UNU Global Seminar
2nd Tohoku Session
Lecturer: Dr. Peter J. MARCOTULLIO
Organization: Research Fellow, United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
Lecture title: Towards the eco-city: underpinnings of policies for eco-design
How can we create “sustainable cities”?
What perspective is appropriate to address the
variation in environmental conditions and growing complexity of urban environmental
challenges? Once we understand something of their complexity, what management practices
promise to address these problems? These broad questions will be broached by this four part
lecture.
The first is a brief introduction to the concept of an “eco-city” (from the environmental
perspective). In this section the concept of urban sustainability is explored. It is argued that
cities are not inherently sustainable, but that, if designed and managed in a sensitive manner,
they can contribute to sustainability. Moreover, environmental or ecological urban policies are
not just for cities in the developed world, but are also important for cities in highly
industrialized countries.
The second section is a presentation of the factors impacting the complexity of environmental
problems within cities at different income levels. Here the underlying thinking for the above
statements is explored. A perspective of growing environmental and ecological complexity is
developed in different parts of the world, based upon urban environmental transition theory
and the impacts of globalization.
The third part of the lecture is an introduction to a new management approach that promises to
cope with increased environmental complexity in a number of ways.
the “ecosystems approach.”
This perspective is called
Three important concepts that emerge from this perspective
related to creating more ecologically balanced cities include “adaptive management,” “urban
ecosystem health” and “resilience.” These three concepts will be defined and explored.
Finally, and in summary, the fourth section relates the ecosystem approach to aspects of
“eco-design” and provides some basic guidelines for the way forward.
The material will be presented using PowerPoint technology.
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