Sustainable City Policies

Abstract

Many policies designed to increase the sustainability of settlements have been implemented by governments cities and companies. Coping with the growing amounts of waste has led to various initiatives to reduce, re-cycle and re-use discarded material, often using new technical advances. The adoption of healthy and safer building construction standards have been followed by new attempts to reduce urban energy and water use, which involve smart systems, new industry standards and management rules. The adoption of new transport initiatives, such as improvements in mass transit and bus systems, promoting bicycle use and reducing car use, are other examples of more sustainable urban policies. A review of progress at the area scale shows examples of new developments based on sustainable principles, such as solar power and district heating schemes, while intra-urban renewable programmes improve sustainability as well as their vitality and liveability. Although it is technically feasible to create whole settlements on sustainable principles, few Eco-towns have been built. Despite progress in increasing sustainability in some cities, the majority still lack the political will and ability to raise the finance to fully implement the technological solutions that have been successful in other places.