O crescimento da população e o aumento do consumo de recursos naturais acentuam a poluição da água, do ar e do solo, o que é evidenciado pelo crescente desaparecimento de espécies década após década, apenas um dos muitos efeitos nefastos do descuido com o planeta que habitamos. Acreditamos que a educação possa ter significativa contribuição no processo de percepção deste desequilíbrio na relação entre homem e natureza auxiliando para a busca de uma melhora do cenário atual. Para que a educação possa cumprir este papel é fundamental que se tenham indicadores do nível de conhecimento ambiental dos alunos. Isso nos permite aferir a situação atual e a partir disso definir metas e construir estratégias para o trabalho com Educação Ambiental, buscando a sustentabilidade e a responsabilidade de todas as gerações para o futuro. Um dos principais objetivos desta pesquisa é caracterizar e enfatizar a importância de compreender como os alunos do terceiro ano do ensino médio e oitava série do ensino fundamental de escolas estaduais percebem e conhecem o meio ambiente do município e a atuação das estruturas públicas e de ONGs (Organizações não governamentais) presentes em São Leopoldo/RS. Além disto, buscamos verificar a inserção de novas tecnologias neste cenário, como o uso do Orkut e de suas comunidades relacionadas ao meio ambiente. Um total de 218 alunos participaram desta pesquisa, respondendo a um questionário sobre sua percepção a respeito do meio ambiente da cidade; as respostas foram analisadas estatisticamente com o auxílio do software SPSS e Excel. Esta análise revelou que mais da metade da amostra possui cadastro no Orkut, mas não participa de comunidades virtuais sobre o meio ambiente. Quanto à Pegada Ecológica a maior pontuação foi de alunos do terceiro ano do ensino médio que obtiveram um valor entre 8 e 10 hectares. Um pouco menor foi o resultado apresentado pelos estudantes de oitava série, entre 6 e 8 hectares. Através desta pesquisa também foi possível identificar e quantificar um grande desconhecimento por parte dos alunos no que se refere aos órgãos públicos e suas ações. Em ambos os níveis de ensino, a maioria desconhece a localização da Secretaria de Meio Ambiente da cidade, nunca pensaram em denunciar algo que tenham visto contra a natureza, bem como desconhecem a existência de projetos sobre meio ambiente no município. A legislação ambiental também é desconhecida pela quase totalidade dos estudantes. É essencial que estes resultados sirvam de estímulo para uma reflexão de todos os sujeitos que estão ligados à discussão da temática ambiental, principalmente aqueles que estruturam políticas públicas voltadas à Educação Ambiental. A legislação que visa preservar nosso patrimônio ambiental existe, cabe à sociedade promover uma maior cobrança para que essas leis sejam aperfeiçoadas e efetivamente aplicadas, e cabe às instituições escolares debaterem estes assuntos em suas comunidades, formando cidadãos ativos na busca de soluções para estes problemas. Desta forma, é possível trabalhar a construção de uma consciência ambiental visando um futuro melhor. / Population growth and increased consumption of natural resources intensify water, air and soil pollution, which is evidenced by the increasing loss of species over the decades, only one of many harmful effects of neglecting the planet we live on. We believe education can have significant contribution in the perception of this imbalance in the relationship between man and nature, helping to improve the current scenario. For education to fulfill this role it is essential to have indicators of the level of student’s environmental knowledge. This allow measuring the current situation and from that set goals and build strategies for working with Environmental Education, aiming sustainability and responsibility of every generation for the future. One of the main objectives of this research is to characterize and emphasize the importance of understanding how students in the third year of high school and eighth grade in the elementary school at public schools perceive and know the environment of the city and the actions of public structures and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in São Leopoldo city. Furthermore, we investigate how new technologies take part in this scenario, as the use of Orkut and its communities related to the environment. A group of 218 students took part in this research, answering a questionnaire about their perception about the city's environment; the answers were statistically analyzed with the aid of SPSS and Excel softwares. This analysis revealed that more than half of the sample has an Orkut account, but does not take part of communities about the environment. Regarding Ecological Footprint, the highest score was obtained by students in third year of high school, between 8 and 10 hectares. Slightly lower was the result of the eighthgrade students, between 6 and 8 hectares. It was also identified and quantified through this research students display a great ignorance of public structures and its actions. At both levels of education, most are unaware of the location of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, never thought to report something wrong they witnessed against nature and do not know any environmental projects being held on the city. Environmental Law is also unknown by almost all students. It is essential that these results stimulate the study of all environmental involved parties that are linked to discussion of environmental issues, especially those responsible to make public policies for the Environmental Education. The Environmental Law already exits, it is up to society demand these laws are improved and enforced, and it is up to schools to discuss these issues in their communities, developing citizens who are active in the pursuit of solutions to these problems. Thus, it is possible to build an environmental awareness aiming a better future.

