Earth Science in the City: A Reader

434 Pages·10.957 MB·English

Earth Sciencei n the City' A Reader
Grant Heiken
Robert Fakundiny
John Sutter
Editors
AmericaGne ophysiUcnali on
Washington,D C
Publishedu ndert he aegiso f the AGU BooksB oard
Jean-LouBiso ugereCt, hair;G rayE . BeboutC, arlT FriedrichsJ,a mesL . HorwitzL, isaA.L evin,
W. BerryL yonsK, ennethR . MinschwaneDr,a rt'elSl trobela, ndW illiamR . Youngm, embers.
Library of CongressC ataloging-in-PublicationD ata
Earths ciencein thec ity:a reader/ GrantH e[ken,R obertF akundinyJ,o hnS uttere, ditors.
p.cm.
Includesb ibliographicarle ferences.
ISBN 0-87590-299-5
1. Urbang eologyI.. Heiken,G rant.I I. FakundinyR, obertH . III. Sutter,J ohnF .
QE39.5.U7E18 20003
624.1'51'091732--dc21
2003048070
ISBN 0-87590-299-5
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CONTENTS
Preface
Grant Heiken, Robert Fakundiny,a nd John Sutter. ................... v
Introduction
Grant Heiken ................................................ 1
Section I. Background--Earth Sciencei n the Cities
Chapter 1 Large Urban ConcentrationsA: New Phenomenon
GeorgeB ugliarello .............................. 7
Chapter2 Geoantiquitiesin the Urban LandscapeE: arth History
Records in the Cities
Marjorie A. Chan, Donald R. Currey,A ndrea N. Dion,
and Holly S. Godsey ........................... 21
Chapter3 EngineeringG eologyo f New York City:
ContinuingV alue of GeologicD ata
CharlesA . Baskervillea nd Robert H. Fakundiny ...... 43
Section II. Natural Hazards and the City
Chapter4 TowardsI ntegratedN aturalH azardR eductionin UrbanA reas
Greg A. Valentine. ............................. 63
Chapter5 Seismic-Risk Evaluation in Cities of New York and
SurroundingR egions:I ssuesR elatedt o all IntraplateC ities
Robert H. Fakundiny ........................... 75
Chapter6 FacingV olcanica nd RelatedH azardsi n the NeapolitanA rea
Giovanni Orsi, Sandro de (cid:127)ta, Mauro A. Di ki'to,
Roberto Isaia, Rosella Nave, and Grant Heiken ...... 121
Chapter7 TsunamiI mpact and Mitigation in InhabitedA reas
G. T. Hebenstreit, E I. Gonzdlez, and J. Preuss ....... 171
Chapter 8 Landslidesa nd Cities:A n UnwantedP artnership
Richard J. Pike, David G. Howell
and RussellW . Graymer ........................ 187
SectionI II. Urban Hydrology
Chapter9 Effectso f Urbanizationo n GroundwateSr ystems
J. M. Sharp, Jr., J. N. Krothe, J. D. Mather,
B. Garcia-Fresca, and C. A. Stewart ............... 257
Chapter1 0 IntegratedE nvironmentaMl odelingo f the UrbanE cosystem
TimothyN . Mc?herson,S tevenJ . Burian,
Michael J. Brown, Gerald E. Streit, and H. J. Turin ... 279
Chapter1 1 Urban EnvironmentaMl odeling andA ssessmenUt sing
Detailed Urban Databases
StevenJ . Burian, TimothyN . McPherson,M ichael J. Brown,
Gerald E. Streit, and H. J. Turin .................. 303
SectionI V. The Remotely SensedC ity
Chapter1 2 Mappingt he City LandscapFer om SpaceT: he Advanced
SpacebornTeh ermalE missiona ndR eflectanceR adiometer
(ASTER) UrbanE nvironmentaMl onitoringP rogram
Michael S. Ramsey ........................... 337
Chapter1 3 AirborneL aserT opographicM apping:A pplicationst o
HurricaneS tormS urgeH azards
Dean Whitman,K eqi Zhang, StephenP Leatherman,
and William Robertson ........................ 363
SectionV . Integrated Earth Sciencesa nd Urban Developmenta nd
Sustainability
Chapter1 4 IntegratingG eologicaIln formationin to UrbanP lanninga nd
ManagementA: pproachesfo r the 21s tC entury
B. R. Marker, J. J. Pereira, and E. E J. de Mulder .... 379
Chapter1 5 GreaterP hoenix2 100: Building a National Urban
EnvironmentaRl esearchA genda
JonathanF ink, Frederick Steiner,N ancy B. Grimm,
and Charles L. Redman ....................... 413
Chapter1 6 ModelingC ities--The Los AlamosU rban SecurityI nitiative
Grant Heiken, GregA . ValentineM, ichael Brown,S teen
Rasmussen,J onathan Dowell, Sudha Maheshwari, and
Denise C. George. ............................ 427
Contributors .............................................. 443
Preface
Todayn earlyh alf of the Earth'sp eoplesl ive in cities,a ndp rojectedt rendsi ndi-
