ABSTRACT
Most human activities take place within urban areas. These activities involve flows of materials and goods supporting both urban economic activities and human consumption. Environmental problems such as resource depletion, waste production and soil contamination are clear signs that these flows have grown out of control. This problem can not be reduced solely to an economic, social, psychological or physical planning problem. However a disciplinary approach such as urban planning may contribute to a better understanding of the ways cities can become more 'environmentally friendly'. Urban planning can in this case be denoted as 'ecological urban planning'. Ecological urban planning is far from simple. One reason is the complex, heterogeneousness of urban structure. To reduce the complexity of the urban structure this chapter focuses on neighbourhoods.