O crescimento da população e o aumento do consumo de recursos naturais acentuam a poluição da água, do ar e do solo, o que é evidenciado pelo crescente desaparecimento de espécies década após década, apenas um dos muitos efeitos nefastos do descuido com o planeta que habitamos. Acreditamos que a educação possa ter significativa contribuição no processo de percepção deste desequilíbrio na relação entre homem e natureza auxiliando para a busca de uma melhora do cenário atual. Para que a educação possa cumprir este papel é fundamental que se tenham indicadores do nível de conhecimento ambiental dos alunos. Isso nos permite aferir a situação atual e a partir disso definir metas e construir estratégias para o trabalho com Educação Ambiental, buscando a sustentabilidade e a responsabilidade de todas as gerações para o futuro. Um dos principais objetivos desta pesquisa é caracterizar e enfatizar a importância de compreender como os alunos do terceiro ano do ensino médio e oitava série do ensino fundamental de escolas estaduais percebem e conhecem o meio ambiente do município e a atuação das estruturas públicas e de ONGs (Organizações não governamentais) presentes em São Leopoldo/RS. Além disto, buscamos verificar a inserção de novas tecnologias neste cenário, como o uso do Orkut e de suas comunidades relacionadas ao meio ambiente. Um total de 218 alunos participaram desta pesquisa, respondendo a um questionário sobre sua percepção a respeito do meio ambiente da cidade; as respostas foram analisadas estatisticamente com o auxílio do software SPSS e Excel. Esta análise revelou que mais da metade da amostra possui cadastro no Orkut, mas não participa de comunidades virtuais sobre o meio ambiente. Quanto à Pegada Ecológica a maior pontuação foi de alunos do terceiro ano do ensino médio que obtiveram um valor entre 8 e 10 hectares. Um pouco menor foi o resultado apresentado pelos estudantes de oitava série, entre 6 e 8 hectares. Através desta pesquisa também foi possível identificar e quantificar um grande desconhecimento por parte dos alunos no que se refere aos órgãos públicos e suas ações. Em ambos os níveis de ensino, a maioria desconhece a localização da Secretaria de Meio Ambiente da cidade, nunca pensaram em denunciar algo que tenham visto contra a natureza, bem como desconhecem a existência de projetos sobre meio ambiente no município. A legislação ambiental também é desconhecida pela quase totalidade dos estudantes. É essencial que estes resultados sirvam de estímulo para uma reflexão de todos os sujeitos que estão ligados à discussão da temática ambiental, principalmente aqueles que estruturam políticas públicas voltadas à Educação Ambiental. A legislação que visa preservar nosso patrimônio ambiental existe, cabe à sociedade promover uma maior cobrança para que essas leis sejam aperfeiçoadas e efetivamente aplicadas, e cabe às instituições escolares debaterem estes assuntos em suas comunidades, formando cidadãos ativos na busca de soluções para estes problemas. Desta forma, é possível trabalhar a construção de uma consciência ambiental visando um futuro melhor. / Population growth and increased consumption of natural resources intensify water, air and soil pollution, which is evidenced by the increasing loss of species over the decades, only one of many harmful effects of neglecting the planet we live on. We believe education can have significant contribution in the perception of this imbalance in the relationship between man and nature, helping to improve the current scenario. For education to fulfill this role it is essential to have indicators of the level of student’s environmental knowledge. This allow measuring the current situation and from that set goals and build strategies for working with Environmental Education, aiming sustainability and responsibility of every generation for the future. One of the main objectives of this research is to characterize and emphasize the importance of understanding how students in the third year of high school and eighth grade in the elementary school at public schools perceive and know the environment of the city and the actions of public structures and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in São Leopoldo city. Furthermore, we investigate how new technologies take part in this scenario, as the use of Orkut and its communities related to the environment. A group of 218 students took part in this research, answering a questionnaire about their perception about the city's environment; the answers were statistically analyzed with the aid of SPSS and Excel softwares. This analysis revealed that more than half of the sample has an Orkut account, but does not take part of communities about the environment. Regarding Ecological Footprint, the highest score was obtained by students in third year of high school, between 8 and 10 hectares. Slightly lower was the result of the eighthgrade students, between 6 and 8 hectares. It was also identified and quantified through this research students display a great ignorance of public structures and its actions. At both levels of education, most are unaware of the location of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, never thought to report something wrong they witnessed against nature and do not know any environmental projects being held on the city. Environmental Law is also unknown by almost all students. It is essential that these results stimulate the study of all environmental involved parties that are linked to discussion of environmental issues, especially those responsible to make public policies for the Environmental Education. The Environmental Law already exits, it is up to society demand these laws are improved and enforced, and it is up to schools to discuss these issues in their communities, developing citizens who are active in the pursuit of solutions to these problems. Thus, it is possible to build an environmental awareness aiming a better future.

