Sustainable urban development: acting locally without a global change?

Abstract

Cities concentrate half of the world population and three‑quarters of the economic production. Environmental and social issues –greenhouse gases, consumption of resources, poverty, violence– are the negative side of this concentration. Sustainable urban development consists in an environmental, economic and social strategy aimed at fighting inequality, climate change and consumption of resources. However, an analysis of the public policies and the current legislation shows that the need of a new model based on sustainability clashes with, in terms of competences and tools, the primacy of the model based on the intensity of consumption of resources and neoliberal globalization.

Keywords:

sustainable urban development, circular economy, smart cities, climate change, housing, mobility, waste, competences, impact assessment, deregulation