Envisioning Future Cities: Ideas and Examples

The ISOCARP Review is the annual publication of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), which has been produced regularly for over a decade. This year’s edition, Review 12, titled “Envisioning Future Cities”, presents 17 articles which document and analyse the successful efforts of cities around the world to achieve a more sustainable and ecologically friendly environment for their citizens. The articles are divided into five sections. The opening section consists of a single article which defines ten characteristics, found in existing cities, which make them both sustainable and ecologically sensitive. The second section highlights specific sustainability elements by providing cutting-edge examples of existing sustainable infrastructure and sustainable planning methods. The third section, developed in cooperation with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU) of the University College London, provides world-wide examples of efforts to integrate food into city planning, an emerging theme that is also reflected in the New Urban Agenda. The fourth section provides examples of planning efforts to transform cities and land use plans in South Africa, the site of the ISOCARP’s 2016 Congress, reflecting yet another thematic area central to the New Urban Agenda. The last section reports on the Future Cities educational program which is a competition for students in 6th through 8th grade designed to nurture careers in science, mathematics, engineering and planning. This is an innovative dimension of Review 12 which attempts to bring in the voices and perspectives of young people into a debate traditionally dominated by adult experts.