No atual contexto ambiental é grande a demanda por informações consistentes que subsidiem o planejamento territorial, permitindo realizar avaliações ambientais e desta forma, subsidiar os setores público e privado. Essa demanda pode ser satisfeita com a integração de informações em um sistema, com propriedades e funções de processamento, possibilitando sua utilização em ambiente integrado. Assim, nesta dissertação é proposta uma metodologia para a avaliação ambiental de bacias hidrográficas que atua desde a escolha de indicadores e definição dos pesos de sua contribuição, até a execução de avaliações e espacialização de resultados em ambiente SIG. Esta metodologia é composta por duas fases distintas: avaliação da vulnerabilidade ambiental da bacia hidrográfica a partir do uso de sistemas de suporte à decisão espacial, e, avaliação da sustentabilidade da bacia através do cálculo do indicador Pegada Ecológica. Na primeira fase são adotados sistemas de suporte à decisão, bases de conhecimento, SIG e uma ferramenta que integra estes resultados permitindo a geração de avaliações, análises e/ou cenários prospectivos. Na segunda fase, a sustentabilidade da bacia é retratada a partir do cálculo da pegada ecológica que consiste na contabilização da área que uma população necessita para produzir os recursos consumidos e absorver os resíduos gerados. A comparação entre áreas mais vulneráveis e menos sustentáveis, pode nortear projetos de recuperação e conservação ambiental. / In the current environmental context is huge the demand for consistent information that supports the territorial planning, allowing environmental assessments thereby subsidizing public and private sectors. This demand can be satisfied with the integration of information into a system, with properties and processing functions, allowing its use in integrated environment. Thus, this thesis proposes a methodology for environmental assessment of watersheds that operates from the choice of indicators and definition of the weights of its contribution to the implementation of assessments and spatialisation of results in a GIS environment. This methodology is composed of two distinct phases: assessment of environmental vulnerability of the basin by the use of spatial decision support systems, and assessing the sustainability of the basin through the calculation of Ecological Footprint. In the first phase are adopted decision support systems, knowledge bases, GIS and a tool that integrates these results allowing the generation of assessments, analysis and / or prospective scenarios. In the second stage, the sustainability of the basin is pictured from the calculation of the ecological footprint, which consists in accounting the area that a population needs to produce the resources consumed and absorb the waste generated. The comparison between the most vulnerable and less sustainable, can guide restoration projects and environmental conservation.

