Urban planning and sustainable cities

Abstract

This article is a review of scholarly works on planning for urban futures with special reference to sustainable cities. The article aims to produce an update of the challenges and current perspectives on urban planning, sustainability and development across the globe. As informed by research from the academic and scientific communities, the review provides the prospective directions and trends for securing a sustainable urban future. Within the sustainable cities discourse, recent intellectual inquiry has centred on the conceptualisation and knowledge production in creating sustainable cities. Though the scope of the review may not be exhaustive, the purpose is to articulate the current progress in the research front concerning concepts and definitions on sustainable cities, planning and methods for urban sustainability development and assessment. The ultimate goal is to provide local authorities, practitioners and/or city governments with some perspective and guidance in working towards urban sustainability in the future.