If this human element is not taken into account, if people are forced to adapt to technology rather than control it, then technology is likely to fail. Technological solutions must be responsive to that community's needs, capabilities, limitations and existing conditions. Putting communities at the center of a technical innovation is critical to making that innovation sustainable. Urban environmental, social, and economic sustainability is essential for global sustainability. Concentrating human populations in cities is an environmental necessity to create economies of scale and resource efficiencies.
Dense populations leave open space for either agriculture or natural wilderness areas.
Creating circular systems that recycle water and waste of these concentrated populations is the key to reversing our global environmental deterioration Alleviating urban poverty is essential to ensuring urban environmental regeneration. The urban poor tend to occupy the most ecologically fragile and service-deprived areas of our cities. Without alternative locations to settle and sufficient income to cook and keep warm, their survival will increasingly be pitted against environmental needs. A strong civil society and grassroots initiatives are essential for lasting solutions to poverty and environmental degradation. The most creative and resource-efficient solutions to urban problems tend to emerge at the grassroots level, closest to the problems being solved.