O crescimento da população e o aumento do consumo de recursos naturais acentuam a poluição da água, do ar e do solo, o que é evidenciado pelo crescente desaparecimento de espécies década após década, apenas um dos muitos efeitos nefastos do descuido com o planeta que habitamos. Acreditamos que a educação possa ter significativa contribuição no processo de percepção deste desequilíbrio na relação entre homem e natureza auxiliando para a busca de uma melhora do cenário atual. Para que a educação possa cumprir este papel é fundamental que se tenham indicadores do nível de conhecimento ambiental dos alunos. Isso nos permite aferir a situação atual e a partir disso definir metas e construir estratégias para o trabalho com Educação Ambiental, buscando a sustentabilidade e a responsabilidade de todas as gerações para o futuro. Um dos principais objetivos desta pesquisa é caracterizar e enfatizar a importância de compreender como os alunos do terceiro ano do ensino médio e oitava série do ensino fundamental de escolas estaduais percebem e conhecem o meio ambiente do município e a atuação das estruturas públicas e de ONGs (Organizações não governamentais) presentes em São Leopoldo/RS. Além disto, buscamos verificar a inserção de novas tecnologias neste cenário, como o uso do Orkut e de suas comunidades relacionadas ao meio ambiente. Um total de 218 alunos participaram desta pesquisa, respondendo a um questionário sobre sua percepção a respeito do meio ambiente da cidade; as respostas foram analisadas estatisticamente com o auxílio do software SPSS e Excel. Esta análise revelou que mais da metade da amostra possui cadastro no Orkut, mas não participa de comunidades virtuais sobre o meio ambiente. Quanto à Pegada Ecológica a maior pontuação foi de alunos do terceiro ano do ensino médio que obtiveram um valor entre 8 e 10 hectares. Um pouco menor foi o resultado apresentado pelos estudantes de oitava série, entre 6 e 8 hectares. Através desta pesquisa também foi possível identificar e quantificar um grande desconhecimento por parte dos alunos no que se refere aos órgãos públicos e suas ações. Em ambos os níveis de ensino, a maioria desconhece a localização da Secretaria de Meio Ambiente da cidade, nunca pensaram em denunciar algo que tenham visto contra a natureza, bem como desconhecem a existência de projetos sobre meio ambiente no município. A legislação ambiental também é desconhecida pela quase totalidade dos estudantes. É essencial que estes resultados sirvam de estímulo para uma reflexão de todos os sujeitos que estão ligados à discussão da temática ambiental, principalmente aqueles que estruturam políticas públicas voltadas à Educação Ambiental. A legislação que visa preservar nosso patrimônio ambiental existe, cabe à sociedade promover uma maior cobrança para que essas leis sejam aperfeiçoadas e efetivamente aplicadas, e cabe às instituições escolares debaterem estes assuntos em suas comunidades, formando cidadãos ativos na busca de soluções para estes problemas. Desta forma, é possível trabalhar a construção de uma consciência ambiental visando um futuro melhor. / Population growth and increased consumption of natural resources intensify water, air and soil pollution, which is evidenced by the increasing loss of species over the decades, only one of many harmful effects of neglecting the planet we live on. We believe education can have significant contribution in the perception of this imbalance in the relationship between man and nature, helping to improve the current scenario. For education to fulfill this role it is essential to have indicators of the level of student’s environmental knowledge. This allow measuring the current situation and from that set goals and build strategies for working with Environmental Education, aiming sustainability and responsibility of every generation for the future. One of the main objectives of this research is to characterize and emphasize the importance of understanding how students in the third year of high school and eighth grade in the elementary school at public schools perceive and know the environment of the city and the actions of public structures and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in São Leopoldo city. Furthermore, we investigate how new technologies take part in this scenario, as the use of Orkut and its communities related to the environment. A group of 218 students took part in this research, answering a questionnaire about their perception about the city's environment; the answers were statistically analyzed with the aid of SPSS and Excel softwares. This analysis revealed that more than half of the sample has an Orkut account, but does not take part of communities about the environment. Regarding Ecological Footprint, the highest score was obtained by students in third year of high school, between 8 and 10 hectares. Slightly lower was the result of the eighthgrade students, between 6 and 8 hectares. It was also identified and quantified through this research students display a great ignorance of public structures and its actions. At both levels of education, most are unaware of the location of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, never thought to report something wrong they witnessed against nature and do not know any environmental projects being held on the city. Environmental Law is also unknown by almost all students. It is essential that these results stimulate the study of all environmental involved parties that are linked to discussion of environmental issues, especially those responsible to make public policies for the Environmental Education. The Environmental Law already exits, it is up to society demand these laws are improved and enforced, and it is up to schools to discuss these issues in their communities, developing citizens who are active in the pursuit of solutions to these problems. Thus, it is possible to build an environmental awareness aiming a better future.

For some years now, the phenomena of urban agriculture have been present in the public discourse on cities and sustainability. It is often assumed that urban agriculture has the potential to contribute to an increased sustainability of the cities. However, many practical and theoretical obstacles might have to be overcome in order to realize this potential. One ambition of this thesis is to analyse urban agriculture as a “sustainability multiplier” – that is, as a practice that can positively affect a large number of dimensions of sustainability. Another ambition is to study how urban agriculture can contribute to lower the “ecological footprint” of our cities. Two concepts are essential in the discussion and have been given special attention in the thesis: “ecological footprint” and “sustainability”.

