Creating Sustainable Cities

Schumacher Briefing No. 2

Modern cities make a huge impact on their environments, but if they were to dramatically reduce their consumption of resources and energy, they would still prosper. Waste recycling can reduce urban use of resources whilst creating many new jobs; new materials and architectural designs can greatly improve the environmental performance of urban buildings. Cities can also adopt imaginative new approaches to transport planning and management, and the use of urban space. We can dramatically improve the experience of urban life by the creation of new urban villages, reducing the peoples' desire to escape from the pressures of city life.

How can we put the pulsing heart of conviviality back into our cities? How can we make sure of creating cities of diversity for the new millennium--places of cultural vigour and physical beauty that are also sustainable in economic and environmental terms? This Schumacher Briefing shows the way forward.

About the Author

Herbert Girardet

Herbert Girardet is an author, filmmaker, and consultant focusing on sustainable development. He is director of programs of the World Future Council, and a former chairman of the Schumacher Society in the U.K. He is a recipient of a U.N. Global500 Award for outstanding environmental achievements. His previous books include The Gaia Atlas of Cities, 1992 and 1996; Cities, People, Planet: Urban Development and Climate Change, 2004 and 2008; and Surviving the Century: Facing Climate Change and Other Global Challenges, 2007.

...

View Herbert's full profile page >