Jason Chen

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT Map
Location
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Country: Italy
City: Rome

For my human-environment map, I chose to do the city of Rome, Italy because of its
deeply rooted culture and it is the home of one of the strongest civilizations in
human history. I believe that an area, heavily commercialized, such as Rome, would
present a strong human footprint (which is an indicator of how much resources is
consumed) and this would impact the environment in a negative way as more
natural resources are depleted.

REGIONAL SCALE MAP HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT

From a regional point of view, much of Italy (especially its major cities such as
Florence, Venice, Rome, and Milan) have more impacted human footprint than other
areas. You can definitely see a difference when comparing to countries such as
Algeria and Libya in the continent of Africa.

Jason Chen

LOCAL SCALE MAP HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT

On a local scale, you can see that Rome is indeed covered in purple shades because
it is deeply industrialized and its structures have a heavy price tag of natural
resources attached to it.

Problems:
The problem with Rome is that it produces a lot of human footprint which reduces
and depletes natural resources, and produces wastes. These kinds of activity are
detrimental to the environment. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), these actions are usually fostered through the mindset that the earth has a
surplus or an infinite number of resources so we are able to take as much as
possible. (World Wide Fund for Nature: Global). Although Rome had better sewage
and wastewater management because of the Cloaca Maxima (an advanced sewer
system) waterborne diseases was still common. (Penna 346). Rome is driven by
tourism and industries that revolve around machinery, iron and steel. These
factories produce a lot of waste and gas that are poisonous to earth. (Fact Monster).
In an article by National Geographic, they have stated that waste is harmful to the
environment because it is extremely likely that it would contain highly toxic
chemicals. (National Geographic: Waste)

Solution:
The solutions for reducing human footprint is to create sustainable cities through
money invested. Sustainable Infrastructures are considered to be advanced

Jason Chen
technology that greatly reduces wastes generated by humans. Sustainable
Infrastructures are those such as green/solar energy, windmills, zero-emission
battery powered vehicles, and a good water management system that re-uses and
filters out water and redirects them to plants. Public transportation and bicycle are
also a good way to travel. Also, I believe that culture and education plays a big role
in the change of the habits of individuals.

Works Cited

Italy: History, Geography, Government, & Culture." Fact Monster. N.p., n.d. Web.
NatGeo Mapmaker Interactive." NatGeo Mapmaker Interactive. N.p., n.d. Web. 29
Sept. 2015.
Penna, Anthony N. "The Human Footprint: A Global Environmental History." N.p., n.d.
Web.
"Toxic Waste." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web.
"World Wide Fund for Nature: Global." N.p., n.d. Web.