The aim of this thesis is to compare the National Footprint Accounts of the Czech Republic in the section of cropland and grazing land for the year 2007 based on globally available data and data available in the Czech Republic, and also to compare these National Footprint Accounts of the Czech Republic based on nationally available data from the years 2007 and 2013. This thesis used the method of calculation of the National Footprint Accounts developed by Global Footprint Network. The ecological footprint of cropland of the Czech Republic is lower according to national data compared to global data while the ecological footprint of grazing land is higher. According to national data, the ecological footprint of both cropland and grazing land of the Czech Republic was lower in 2013 compared to 2007. This work gives an opportunity to compare the calculation of the ecological footprint and biocapacity of cropland and grazing land based on different data sources and to compare the results based on data from 2007 and 2013. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The key role of diet in both human health and environmental sustainability is well known. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the environmental impact of children’s dietary behavior. The aim of this observational study was to investigate the dietary environmental impact in a sample of primary school children living in Parma (Italy, n = 172, 8–10 years), in relation to their adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD). Children completed a 3-day food record in both winter and spring. Dietary records were processed to obtain: (i) adherence to the MD and (ii) mean daily carbon and ecological footprints. Adherence to the MD was similar in winter and spring, with almost half of the participants showing a medium MD score. Carbon and ecological footprints were higher during winter, and the main dietary contributors were red and processed meat for both indexes. A small positive correlation was observed between adherence to the MD and total carbon and ecological footprints. This study provided the first analysis of the relationship between adherence to the MD and environmental impact of primary school children. Further research is needed to better investigate the environmental impact of primary school children’s diet and the possible relationship between the MD and environmental sustainability.

[pt] Assim como qualquer item, uma construção possui uma vida útil que considera o seu nascimento como momento que ela é concebida em projeto, e sua morte como sendo sua demolição final. Durante sua vida uma construção deve passar por manutenções (preventivas, adaptativas e corretivas) que permitem o prolongamento do seu uso, mantendo o seu nível de desempenho dentro do aceitável. Muitas vezes as ações corretivas se dão em períodos curtos de tempo, intervalos abaixo do esperado por seus usuários ou administradores. Obviamente toda intervenção trás consigo um custo financeiro, que cresce dependendo do momento em que ela ocorra dentro da vida da construção. Muito além do custo financeiro, toda atividade causa impacto no meio ambiente, gerando assim um custo ambiental. Determinar o preço ambiental do refazimento de uma obra, em um curto espaço de tempo (menor que o esperado) ilustra o peso deste custo, muitas vezes invisível ou negligenciado, é necessário. A Análise do refazimento de uma obra devido a falhas construtivas que trouxeram uma drástica queda no desempenho no uso do empreendimento demonstrou que o custo ambiental é proporcionalmente muito maior que o custo financeiro esperado. Sabendo que o custo financeiro de correções construtivas ao longo da vida do imóvel cresce em uma progressão geométrica de base 5, permite comparar o quanto o custo ambiental pode desequilibrar a sustentabilidade. Analisando que a intervenção de uma área de 4.200 m quadrados utilizou uma área ambiental de 1.360.000 m quadrados, faz com que os sinais de alerta se acendam demonstrando que a correção de um erro construtivo é muito maior para o meio ambiente que o custo financeiro envolvido. / [en] The world population has been growing at a dizzying rate in recent centuries. And this accelerated population gain brings with it numerous consequences, among them, the need to produce more food, housing and infrastructure. This all leads us to consume more and more natural resources and also increases the generation of waste and waste. The so-called carrying capacity of the planet (condition of sustaining a population), has not evolved in the last centuries in the same index of population growth, that is, humanity is consuming natural resources and generating waste at a speed higher than that which the planet is capable of. produce and absorb. To continue supporting the growing population of the planet, it is necessary to experiment with new technologies, methodologies and processes so that this growth is supported by the tripod of sustainability. The term sustainable development has the most common, and accepted, meaning that points to a tripod of economic growth, environmental preservation and social development. Civil construction is an essential economic sector in the development of any country and society, being responsible for a large fraction of the quality of life of human beings, since they alter the natural environment for better use of space. Understanding the environmental cost of correcting a construction failure is the objective of this work. There are countless studies that point to the financial cost of the so-called rework, but few look at this phenomenon under the environmental lens. The entire life cycle of an enterprise, from its design to its ruin, through its construction and use, causes environmental marks. To correct flaws in works already completed, or in use, there is a need to consume new materials, involving an entire production chain and generating new waste. To produce a certain input that will be used in the correction of a pathology, the following are required: consumption of raw