Cities and sustainable urban development: challenges, conflicts, and cohesion

Abstract

Considering the rapid growth of world population, especially the global urban population, it comes as no surprise that many conventional means of delivering the planning, development, and management of cities are unlikely to remain viable over the long term. Although this realization has only recently been acknowledged, the shift towards the adoption of what can best be described as a sustainable development perspective on urban form and function has profound implications for both what is done in urban areas and how actions are delivered. With regard to the future of urban areas—which range in size from small remote rural settlements that are home to a few families, to global megacities whose populations run in millions—there are many implications, and consequently, there is an urgent need to rethink both the approaches used to construct and implement urban policy and the methods utilized to ensure the full and active engagement of all members of the urban community in securing the long-term future of cities. An important guiding concept, which can be used to provide a high level of coherence with regard to both the general approach and the particular mechanisms adopted to ensure effective implementation and engagement, is encapsulated by the term ‘human urban environment’ (Roberts, Ravetz, and George 2009). This overarching concept is, in turn, derived from Artur Glikson’s notion of the ‘urban environment’, which he memorably described as ‘the space which surrounds human movement, work, habitation, rest, and interaction’ (Glikson 1971). What Glikson was offering was a model that transcends the normal definition of the environment with its primary concern for natural resources and ecosystems. This expresses the desirability of a wider perspective, which views the transformation of biological and physical factors in space, and considers the urban outcomes and consequences of these various transformational Introduction The context for sustainable urban development The elaboration and implementation of policy Future development pathways References