Advice for civil engineers, and other urban designers and planners, on how to make towns and cities more sustainable has been published in a special issue (164 DP2) of the ICE’s Urban Design and Planning journal.
Issue editor Neil Thorpe of Newcastle University says the issue aims to provide practical guidance on, ‘how far, and through what means, our towns and cities can be planned for the future to promote social inclusivity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability.'
Thorpe points out the objectives are often conflicting when designing urban systems and that priorities can change. ‘We have already witnessed a noticeable shift toward prioritising economic sustainability over environmental and social issues due the current global economic crisis,' he says. 'These changing priorities only add to the many challenges already faced by urban designers and planners.’
In particular Thorpe says technological innovations such as the Internet and less-polluting, more-automated vehicles are encouraging people to move away from traditional urban centres, which is at odds with the creation of high-density cities served by good public transport. ‘These technological innovations are changing what we do and where we chose to do it, and could have serious implications for the planning and development of our towns, cities and rural areas in the decades to come.’
Topics covered in the issue range from assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities to using construction contracts to promote sustainability, rethinking social inclusivity, alternatives to slum upgrading, new approaches to urban master planning and using urban soils to capture carbon dioxide. Authors are drawn from the Netherlands, Turkey, the UK and the USA.
For further information please contact the ICE Proceedings editor Simon Fullalove on +44 (0)20 7665 2448 or email editor@ice.org.uk.