materials to conceive it, energy consumption to manufacture it, waste to produce it, expenses with transportation to take it from the factory to the point of use. All of these steps in the process consume environmental resources. At the other end of the error correction, for the pathology to be eliminated, it must be removed from the site (demolition of a crooked wall, for example) using energy and producing residues from this removal. This waste will be transported to a suitable disposal site, that is, using more energy in this process. In addition, it is still necessary to transform a harmful waste into something less aggressive to the environment. Given the above, the purpose of this research is to understand the size of the impact that a constructive failure can cause to the environment depending on its severity and the moment it is detected. In order to carry out this work, a project was followed up with a short time of use, but which needed major interventions due to the flaws found. With the analysis of the presented pathologies it was possible to measure how much they weighed, and will weigh, to the environment. In addition, analyzing the origin and the correction method implemented will allow to index each of the flaws found environmentally, measuring how much the planet s carrying capacity could have been preserved had these defects not occurred. The useful life of a building can be understood as the time interval from its birth, marked by its design concept, until its death with its demolition and / or disuse. Project useful life (VUP) must be defined by the developer and the project designer. VUP, despite being a temporal measure, has an economic character, being defined as the best relation between global cost versus time to enjoy the good. Preventive maintenance takes place constantly and aims to increase the life of the project, whereas corrective maintenance must occur in a timely manner and correcting failures in points that are already performing below the desired level. Adaptive maintenance has the objective of adjusting the enterprise to receive new technologies, new equipment and to comply with the new legislation The economic character of the useful life of a good is characterized by its global cost, which must be defined as the sum of the cost of acquisition, or construction, of the good and the cost of maintenance throughout its life. The total cost of a construction during its life includes the costs of planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition. These construction costs represent between 15 percent and 20 percent of the total cost; 80 percent of the amount is spent on operation and maintenance and only 2 percent to 5 percent of the amount is spent on planning and design (conceptual and detailed). The total cost of a construction during its life includes the costs of planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition. These construction costs represent between 15 percent and 20 percent of the total cost; 80 percent of the amount is spent on operation and maintenance and only 2 percent to 5 percent of the amount is spent on planning and design (conceptual and detailed). The useful life of a building, for example, goes through the useful life of its components such as its foundations, superstructures, hydro-sanitary installations, electrical installations, facades, internal cladding, paintings and waterproofing. Studies show that corrective maintenance costs up to five times more than preventive maintenance. Corrective maintenance is often required in shorter time cycles than initially imagined (and desired) by those responsible for the enterprise. Currently, numerous failures in new construction (or with little use) are verified, such as buildings, bridges, roads, streets and public supply networks, which range from faults of all kinds, from simple to catastrophic. The service life can be extended with preventive, corrective and adaptive maintenance interventions. The extension of useful life is directly impacted on the overall cost of construction. The lowest global cost system is usually not the lowest initial cost nor the longest lasting. Seeking to optimize the cost-benefit ratio is the best option for society. The useful life of a building must be supported by the tripod of socio-environmental importance, cost of implementation and cost of maintenance over the years. When investors seek to save money by building buildings with low quality standards, and with low maintenance ease, they increase the cost of future maintenance. At the other end of the real estate market, users do not carry out preventive maintenance because they consider its cost to be high, often allowing certain components of the project to come close to the level of unacceptable performance and only then carry out the maintenance that has now become corrective, costing financially more than the preventive maintenance previously denied. The Sitter rule, or Law of 5, determines that the relative cost of an intervention grows in a geometric progression of ratio 5 over time in the project and its maintenance. The sooner a problem is perceived, the lower its cost. Sustainability, despite not having a unanimous definition, is a concept that must integrate aspects of social-ecological dimensions, economic factors, and the short, medium and long term advantages. Putting together all the concepts expressed by several authors, sustainability can be defined as the attempt to achieve economic and social growth while preserving the finite resources of the environment. For more than 40 years, humanity s demand for nature has exceeded the planet s replacement capacity. Currently 1.5 Earth planets would be needed to provide the ecological services that were used in the 1980s. Trees are cut faster than they can ripen, more fish are caught than the oceans can replenish and more carbon is emitted than forests and oceans can absorb. The carrying capacity of the planet has been compromised in a way never before experienced by humanity, to meet the current