- Cities & schools in a low carbon approach    93 kb by    Pisco, Paulo | paulo.pisco@netcabo.pt    Short Outline This paper intends to prove that without a link between urban and educational planning we have a longer way to ‘retrofit’ our outworn city areas. “School Urbanism” can be a great help to restructure cities and to obtain a lower carbon performance. Abstract In the last century we have seen a demographic increase in cities and the generalization of compulsory education for all. With the accelerated migration from the rural world to the urban and the enlargement of the educational system we presence a generalized imbalance between offer and demand. The Motorization Index has quintuplicated in the last 50 years in Portugal, in particular since the seventies. As there has been a trend of city polarization the urban sprawl has extended. In the planning sector, as in the educational one this causes some problems to adjust to reality. Because the inner city is aging and decreasing and the outskirts are expanding with new families. The older school facilities in the consolidated area have fewer pupils and they have to travel longer distances to get there. With the increase of motorization the students have been walking and cycling less, relying more on transports, especially the private one. Causing two bad tendencies: increase in the greenhouse effects and economically - family and public funds. Adding to health issues – child obesity and respiratory problems – and security – less people on foot and the sense of the unknown amplifies the feeling of urban fear and public space degradation. School facilities are a big energy consumer, not only in accessibility, but with their activities too. Energy efficiency in school is exemplar to students and its neighbourhoods and with a low carbon approach urban planning and management are able to improve the relationship with the city. In this communication we intend to prove that without a link between urban and educational planning we have a longer way to ‘retrofit’ our outworn city areas. “School Urbanism” can be a great help to restructuring cities and to obtain a lower carbon performance. We try to prove this by several study cases in average cities in Portugal. Keywords Cities, Schools, Low Larbon, School Trips, Better Neighbourhoods, School Urbanism Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2009: Low Carbon Cities   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper