Eco-cities and the transition to low carbon economies
By: Federico Caprotti Senior Lecturer in Cities and Sustainability, King's College London, UK
Series: Palgrave pivot
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Basingstoke
Language: eng
Number of pages: 125
ISBN-13: 9781137298751; 9781137298768; 9781137298775
Copyright date: 2015
Subjects: Urban ecology (Sociology); Sustainable development
Description: Eco-cities are increasingly being marketed as solutions to a range of pressing global concerns, such as environmental and climate change, hyper-urbanization, demographic shifts, energy security, and the Peak Oil scenario. In response to these issues, eco-cities are being conceptualized as 'experimental cities', new urban areas in which new technologies and ways of organizing urban and economic life can be trialled, and where transition pathways towards low-carbon economies can be tested. The author examines the two most advanced eco-city projects under construction at the time of writing the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in China, and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. These are the largest and most notable attempts at building new eco-cities to both face up to the 'crises' of the modern world and to use the city as an engine for transition to a low-carbon economy.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 108-122) and index.