Sustainable Cities

Co-Director: Adriana Allen, Development Planning Unit

For the first time in human history, more than half of the world's population now live in cities. The provision of basic services, such as housing, energy, water, food provision and waste, to growing cities has been a major achievement in rich countries and remains a key challenge in less developed countries. The growth of megacities but also of small and medium towns together with the processes of fast urbanisation and the urbanisation of poverty present unprecedented challenges for culture, politics and ingenuity, and have dramatic environmental and social impacts now and into the future. Promoting sustainable urbanisation and reducing the environmental impacts of cities, whilst enhancing social equality and cultural vitality requires new inquiries and approaches to city planning, design, engineering and culture. Through our programme of Grand Challenges, UCL is uniquely positioned to provide the research needed to understand how different cities work and how to transform the built environment and urban living to achieve sustainable patterns of human settlement.

Contact Details

Email: Adriana Allen


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