The ABC for sustainable cities

Our time has been defined by many as the age of cities: in the 21st century cities are at the centre of all key demographic, environmental and socio-economic trends. The agglomeration benefits that characterise the urban form drive innovation and economic prosperity, giving to cities a leading role in the global economy. The concentration of people and economic production and consumption, however, is also a source of major environmental concerns. Cities and urban areas are hubs through which natural resources flow, are transformed, and expelled, with an impact on local, regional and global ecosystems. While the exact numbers can vary, it is widely acknowledged that cities are responsible for a large share of global GHG emissions, solid and liquid waste, pollution and ecosystem degradation. Aware of the potential and the challenges of the urban form to drive development while reducing the human impact on the environment, numerous stakeholders today focus their attention on urban issues. Local and national governments, city networks, international organizations and donors among other stakeholders are working to bring the sustainability agenda at the city-level, and the concept of ‘sustainable cities’ is widely used. The great number of existing actors, approaches and initiatives, however, resulted into a variety of different definitions none of which can claim to cover the whole complexity of the issue. The ABC for Sustainable Cities aims to bring clarity on this. Rather than providing a single univocal definition of what is a “Sustainable City”, it brings together key elements of it by compiling terms and concepts from internationally recognised sources. In doing so, the ABC will contribute to a better understanding of city-level sustainable development, where new concepts, phrases, terms and expressions are developed and used across the world. By providing a reference easily accessible to technical and non-technical audience, moreover, the ABC helps developing a common language and fosters dialogue among stakeholders and sets the basis for cooperation. A key component in the development of this glossary has been the process of peer-review and contribution by individual and institutional experts: this has allowed to reach a broad consensus on the list of words to be included and on the most appropriate definitions, and to produce a glossary that is useful for different stakeholders working on the topic from different angles and at different levels. Indeed, the objective of the ABC is not to provide globally agreed definitions, but rather collate the ones that already exist and may continue to evolve over time through the input of those who use them.
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