Abstract
Describing a sustainable city is no easy task. Cities differ in geography, climate, culture, history, wealth, and a host of other dimensions, each of which precludes any possibility of a one-size-fits-all approach to urban sustainability. A sustainable Riyadh will look and operate differently from a sustainable Reykjavik, because of their disparate climates, among other distinctions. In addition, no mature models of urban sustainability are available today, anywhere on the planet. And even at the definitional level, there is little agreement about what constitutes a sustainable city. Although many of the necessary technologies and policies are well known, recipes for creating a fully sustainable city have not been developed, much less implemented.1
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project, Pathways to Deep Decarbonization: 2015 Report (Paris: Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, December 2015); Jörgen Larsson and Lisa Bolin, Low-carbon Gothenburg 2.0: Technological Potentials and Lifestyle Changes (Gothenburg, Sweden: Mistra Urban Futures, 2014); Jennie Moore and William E. Rees, “Getting to One-Planet Living,” in Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2013).
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Worldwatch Institute
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gardner, G. (2016). Imagining a Sustainable City. In: State of the World. State of the World. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-756-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-756-8_1
Publisher Name: Island Press, Washington, DC
Print ISBN: 978-1-61091-569-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-61091-756-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)