At the dawn of the third millennium, planet Earth entered a zone of turbulence. The 2008 crisis added economic uncertainty to the threat of global warming and extreme events such as droughts, floods and cyclones, the persisting crisis of p- erty and the spectrum of pandemics and terrorism. Against this global landscape in an era of fragility, cities, already sheltering more than half of humankind, appear as Janus-faced realities, the best and worst of places, vulnerable but still full of hope and will to overcome the crisis of societal values and progress in the path of susta- able development. This book addresses the most critical challenges for cities, humanity’s collective masterpieces in danger, and analyses breakthrough responses for sustainable dev- opment, a globalisation with human face and the transition to inclusive post carbon communities. The ultimate wish is that experts, city planners, decision-makers and citizens in search of sustainable cities could find here some sources of information and inspiration to enhance the immense possibilities of cities and embrace the best possible trajectories of change.

At the dawn of the third millennium, planet Earth entered a zone of turbulence. The 2008 crisis added economic uncertainty to the threat of global warming and extreme events such as droughts, floods and cyclones, the persisting crisis of p- erty and the spectrum of pandemics and terrorism. Against this global landscape in an era of fragility, cities, already sheltering more than half of humankind, appear as Janus-faced realities, the best and worst of places, vulnerable but still full of hope and will to overcome the crisis of societal values and progress in the path of susta- able development. This book addresses the most critical challenges for cities, humanity’s collective masterpieces in danger, and analyses breakthrough responses for sustainable dev- opment, a globalisation with human face and the transition to inclusive post carbon communities. The ultimate wish is that experts, city planners, decision-makers and citizens in search of sustainable cities could find here some sources of information and inspiration to enhance the immense possibilities of cities and embrace the best possible trajectories of change.

​ ​This book can be seen as the third part of an unofficial trilogy on Sustainable Cities of the Future with the author's previous books 'Sustainable Development, Energy and the City' and 'Sustainable Cities for the third millennium: The Odyssey of urban excellence', both prefaced by Prof. Sir Peter Hall. All three books follow the evolving forefront of innovations towards Sustainable Cities. They collectively try to respond to the questions: What future cities wish to build (with their scarcities and capacities) on a finite planet? What do-they do to achieve this? How do-they contribute to redesign the world? The third book adopts, first and foremost, a strategic foresight approach including a scan of the future trends, tensions and risks in a more uncertain world, the possible and preferable futures, emerging policy issues, such as intergenerational cities or cities welcoming the immigrants and their impact on sustainable development, the Rio+20 prospects and the effects of the protracted crisis, efforts by world interconnected cities, including a case-study on Bangkok, a laboratory of urban change, and examples of frugal and resilient urban policies.​

Cities for the New Millennium is the outcome of a joint conference held in Salford in July 2000 by the Royal Institute of British Architects and the University of Cambridge's Department of Architecture. It tackles these questions in the light of the Urban Task Force's report about the future of Britain's cities and communities, but sets them in an international and historical context. Professionals - architects, engineers and developers as well as academics from different countries and disciplines here lavish their expertise on issues of transportation, density, land use, risk and energy saving; others present urban-scale buildings or landscapes that have been judged inspirational or inventive. This book, therefore, is not just about theories of urbanism. It reveals how co-operation and debate between different parties and professions can illuminate the creative kind of urban development we should be aiming for.

This book argues that accelerating action toward sustainability for and by cities and their inhabitants can make a huge difference to humanity’s endeavor to recover from current crises and build a sustainable future. It sheds light on cutting-edge concepts and actions toward sustainability that can taken by and for cities and with citizens. In this book, author Voula Mega takes the reader on a journey inside and across cities and highlights efforts toward a paradigmatic shift that reconciles human systems with nature. Leadership, education, innovation, trust and citizen empowerment all play a crucial role for the co-invention of a new model that balances human well-being, sustainable prosperity and the future of the planet. Building on robust evidence and inspired by best practices, Human Sustainable Cities offers compelling messages and convincing advice to all stakeholders who are striving to overcome crises, speed up the path toward resilience and preparedness and bounce forward better.

Drawing on the experience of several cities from different parts of the world, this text provides a global perspective on the urbanization phenomenon and tall building development, and examines their underlying logic, design drivers, contextual relationships and pitfalls.

This Collection Of Essays By Academics And Practitioners From Around The World Underscores Issues And Concerns Of Sustainable Urban Development And Best Practices In Terms Of Theory As Well As Praxes. Contributors Have Made An Attempt To Critically Reconcile The Hypothetical With The Applied In Order To Arrive At Innovative Solutions For Urban Good Governance In The Context Of The Steady Proliferation Of Habitats And Conurbations All Over The World. Their Papers More Often Than Not Transcend Regional Specifics To Address The Common Agenda Of Urban Development Debates As Informed By Assorted Modernization Perspectives In The 21St Century. This Volume Brings Together Social Scientists, Development Consultants And Nonprofit Professionals So That Multipositional Theories And Multicultural Praxes Might Be Reflected In Their Papers Based On Empirical Research And Field-Level Insights. It Is Expected That This Volume Will Provoke Fresh Debates And New Ideas That Will Facilitate Theory-Building As Well As Formulation Of Paradigms For Good Practices And Sustainable Urban Applications.The Book Would Be Found Highly Useful By Town Planners, Municipal Administrators, Ngos Working In The Field Of Urban Development And Common Readers Interested In Urban Problems And Policies. It Will Be Equally Valuable For Policy Makers As Well As Students, Researchers And Teachers Of Urban Economics, Urban Sociology, Urban Geography And Public Administration.

Published in 1999. Analyzing and chronicling the continued development of key information, communication and fast transport networks at a global and regional level, this book looks at the transition to an information-based economy, and its urban impacts, at a global, regional and city level. The book outlines the change by defining it as the third great societal transition in the history of human settlement, and points to key factors that have fuelled progress. These include the growth of global telecommunications and fast transport networks; the coming together of information and communication technologies and their links to transport and land use; the shift to information and knowledge as a resource base for new industries; the increasing movement of people and information; the emergence of cities as economic entities, network nodes, and centres for generating, exchanging and processing information, and, most significantly, the competition among cities for these new key elements of of the urban economy.