catea riset o five billion city dwellersb y the year 2025. All citiesb ecomei ncreas-
ingly coupledw ith andv ulnerablet o their environmenat s they grow.F or citiest o
be safea nd sustainablew e mustb e ever awareo f the inter-relationshipbse tween
naturalp rocessesa nd the urbane nvironmente, ffectso n the population,a nd--in
turn--the effectso f populationo n the environment.M any of theser elationships,
which becomei ssueso r problemso f public note usuallyw hen we are faced with
immediatec onditionso f risk--including water use sustainabilityo r hazardm iti-
gationf rom naturald isasters--musbt e addressedv ia the geosciencesA. nd geo-
science researchers should be aware that the results of their work are vital to solv-
ing urbanp roblemsb oth in the practicala nd theoreticald omains,a nd for imme-
diatea ndf uturen eedsT. he presentb ook speaksto suchc oncernsW. e hopei t also
servest o stimulated iscussiono f, and researcho n, urban geosciencefo r profes-
sionalsin the field or associatedw ith it, and for studentse nteringt he field.
The currentb ook derivesf rom presentationsg iven at Earth Sciencesi n the
Cities, a Union Session of the spring 2000 meeting of the American
GeophysicaUl nion (AGU). The 22 presentationasl sor epresenteda t least seven
of the eleven sectionst hat compriset he AGU, including:a tmospherics ciences,
hydrology,g eodesyo, ceans ciencest,e ctonophysicss,e ismologya, nd volcanolo-
gy. The sessionh ighlighted current geosciencesc ontributionst o significant
urban issuesf rom disasterm itigation to environmentald egradation,p lanning,
and more.
Organizationo f the sessionw as enthusiasticallsyu pportedb y the meetingp ro-
gram chairC arol Simpsona nd by AGU staff.W e alsot hankt he many reviewers
of chaptersin this book, our AGU acquisitionse ditor,A llan Graubard,a nd our
productione ditor, TerenceM ulligan.
The Editors
Special Publications Vol. 56
Introduction
Grant Heiken
RobertK . Leggett,t he foremoste xperto n urbang eologyi n the 20t hC entury,
emphasizedth at the naturals ettingo f a city is its foundationI.n the past,m ost
urbanp lanningd ecisionsw ere madew ith little or no regardf or the role of the
natural settingi n the city's long-termh ealth and stability.I n the last several
years,t he numbero f cities with populationso f more than a million peopleh as
topped4 00 (Brinkerhoff,2 002), and the relevanceo f Leggett'sp hilosophyh as
becomem ore apparentA. s the Earth'sp opulations hiftsf rom predominatelyru ral
to urbans ettingsa nd changingc onditionsm ake themselvesfe lt in naturald isas-
ters and resources hortagesi,t is clear that we must adopta new way of under-
standinga nd managingc ities--by understandingth eir intimately linked man-
madea nd environmentasl ystems.
To date,f ew geosciencme onographasn dt extsh avef ocusedo n the application
of Earth sciencesto urbanp roblemsA. lthoughL eggett'st extbookw asp ublished
in 1973 (yes, more than a quarter of a century ago), only one general text
(McCall, et al. 1996) and severalp roceedingsfr om UNESCO-sponsoredco nfer-
enceso n urban geosciencefo r specificr egionso r cities (ESCAP, 1989) have
beenp ublished.E arth Sciencei n the City: A Reader is intendedt o be both an
introductionto this emerginga reao f scientifics tudya nd a responseto growing
concern,e xpresseda t nationala nd internationalle vels, aboutt he lack of geosci-
entific analysisi n urband evelopment.
EarthS ciencein the City: A Reader
¸ 2003 by theA mericanG eophysicaUl nion
10.1029/056SP01
Special Publications Vol. 56
2 Introduction
THE FUTURE OF EARTH SCIENCES IN THE CITIES
When the Union session", EarthS ciencesin the Cities," was organizedfo r the
American GeophysicaUl nion meetingo f spring2 000, from which this volume
derives, two of the authors had prepared an editorial for the journal
EnvironmentaSl ciencea nd Policy (Valentinea ndH eiken, 2000). Part of that edi-
torial is quotedh ere to re-emphasizeth e desperaten eed for growth in the new
field before us.
