stations. These stations will absorb CO2 and emit oxygen using microalgae photobioreactors, operate with renewable energy, and maintain virus-free air quality inside metro facilities. A complete system that combines nature and technology for clean air, an investment that would reduce significant public health costs.
Long-Distance Transportation, Food Production and Distribution in Rural Areas
Public transportation must be electric and/or electromagnetic. For long trips within or outside the municipality, it must be carried out on electromagnetic bullet trains, inside vacuum tubes, traveling at a considerable height, so that their journeys are not interrupted in the event of snowfall or flooding.
These trains are recommended for carrying passengers and cargo, connecting cities with rural areas that produce food that is not produced in the city, so that food distribution and marketing are not interrupted. Later, we explain the graphene-based construction materials, which are highly resistant, electrically conductive, and excellent for electromagnetic applications.
Rural areas must produce and process food in geodesic dome complexes with microclimates to produce sustainable food on a large scale on a small plot of land, under any climatic conditions. Connecting these to bullet trains and vacuum tubes will allow for distribution with fewer intermediaries. Therefore, agricultural activities will be more profitable for farmers, who will produce based on statistics and projections of supply, demand, and population growth to efficiently plan their production and avoid losses.
Food Production in Cities and Flora to Recover and Conserve Ecosystems
In the city, vertical garden towers should be installed along the surface rivers and lakes of the water battery. We designed one suitable for generating oxygen, atmospheric water, wastewater treatment, thermal comfort during heat waves, and capable of generating renewable energy. These can be used to produce food in large volumes or for the planting of different species of plants, grasses, and flowers. These towers will integrate nature into the city and restore nearby ecosystems or eroded or desertified soils. They will serve to clean up water reserves and provide spaces for bees, butterflies, and birds to survive in cities and along their migratory routes.
Graphene-Based Recycling and Raw Material Generation Industry for Construction and Waste-Based Energy Generation
The city will work with a circular economy approach, meaning everything will be reused without waste. Solid waste management will be through recycling. From an economic perspective, industries will be created around the collection and processing of waste for the production of raw materials. Citizens in their homes and businesses will receive payment for the collection and sorting of materials for recycling.
Waste that is not reused, such as tires and other waste, will be sent to improved waste incineration plants, which will have airtight chambers to produce graphene in bulk. The process basically consists of converting waste into carbon and solidifying CO2. It will not leave toxic ash and will not allow the escape of polluting gases, as these gases will be used to generate bioelectricity and to increase controls to prevent any atmospheric pollution. They will have microalgae solution filters, which can be reused in this process to produce biofertilizers and biofuels.
We also propose an electromagnetic pulse method to efficiently produce graphene crystals on a large scale.
Main Construction Materials and Techniques
INNOVATION OF MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF MODULAR CONSTRUCTION AND 3D AND 4D PRINTING
The materials we are urging development are triangular pieces of graphene and graphene crystal. Through the improved process at Ecological Waste Incineration Plants, graphene can be produced in bulk in industrial quantities, allowing for the construction of triangular meshes. Their frame or structure will consist of a steel and graphene alloy, containing photovoltaic panels made of graphene crystal and microalgae solutions.
The building structures (made of steel and graphene) for the Arca Tierra NGO city models will be printed. These structures will consist primarily of geodesic domes and modular cylinders shaped like trees. Their bases will be printed using 3D or 4D printers. The materials, shapes, and construction techniques will allow for the rapid construction of homes, buildings, industries, and infrastructure that are resilient to any natural disaster.
We explain how to produce graphene crystal and the construction techniques in our course Systems to Purify Water, Air and Soils in Cities and Oceans
Models of Sustainable Cities: Tree, Globe and Galaxy
TREE
GLOBE
GALAXY
Now that we've explained how the buildings, infrastructure, roads and transportation, materials, and construction techniques used to build our city models should function, let's look at what each one consists of.
