Sunday, June 05, 2011


Introduction
Ecological, economic, and social factors , as well as the change in climatic conditions, resource distribution and globalization will lead 75% of the world's population to live in cities and urban settlements within the next 25 years. Such a trend and the current global state of urban life calls for new planning tools through an interdisciplinary approach to understand and reinvent urban habitats to meet the growing challenges.
Cities are the single most critical issue of global sustainability because while they cover only 2% of the earth’s surface, they consume 70% of the world’s resources. Moreover, in virtually all of the developing countries and most significantly in the more advancing economies of China and India there is also a vast rural to urban migration taking place. The lure of jobs and an opportunity for a higher standard of living are generating population shifts of as many as 1.2 million per week.

These pressures of urban growth have only expanded already overextended inefficient existing infrastructures and have become an overload of congestion, pollution, depletion of natural resources and an insatiable demand for energy.

Unsustainable Urban habitats :
Modern cities are examples of unsustainable systems

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Adin, Have you read a book called "Harmony" by Prince Charles? I think you might enjoy it, as of course he is very involved in promoting more sustainable ways of living through architecture and better urban planning, amongst other things.