This edited book surveys the major sustainability challenges facing Asian cities, in particular those related to urban energy and city cooling. The book discusses the key concepts and issues involved, addressing the three levels of micro (individual buildings), meso (neighbourhoods/districts) and macro (whole or large parts of cities). It illustrates different paradigms of urban development and explores how to create cooler cities by applying integrated sustainable design and planning on all three levels, bridging the gap between specialist approaches by highlighting both built projects, processes, and research. It also raises questions about prevalent paradigms of urban development as well as topics relating to urban district cooling solutions, sustainable construction materials, and processes towards effective delivery of sustainable cities. Providing cutting edge insights into hot climate cities in Asia, this text is also pertinent for the study of cities in other world regions, notably in developing countries, and of broad relevance to sustainable urban planning in all contexts.

This edited book provides a solid foundation for future research on cooling cities, climate change impacts on cities and urban environments, and innovative mitigation and adaptation strategies. With ever-increasing climate change impacts on our living environments and continuous calamities and natural disasters around the world, we urge for new approaches, apt action, and adequate support to boost cooling strategies for the built environments. To achieve this goal, research, practice, and policy could do much more to provide us with new pathways to achieve sustainable development. This book is a comprehensive collection of theoretical perspectives and global case study examples focused on three core areas of (1) concepts, theories, and trends, (2) mitigation and adaptation strategies, and (3) policies. The book is of use to various stakeholders and more importantly to urban specialists, planners and designers, policymakers, academics, practitioners, and developers. We urge them to mitigate climate change before it gets too late. We are confident the book could provide readers with new ideas, strategies, and directions that could lighten up the path toward new actions, policies, and innovation.

Sustainable Urbanism in China explores the notion of "Sustainable Urbanism" by considering the role sustainable neighborhood planning plays in the larger picture of sustainable urbanism and suggests innovations and best practices that are either developed or adopted by China. These are narrated as lessons learnt for other countries where we see similar trends of development patterns or emerging practices. Through various explorations of challenges, paradigms, and innovations of urban sustainability, this book highlights how planning, policy, and design are forming and reforming in the context of China. These are offered through a set of guidelines and pathways for urban sustainability at the scale of neighborhoods/communities or districts in a wider context of urban environments, as well as strategies for planners, developers, policy makers, and educators in the field of the built environment. Through a comprehensive overview of urban sustainability practices in China, this book investigates 12 case study projects. These comprehensive explorations should in turn help construct the future directions of China’s sustainable urban development and provide innovative pathways of sustainable urbanism in China and around the globe.

This book covers the nexus between urban health, sustainability, and peace. 'Urban Health, Sustainability, and Peace' is the first book that attempts to put these three critical areas together. This novelty approaches the subject matter by delving into evaluating what works, what does not work, and what should be done to achieve healthy cities. We believe this book will be beneficial to a wide range of stakeholders, particularly policymakers, planners, and developers, who continuously shape and reshape the structure and environments of our cities and communities. Unfortunately, in most cases, the healthiness of the cities may not be of their immediate concern. Nevertheless, it is the concern of the end-users, citizens, or simply those who live and work in cities and communities worldwide. To safeguard peace in cities, one has to consider sustaining urban health; and that is the main aim of this book. The ongoing pandemic gives us an excellent reason to study cities' health. During such a disruptive time, we detect many flaws in cities and communities around the world. We primarily identify the negative impacts on sustainability and peace in cities. In order to sustain a healthy city, this book evaluates six sustainability dimensions of physical, environmental, economic, social, institutional, and technical. It then utilizes eight primary dimensions of positive peace, evaluating critical areas for future considerations in urbanism. These considerations include making cities smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable. The book's ultimate goal is to highlight how we should progress to maintain and sustain urban health. As a continuation to 'The City in Need,', this book covers the nexus between urban health, sustainability, and peace. Furthermore, by reflecting on the ongoing pandemic crisis, metaphorically labelled as 'The Day the World Stopped,', we delve into some key areas beyond the usual planning and policy guidelines. Lastly, the book intends to highlight what has not been studied before, i.e., the relationship between urban health, sustainability, and peace.

