ABSTRACT
The form of urban agglomerations is also changing: the former hard edges of urban built form are shifting to a more fragmented and diffused pattern. Urban ecology – called the ‘eco-urban’ – around the world, is in a state of flux and transition. To generalize, most lower-income cities are in rapid urbanization and industrialization, with more informal governance and fragmented infrastructure, more exposure to international finance and trade, and more vulnerable to climate change and ecosystems stress. In parallel, urban biodiversity and green infrastructure have been steadily lost in the dual processes of urban expansion and privatization. The concept of ‘urban’, meaning the city and its hinterland, is itself changing, and beyond the most basic trends in population and urban expansion, many alternative futures are possible. A similar dynamic cycle can be seen with the changing combinations of ‘quantity’ of urban structures and resources, and the ‘complexity’ of urban systems.
