Nature Books

Cities around the world are becoming increasingly popular as economic powerhouses and magnets for migrants from rural and suburban areas. All big cities in First and Third World countries as well as emerging markets such as New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Delhi, Jakarta etc. have to cope with high population density and serious challenges such as air pollution or traffic congestion. How do we pack more people into big cities and yet continue to realise a high quality of life? How do we plan, create and manage 'good cities' which are safe, spacious, green, connected, fair and resilient? How can cities create economic wealth while still fulfilling the vision of sustaining our "Green Planet"? What are best practice designs and innovative technical smart city solutions which could be leveraged to tackle these challenges and how can they be successfully commercialised? These are some of the questions the reader addresses from a multi-disciplinary perspective with special reference to Singapore whose development from regional entrepôt to First World Metropolis continues to impress business and societal leaders around the world. The book's contents are broadly structured according to the following (i) definition and taxonomy of innovative & sustainable cities, including its core characteristics and how they create value in terms of innovativeness and sustainability; (ii) governance, planning and selected design principles of innovative & sustainable cities and how they pan out with regard to livability and sustainability; and (iii) in-depth study of selected smart city dimensions such as governance, clustering, connectivity, mobility, ageing, water, sports, and safety.

The major challenge for the current generation of mankind is to develop a shared vision of a future that is both desirable to the vast majority of humanity and ecologically sustainable. Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future offers a broad, critical discussion on what such a future should or can be, with global perspectives written by some of the world's leading thinkers, Wendell Berry, Van Jones, Frances Moore Lappe, Peggy Liu, Hunter Lovins, Gus Speth, Bill McKibben, and many more.