Tools for creating a future of healthy One Planet cities in the Anthropocene

ABSTRACT

Perhaps what most distinguishes the 21st century is that it is the century in which the impact of the Anthropocene is becoming apparent, calling for a societal and indeed cultural response to this new geological, ecological and socio-cultural epoch. Collectively, we need to learn how to live within the constraints of this one small planet that is our home. Good foresight work is about helping people think more effectively and creatively about the future. The ‘One Planet’ approach to creating healthier and more sustainable cities and communities is one way to get citizens, communities and municipalities to think about what a ‘One Planet’ future might actually be like, and then work towards co-creating such a future. This approach is developing in several ways in several places; here we present emerging work in the UK, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

KEYWORDS:

• Health
• cities
• sustainability
• Anthropocene
• foresight

Disclosure statement

Trevor Hancock and Rebecca Patrick declare no conflicts. Pooran Desai is an entrepreneur and operates both for-profit and non-profit enterprises. One Planet Living® is a registered trademark to create a mechanism to maintain integrity, but the One Planet Living Principles are made freely available for anyone to use under an open licence agreement, while the OnePlanet.com digital platform allows basic free use with subscriptions for additional functionality.

Notes

1. As a geological phenomenon; the Anthropocene is being considered by the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy as a potential geological epoch characterized by human-driven geological and ecological changes. In May 2019, the AWG voted 88% in favour of treating the Anthropocene as ‘a formal chrono-stratigraphic unit’ with a base ‘around the mid-twentieth century of the Common Era’. (Working Group on the ‘Anthropocene 2019).

2. Readers unfamiliar with the concept of the ecological footprint should visit the website of the Global Footprint Network, which defines the Ecological Footprint as ‘a measure of the biologically productive land and water area an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes, to accommodate its occupied urban infrastructure, and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices.’

3. Biocapacity is ‘the capacity of the biosphere to regenerate and provide natural resources and services for life’, while ‘a global hectare is a biologically productive hectare with world average productivity’ (Global Footprint Network 2018).

Additional information

Funding

Rebecca Patrick’s measurement research has been funded by Deakin University Faculty of Health and School of Health and Social Development research development grants.