ABSTRACT
This chapter explores and discusses the key ideas which form the theory of ecological urbanism in search of the conceptual origins of the term eco-city. It examines both the potential benefits of ecological urbanism and its limitations. The chapter introduces the concept of eco-cities by drawing upon the work of Richard Register whose thinking establishes a direct thematic connection between urban planning and urban ecology. It shows, in ecological urbanism the boundaries of urbanization are found in the geographical and geological landmarks that serve as the natural perimeter of a city. In ecological urbanism, the blame falls particularly on modernism which is accused of viewing the city as an artefact designed and placed on a blank canvas, rather than on an intricate tapestry of ecological systems providing services, such as food, water and climate control, necessary to sustain human life. Every complex story has of course its exceptions and this is the case of modernism too.
