Urban Sustainability

 

One of the overwhelming challenges facing society and policy-makers in the 21st century will be how to reconcile the economic and social needs of urban populations in ways which are sustainable. This means ensuring the well-being and a good quality of life for citizens, being environmentally friendly, and socially integrated and just.

The research and consultancy work of the Institute will be at the forefront of the increasingly important debate on sustainability. This will involve original research and drawing on best practice from cities in Europe, North America and the UK.

Most of the people of the world live in cities and many more work, shop, study and seek entertainment in cities. From cities come civilisation and citizenship. Cities arose from the desire of humans to meet, exchange and interact. They bring people with different interests, experiences and knowledge close together. This provides the opportunity for social diversity, as necessary for human well-being as bio-diversity is for the environment. Cities are the centres of economic development and innovation, the major source of movements for democratic and social change and a stimulus to culture. Cities also have a major impact, often negative, on environments all around the world.

We live in an interconnected world where actions reverberate over time and across the globe. Sustainability, based on a long-term view that the needs of humanity and the environment are interconnected, is rightly high on the agenda.

Sustainability includes the principles of futurity, equity and participation. It is about fairness, now and in the future, for people and the planet. A sustainable outlook concentrates on quality of life and meeting needs rather than simply producing commodities. Peoples' active involvement and commitment are the best guarantee of fairness. We need to think long-term so that the physical and social environment lasts.

Central to the outlook of sustainable cities is an integrated view that sees the whole picture across the scales of time and space, from now and into the future, the local and the global, and the micro and the macro.

Long term and fundamental changes are needed to ensure sustainability. The Sustainable Cities Research Institute works to bring forward win/win solutions to the challenges we face.