ABSTRACT
The case studies in this book highlight three urgent design challenges in building sustainable cities. These are, first, the need for urban politicians, managers and designers to recognize the interlocking dimensions of urban design, infrastructure and architecture as mutually dependent dimensions of planning for sustainable cities, and, second, the importance of social development and equity amidst the greening of environmental sustainability. Unfortunately, by omission, they also point to a third and, perhaps, most significant challenge: the need to overcome the tendency to view sustainability instrumentally, as a policy or set of tools designed to achieve certain, albeit desirable, ends instead of as a frame of mind that enables people to live, play and work sustainably. This last chapter reviews these urgent design challenges. It begins with a brief overview of the first two challenges. The chapter then turns to the critique of instrumental views of sustainability. This third section examines the implications of viewing sustainability as a frame of mind and the notion of a ‘sustainable learning city’ that results from this.