lifestyle of the population. Consumerism is seen as a behavior that leads to an increase in production and, consequently, to economic progress, but this equation is limited by resources that cannot sustain unlimited growth. Finite spaces cannot absorb waste that grows indefinitely. The carrying capacity of a system is obviously influenced by factors such as average income, material expectations and level of technology, that is, energy and material efficiency. There are few systems of indicators that analyze sustainable development in a generic way. The most commonly used indicators globally are as follows: (1) Sustainability Panel, (2) Sustainability Barometer and (3) Ecological Footprint. The indicator called Ecological Footprint has the advantage of being easily visualized, since the Ecological Footprint represents the ecological space necessary to sustain a given system, or community. It is a simple tool that counts the flows of matter and energy that enter and leave an economic system, converting them into areas of land, or water, necessary to sustain such a system. The Ecological Footprint is a method that transforms the consumption of raw materials and the assimilation of waste from an economic system, or from a human population, into an area corresponding to productive land or water. Using this method, it is possible to calculate the area of the ecosystem needed to ensure the eternal survival of a given population or system. Once this equivalent area of the ecosystem has been determined, it is possible to visualize how much it appropriates the carrying capacity of the planet as a whole. In fact, the size of the Footprint can change depending on the new technologies developed, which can be more or less resource-consuming and wastegenerating. The calculation method for measuring the Ecological Footprint, although easily intuitive, is difficult to carry out with regard to data collection.

Current global agricultural practices are recognized as unsustainable. The increase in overall human population as well as the global trend of rural to urban migration, partially as a result of historically and continual unsustainable agricultural practices, exacerbates the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger in developing countries. Furthermore, cities and regions in developed countries practice unsustainable food production, distribution and consumption patterns, and as a result, exceed their global ecological footprint (Rees 2009). Consequently, the world is facing a global food (FAO 2009) and water crisis (UN Sick Water 2010). Cities and Regions must learn to feed themselves to address local food insecurity as well as protect from the climate effects of increased urbanization, including the Urban Heat Island effect (UHIe) by optimizing and fully integrating the local ecosystem services of food, water and forest within a tightly woven compact urban form through the implementation of strategic urban and regional food system planning. Cities can mitigate climate change and reduce the UHIe, by implementing sustainable intensive urban agriculture approaches through policy and zoning interventions that include concepts such as intensively productive urban agriculture that includes green roofs, vertical farming and greenways as continuously productive and edible urban landscapes, referred to in this paper as continuously productive urban agriculture and forestation (CPUAF) in the private and public realm. A highly participative, adaptive systems approach is explored as the key to sustainability within an economic world order that included corporate social responsibility and social enterprise as the foundation for the integration of multiple synergies. An increasing body of evidence often links urban forestation with urban greenery initiatives, as a carbon sink to reduce UHI effects, to reduce GHG emissions and as a tool for urban beautification and place making (ISDR: 2009,109). Urban agriculture, through the production of local food is increasingly recognized as a means to reduce fossil fuel emissions by reducing transportation and production outputs, to provide a secure local food source, enhance biodiversity and educate the public regarding food source while fostering a sense of community, environmental awareness and stewardship. This thesis explores the links between intensive urban agriculture and forestation, and the relationship between climate change, and the UHI’s as an adaptation and mitigation process in global cities, implemented as a interconnected, integrated, holistic urban management approach that has a further benefit of providing food security and a sustainable and local urban food source. / Dissertation (MTRP)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted

The investigation used the Ecological Footprint as an educational tool to assist Environmental Management and Water Care learners at Technikon Northern Gauteng, Soshanguve learners in gaining insight in their consumption of natural renewable and non-renewable resources and generation of wastes. In addition, it also aimed to assist them in understanding the ecological impacts of their behavior on the available international and national productive land and thus on planet earth. The results of the investigation indicated a significant decrease in the post-test questionnaire knowledge, attitude, and behaviour scores of the learner group. The implication however was clear; the Ecological Footprint did not directly have an effect on the attitude and behaviour of the learners but indirectly influenced the knowledge base of the learners, which then should have an impact on their attitude and behaviour over time. The Ecological Footprint could thus be an educational tool that could be incorporated into the curricula of the two academic programs at TNG, viz Water Care and Environmental Management for increasing knowledge and improving the attitude and behaviour of learners towards a more sustainable lifestyle. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.(Environmental Education)