The Problem
Accordingt o the United Nations PopulationD ivision, the world population
will undergoa major transitioni n about2 005 (this transitiono ccurredi n 2002)
when the majority of humansw ill live in cities.T here are multiple reasonsf or
this transition.I n many developingn ationst he changei s driven by a perception
of increasede conomico pportunitiesin cities.R ural populationsc an only grow
to a point where subsistencea griculturec annot be sustained.I n developed
nations,u rbanp opulationg rowthi s acceleratinga s rural migrantsm ove into the
citiesf or accessto employmentg, oodsa nd servicesI.n the word todayt herea re
405 cities with populationso f over one million and 28 cities with populations
over eight million, the so-called" megacities."T here are 47 U.S. metropolitan
areas with over a million people, and 198 U.S. cities with populationso f
100,000-500,000.A s cities increasei n size and complexity,s o do the issueso f
economica nd political stability that are responsiblef or our quality of life.
Increasinglyc, itiesf acep roblemst hat may havet echnicals olutions--ift he tech-
nical solutionsa re integratedw ith the more traditionala pproachesto municipal
infrastructurem aintenancee, mergencyre sponsep, ublich ealth,a ndp lanning.
Large cities are placesw here infrastructuree lementss ucha s telecommunica-
tions,t ransportationa, nd electricity,a s well as economica ctivity convergeT. his
convergencem akesc ities more vulnerablet o naturala nd human-maded isasters
asw ell asp oorl ong-termp lanningd ecisionsD. isruptiono f a city'si nfrastructure
can have far-reachinge ffects.S omea uthorsw rite of the "footprint"o f a city as
the regionf rom which a city pulls its resourcest,h at receivest he city's waste,o r
that dependsto first ordero n the city's economyC. ity footprintsu suallye xtend
far beyonda city'sl imits. For example,L osA ngelesd rawse lectricityt hati s gen-
eratedi n Washingtonr,e lieso n lumberf rom the Pacific Northwest,a ndp lays a
role in the global economy.M ost westerns tatesa nd, to somee xtent,t he nation
would be damagedb y physicala nd economicc ollapsei n Los Angeles.
To understanda nd better managet he cities of the world there is a need for
changesin the underlyingt hinkingo f governmentasn dt he scientificc ommunity.
The scientificc ommunityn eedst o furthere mbraceu rbans ystemsa sa ni mportant
and crediblef ield of researchF. or their part, universityd epartmentssh ouldc ol-
laboratet o promotei nterdisciplinaryc urriculat o train a new generationo f sci-
Special Publications Vol. 56
Heiken 3
ence-baseudr banp lannersP. hysicaal ndb iologicals cientistssh ouldin creaseth eir
collaborationsw ith social scientists,e conomists,a nd infrastructuree ngineers.
Governmenlta boratoriess houldu set heir interdisciplinaryh orsepowear nd expe-
riencei n applyings ciencea nd technologyto large societalp roblemsf or improv-
ing the urbanc ondition.G iven the inertia that has built up over the last century,
we recognizet hat noneo f thesec hangesw ill be easyt o secure.B ut new thinking
is mandatorya s we movei nto the urbane ra of the 21s tc entury.
InnovativeA pproachest o Urban Issues
Accordingt o G S. Cheema,o f the UnitedN ationsD evelopmenPt rogram," The
urban research agenda ...should focus on the identification of innovative
approachetso dealw ith the complexi ssuesin urbanm anagemenat ndo n strength-
eningn ationalc apacitiesto plan andi mplementu rband evelopmenpt rograms."
