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The Planning City
Overview
The focus of the themed papers that have been prepared for the World Urban Forum 2006 is the city and sustainability. Sustainability is interpreted here as a dynamic, continuous process of sharing and exchanging knowledge and experiences, and of learning through action. In the context of the World Urban Forum 2006, we seek to create sustainable cities that are secure, capable, lively, healthy, creative, and centres of learning.
This exploration of the sustainable city represents the logical extension of the quest for the ideal city, a quest that has captivated planners for centuries. Our definition of the ideal city, the utopian ideal, has evolved with time. In the early 21 st century, we seek to understand how our cities can become more livable and secure – places where we can achieve our potential as individuals and communities while controlling and minimizing our impact on the environment. We also want to understand how all members of society, specifically including our youth, can contribute to and benefit from the sustainable city. Further, we need to examine the decision-making processes, governance models and stakeholders roles that seem to advance sustainability in our cities. Finally, we seek to improve our understanding of the ways in which we learn, our sources of knowledge, and the application of knowledge towards sustainability.
It is understood that sustainable development is very much a work in progress and the subject of much controversy about its interpretation and application. Planners are “learning by doing”. This paper contributes to this process of learning by reviewing key trends and challenges that confront those responsible for planning cities in Canada and overseas. The paper then introduces examples of urban planning innovations and experimentations drawn from a sample of cities. The perspective is that of the urban planner, usually a central actor in efforts to articulate, plan for and implement urban sustainability. The paper concludes with key findings, and offers directions about processes, structures and methods that could enhance the effort to achieve urban sustainability.