MODELS OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES OF THE NGO ARCA TIERRA
We previously explained how to achieve carbon-neutral cities with air quality, abundant energy, and pollution-free water. Citizens will enjoy a quality of life, as the bills for these basic services will be very low, but the high demand for multiple uses, such as green mobility, will make economic activities that generate water and clean energy profitable.
New materials and new modular construction techniques, assisted by 3D printers, will allow for the rapid construction of new buildings and cities to fill the housing gap at very low cost. Sustainable cities will therefore make it possible to achieve zero poverty and hunger.
However, to ensure the expansion of cities with the maximum use of land and in an organized manner that allows for the continued integration of nature and the provision of human and environmental rights with equal opportunities for their inhabitants to exercise them, and to efficiently integrate migratory movements to drive development and ensure the city's continued growth at or faster than population growth and migratory movements, in order to ensure that the number of schools, universities, hospitals, housing, sources of employment, etc., are sufficient for the expansion of humanity with quality of life through sustainable development, urban planning must be oriented toward the consolidation of human and environmental rights. For this reason, the NGO Arca Tierra proposes three city models: Tree, Globe, and Galaxy.
.png)
Tree City
The tree city consists of a central cylinder with 7 branches that can continue to grow, can be arranged vertically or horizontally and several cities can be connected, the rate of growth of its branches will be according to population growth. In order to provide greater stability to the structure, they may have roots, which will serve to provide space for more buildings inside these cylinders or for storage, parking, transport routes or shelter purposes.
.png)
Globe City
It consists of a geodesic dome, its size can vary according to the available terrain or predictions of the possible expansion of the population, inside it can be arranged various buildings and nature, if it is large, cities, trees and vertical gardens can be integrated. This city model is also recommended for the provision of shelters for the entire population, according to their territorial division, to be enabled in the event of natural disasters. Its shape and materials will allow a high resistance to natural disasters and the creation of microclimates, ideal for areas where extreme climates occur.
Galaxy City
Galaxies can expand practically indefinitely, the Milky Way is about 13.6 billion years old. Our galaxy city model expands like regular spiral galaxies, from its center or nucleus, where government management activities will be located, and its 7 spiral arms extend, integrating bio-buildings (green-grey) and nature, it is ideal for underdeveloped rural areas, desertified areas so that as the city expands, ecosystems can be recovered, these can make the most of the land due to its spiral design and can integrate tree and globe cities.
These cities are designed based on 7 pillars, if you look at the tree city it has 7 branches, the globe city would integrate these 7-branch tree buildings, or would be subdivided into 7 levels, and the galaxy city has 7 spiral arms, because urban planning is based on a governmental organization model, adaptable to a country or municipality of 7 bureaus, in each of them the consolidation of certain human and environmental rights is contemplated, in this way the city will be divided into areas according to the activities to be carried out, in order to streamline the dynamics of exercising human and environmental rights and that they are within reach with equal opportunities for all its citizens. It is time that urban planning, architecture and construction engineering are considered CRUCIAL for the provision of human and environmental rights, they are closely related to the organization and administration of a country or municipality so that citizens can exercise these rights as benefits and duties to fulfill in a participatory democracy, to achieve sustainable development with responsibility.
.png)
The numbers go to 7654321, because they work in a circular way, like a cycle of action, a clock of interrelated activities that go from a beginning to an end and that begins again, where pillar number 5 of quality is extremely important because it will be in charge of to ensure continuous improvement and that all activities make the transition towards sustainability. In our free book and online course Organization and Models of Sustainable Cities is explained.
GREEN-GREY MOUNTAIN
Currently using available materials, we propose a sustainable city within a mountain that generates water, renewable energy, with water dynamics as a water battery and sustainable food production, highly resistant and mitigates natural disasters, designed especially to stop the advance of desertification in the Hunger Belt, Sahel Africa.
Request Our Services Now and Start Building Sustainable Cities!
Write to us at ongarcatierra@gmail.com