Integrateda pproachesm ustb e usedw ithin the governingb odieso f individual
metropolitana reasa s well. The managerso f systemsth at are the lifebloodo f the
world's cities are mostly isolated from one another.F or example, the mutual
dependenceo f water,e lectrical,a nd sewages ystemsa nd the economya nd envi-
ronmenta re not evidentu ntil there is a disasters ucha s an earthquakeo r hurri-
cane. We need to understandt hese connectionsb y running cities without the
managemenbt arrierst hat currentlyb lock our understandingo f all natural and
man-mades ystemsC. ities needi ntegratedt eamst o collectd ata and make obser-
vationsf rom a holisticv iewpointt hatt henc anb e wrappedi nto quantitativem od-
els to use in alleviatingv ulnerabilitiest o naturald isasterst,e rrorista ttacks,a nd
bad planningd ecisionsF. rom our perspectivek, ey playersn ow missinga s city
employeesc ome from the sciencese, speciallys ystemse, arth, and atmospheric
sciencesA. t this time, suchp rofessionsa re mostly housedi n universities,a nd
statea ndf ederal agenciesW. here can they help?T he list is long and includes,t o
namea few: waterresourcesa ndq uality;a ir quality;e nergyr esourcesa ndb uild-
ing materials;t he fate and transporto f chemicals peciesfr om pollutiono r chem-
ical/biologicala ttacks;n aturalh azardsm itigation--by hazardsm apping,z oning,
andh azardss cenariosp; ublich ealtha fter a naturald isasterg; reenbeltsa ndu rban
agriculture;t he effectso f sea-levelr ise; thermale xtremesa nd healthe ffects;a nd
understandingu rban microenvironmentass incubatorso f disease.
A focuso n integratedu rban systemsa lsop resentsa new challengef or the sci-
entific communitye, speciallyt hoseo f us in the naturals ciencesw, ho, like many
(but not all) city managersa nd infrastructurem anagers," work in a box."
Integrateds ciencei s becominga commona pproacht o understandingn atural
(and man-made)s ystemsa nd can be seeni n the reorganizationo f somet radi-
tional,d iscipline-orienteudn iversityd epartmentisn to interdisciplinaryin stitutes
or divisions.S tudentst rainedi n this way mustb e willing to leave the academic
fold to work for the cities, and the cities must be convincedt hat they will gain
by hiring thesep ioneersa nd looking at new ways of managinga city.
Special Publications Vol. 56
4 Introduction
The scientificc ommunitym ustr ecognizet he increasinge ffect of citieso n the
Earth. The complexityo f citiesd emandst hat integrateda pproachebs e takent o
achievea n understandingo f the urban "systemo f systems"r equiredt o identify
weaknessesa nd to enhances ustainabilityT. he use of integrateds tudiess hould
revolutionizet he way governmentasd dressu rbani ssuesN. ow is the time to pre-
pare for humanity'st ransitionf rom a rural to an urban humane nvironment.
This booki s but a stepa longt he way towarda time when earths cientistsre al-
ize that they are neededb y the world's citiesa nd when citiesr ealize that, for sus-
tainableg rowth,t he sciencesa nd especiallyt he earth sciencesa re necessary.
REFERENCES
Brinkerhoff,T ., 2002. PrincipalA gglomerationsa nd Cities of the World, 11.05.2002.
http: //www.c itypopulation.de/
ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific),
1989. Geologya nd Urban DevelopmentA, tlas of Urban Geology,V ol.4 --Hong Kong,
Malaysia, The NetherlandsT, hailand,2 07 pp.
Leggett,R . F., Cities and Geology.M cGraw-Hill, New York, 1973.
McCall, G. J. H., De Mulder, E. F. J., and Marker, B. R., 1996. Urban Geoscience.A . A.
Balkema,R otterdam,2 73 pp.
Valentine, G. A. and Heiken, G., 2000. The need for a new look at cities. Environmental
Sciencea nd Policy, 3:231-234.
SECTION I
BACKGROUND
EARTH SCIENCE IN THE CITIES
Cities grow on a geologicf ramework that suppliesr enewablea nd non-
renewabler esourcess, ervesa s defensiveh igh ground,a ndp rovidesf oun-
dationsf or dwellings,b oth private and public. Five thousandy ears ago
the first urban centersw ere catalystsf or trade,p rotection,a nd the evolu-
tion of societies, spurring the developmento f organized economies,
transportations ystems,a nd infrastructuresfo r water and energy.C ities
have alsob ecomef oci for the most intensea nthropogenicc hangeo n the
Earth's surfacey et known, includingt he devastationw roughtb y modem
war and terrorism.
Engineeringg eologyw as crucialt o the constructiono f New York'sW orld
Trade Centeri n the 1970sa nd, along with remotes ensing,s ervedt o safe-
ly guide the excavationa nd removal of debrisa fter the collapseo f the
twin towerso n September1 1,2001, due to terrorista ttack.
The public has little concepto f the value of the Earth sciencest o the
healtha nd stabilityo f their cities.H elp in remedyingt hat deficiencyc an
come from geotopes (geologicalp arks) as researcha nd public educa-
tion sites establishedt hroughouta city. Geotopesw ill not only supply
windowst o a city's past but illuminate the effectso f the anthropogenic
changet hat accompaniesu rband evelopment.