ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book aims to restructure and consolidate the physical and spatial form of the city-region, to encourage strong local economies, cohesive communities, and diverse lifestyle patterns. It reduces the environmental impact of the building stock metabolism. Possible futures for the city-region are shaped by the trends of globalization, liberalization, information and communications technology (ICT) and social exclusion. The book provides lessons for the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, for urban and regional policy, and the 'third way' in general. It balances mobility, efficiency and equity in the transport metabolism. The urban and hinterland areas follow the theme of integrated land management, cultivating the ecological metabolism for a rich and diverse human-biological tapestry. The book upgrades eco-efficiency in the material metabolism. Waste itself will be a potential resource in a closed loop cycle of production and consumption
