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Sustainable Urban Futures
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Sustainable Urban Futures
(Initiated in 2009) Cities and urban spaces are key components of any initiative for achieving sustainable development at the local, regional and global level. As populations concentrate in the world's cities, the future growth of urban centres is of particular concern for planners and policy-makers in both the developed and developing world. However, contemporary patterns of urban growth do not conform to previous experiences or expectations. Large cities in the developing world have been attracting millions of people, many of them living in sprawling slums without the most basic necessities like housing and sanitation, and vulnerable to natural disasters. This urbanisation process also stresses the environmental resources within and beyond the cities’ boundaries. How and where cities will grow, what drives their growth, what impacts they will have on the environment and people’s livelihoods and how best to manage them is yet to be understood, especially having a future scenario with climatic change. The programme seeks to understand the causes, consequences and solutions of urban environmental problems. We are particularly interested in examining how and why successful actions can emerge to tackle urban environmental problems in developing countries. Some of the challenges and general questions we are interested in are the following:
The programme’s main areas of interest include the following themes:
The programme will build upon the previous extensive UNU-IAS programme called Urban Futures. Current members: Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira, Senior Research Fellow (Programme Co-ordinator)
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