I have lived in New Duston for 18 years – my whole life. Living in the area for this amount of time has enabled me to judge how sustainable the area really is, as I am fully accustomed to the local economy and workings of the area.
I am going to split up sustainability into the pros and cons of the area, processes that make the area sustainable and things which could be done to improve local sustainability, looking at data for the local area acquired from the Office for National Statistics.
As the name suggests, New Duston is an area that was created prior to the original village. Therefore the houses are more modern which brings improved housing regulations and energy efficient building methods and materials. The majority of the houses have doubled glazed windows and doors which helps to lock warmth into the house therefore reducing the duration that the heating systems are used for, saving electricity. However with more modern settlements comes more technology and electricity consuming items. When looking at data for the consumption of electricity and Gas in New Duston (Figure 1) compared to the average for Northampton, East midlands and England, it is evident that the area uses substantial amounts.
Figure 1
This may be due to the mainly younger population occupying the areas (Figure 2) who are more inclined to buy new ‘dirty’ energy inefficient products and be more wasteful than older residents due to their lifestyles; the need to keep up with trends i.e. buying the latest gadgets. The need to buy products to make life easier and a generally less thoughtful mind-set on being wasteful.
Figure 2
Recycling in New Duston is a practiced part of the community. Glass, plastic, paper, garden waste and general waste are all recycled with collections every Thursday. This is sustainable because the damage caused by the creation of the products we buy in Duston is being slightly reduced as the used materials are being recycled and reused.
There are also many bus stops in Duston, with regular public transport. Public transport is a major way that we can reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce emissions from cars by increasing the passenger ratio. Currently out of the 4370 working people in Duston, 248 travel by bus to work. This is a good start as it means potentially 248 individual cars are not being used each day and created emissions. However this is a small number, there are 4751 vans and cars in New Duston – lots of pollution In order for Duston to be more sustainable more people would have to be encouraged to use public transport. But the age of the population comes into play here as many of the population is young; and young people like to drive their cars as they are a large part of their life showing other people how successful they are.
Public services is also tied in with emissions and travel sustainability; new Duston has many services such as; several shops, several schools, hairdressers, florists, doctors, gyms, a dentists, pubs, restaurants, fast food shops, garages, household item shops and much more. This is sustainable because firstly it means that residents of new Duston do not have to travel miles to shopping facilities as they have them on their doorstep, this reduces the amount cars are used for and therefore emissions. Secondly it is also sustainable because the local area’s economy is being boosted when these services are used. The more the local services are used the more the local economy will grow and the more the local area will develop and flourish, and with development and money comes sustainability.
There are also many bus stops in Duston, with regular public transport. Public transport is a major way that we can reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce emissions from cars by increasing the passenger ratio. Currently out of the 4370 working people in Duston, 248 travel by bus to work. This is a good start as it means potentially 248 individual cars are not being used each day and created emissions. However this is a small number, there are 4751 vans and cars in New Duston – lots of pollution In order for Duston to be more sustainable more people would have to be encouraged to use public transport. But the age of the population comes into play here as many of the population is young; and young people like to drive their cars as they are a large part of their life showing other people how successful they are.
Public services is also tied in with emissions and travel sustainability; new Duston has many services such as; several shops, several schools, hairdressers, florists, doctors, gyms, a dentists, pubs, restaurants, fast food shops, garages, household item shops and much more. This is sustainable because firstly it means that residents of new Duston do not have to travel miles to shopping facilities as they have them on their doorstep, this reduces the amount cars are used for and therefore emissions. Secondly it is also sustainable because the local area’s economy is being boosted when these services are used. The more the local services are used the more the local economy will grow and the more the local area will develop and flourish, and with development and money comes sustainability.
In light of all the pollution from vehicles and products in Duston, its carbon footprint can be said to be slightly reduced by the sizeable amount of green space. Duston contains 6 large parks of open grass space, trees and all of this uninterrupted by pollution. All of the areas release oxygen into the air with combats C02 levels. These spaces also make Duston sustainable because there are areas for children to play, people to socialise, events to take place, and this will always be available.
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