This book offers practical solutions to achieving sustainable urbandesign and development, and helps designers communicate thesesolutions effectively to planners, developers and policy makers. Addressing sustainability issues in relation to the design andplanning of the urban environment is a complex, multi-disciplinaryissue and solutions never arrive from a single perspective. Theauthors use design as a facilitating factor to consider when and bywhom decisions that contribute to sustainability are made, andthrough three major city-centre case studies - London, Manchesterand Sheffield – they consider social, environmental andeconomic factors and examine their relationship to thedecision-making process. Designing Sustainable Cities begins by identifying thekey processes and lead decision-makers. The following chaptersdevelop an understanding of the dimensions of sustainability,presenting the tools by which the dimensions can be analysed. Laterchapters illustrate the trade-offs and the relationships betweenthe dimensions of sustainability - with case study examples - aswell as the use of IT in making design decisions. Finally, the bookmakes recommendations for future approaches to the design,development and on-going management of urban environments. Designing Sustainable Cities covers: latest research data on the urban environment and theinteraction between social, economic and environmental issues methods of understanding the context in which urban designtakes place guidance on the codes of practice process maps to help understand the context, make trade-offsand develop design solutions that allow for change methods for testing the consequences of design proposals andmonitoring outcomes.

designing networks cities presents a sophisticated, multi-disciplinary, and multi-dimensional approach to urban design. Emerging from years of practice, experimentation, and research by designers (landscape architects, urban planners, urban designers and architects), this approach engages with contemporary thought across a number of disciplines to re-invent the entrenched blunt instruments of the city making process. A cry for flexible, sharp-instruments in urban design, designing networks cities presents a multi-dimensional way of seeing the essential components of the city (form, space-time, order and aesthetics). It purposefully links traditional architectural design derivation mechanisms to urban design, in the hope that cities will not only be pragmatic, but also become sophisticated iconographically, poetically, and syntactically. It provides the tools to enable decision making within a multiplicity of constraints and opportunities: a philosophy of becoming, not being; a science of dynamic systems, not stasis; and an art of sensations, not subjectivity. And finally, and most importantly, it argues why it is important that cities embrace these multiple dimensions of society on a planet that is facing increasing environmental challenges: an economics focused on equity for all, not for some more than others; a politics supporting a genuine representational democracy, not one representing the overly influential; and a culture [including history] that embraces difference, not one that encourages division. designing networks cities not only provides the means to identify these issues and a methodology to deal with them within a complex emerging co-existence, but also demonstrates the development of cities that embrace and respond to the complexities of life in what some are calling the Anthropocene.

This book offers a fresh perspective on the historical, economic, and cultural foundations of capitalism, cities, and climate change. By exploring the intersection of urbanization, consumerism, and colonialism, the book sheds new light on the origins and development of the economic system that has shaped our world today. What sets this book apart is its unique approach, which challenges conventional wisdom and offers new insights into the complex relationships between culture, politics, and economics. The book is intended for readers interested in the history and evolution of capitalism and its impact on society, as well as those interested in climate change and urbanization. The content level is accessible for general readers, yet sophisticated enough to appeal to scholars and researchers. The two most important features of the book are its fresh perspective on the history of mercantilism and its examination of the economic landscape of cities and climate change. By reading this book, readers gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between urbanization, colonialism, and economic policies, and their impact on contemporary society.

In view of the fact that, by 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in cities, the subject of "sustainable urban design" is an important issue for UNESCO’s Cities of Design. Taking into account that urban design can make a significant contribution to positive changes in environmental and social matters, the book presents seven inspirational examples for copying; included are analyses and measures for the cities of Detroit, Graz, Istanbul, Mexico City, and Puebla, as well as non-location bound projects. The authors investigate the efficiency of certificates, climate installations for urban spaces, and new ecological, architectural, and sociological concepts for mega-cities. A reader for stakeholders at the interface of social and urban design.

Can conservation of the built heritage be reconciled with the speed of urban change in cities of the developing world? What are the tools of sustainable design and how can communities participate in the design of the environments in which they live and work? These are some of the questions explored within this innovative and richly illustrated book. A wealth of examples drawn from Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India and Myanmar demonstrate how rapid physical and social change has swept away historic urban quarters and the cultural heritage they represent. Written in an accessible style the rich mix of concepts, research methods, analysis and practice-based tools is designed for academics and professionals alike. Leading academics Zetter and Watson have produced a fascinating book that is amongst the first to explore the concept of urban sustainability within the context of urban design in the developing world.

Natural disasters from heat waves to coastal and river flooding will inevitably become worse because of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Managing them is possible, but planners, designers, and policymakers need to advance adaptation and preventative measures now. Managing the Climate Crisis: Designing and Building for Floods, Heat, Drought and Wildfire by design and planning experts Jonathan Barnett and Matthijs Bouw is a practical guide to addressing this urgent national security problem. Barnett and Bouw draw from the latest scientific findings and include many recent, real-world examples to illustrate how to manage seven climate-related threats: flooding along coastlines, river flooding, flash floods from extreme rain events, drought, wildfire, long periods of high heat, and food shortages.