ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on one particular type of sustainability oriented urban planning intervention: large-scale sustainable urban projects (SUPs). It presents a research conducted between 2010 and 2012 on the international industry of built environment firms working in the field of sustainable urban planning and design. Smaller projects can produce and test knowledge about the impact of a particular sustainability intervention. Experiments, particularly those produced through networked governance arrangements can serve to reinforce and consolidate dominant agendas and power relations. Incorporating sustainable design principles into urban projects is not new, but historically it has occurred in small-scale projects driven by communities, local governments and not-for- profit organisations. The growing importance for businesses to make a public and visible commitment to corporate responsibility (CR) is a critical driver behind the incorporation of sustainability into commercial development projects. The competitive nature of the international property development industry has opened the door to experimentation with sustainable urbanism.
