Self-Sufficient Cities and Sustainable Habitats : Perspectives and Case Studies

The challenges of climate change and rapid urbanization are manifold and increasing in intensity and urgency. Although many of the issues are global, small- to medium-scale solutions and micro, local responses can have outsized impacts. These initiatives are often more manageable to implement—and successful in execution—than some larger-scale undertakings and have positive effects on the built and natural environments. This book highlights practices, implementations and lessons that can support sustainable habitats and self-sufficient cities. This volume integrates perspectives and case studies from six countries across the Euro-Afro-Asian supercontinent, drawing together original theoretical and applied research on ongoing practices and proposals for creating sustainable, resilient, healthy, and comfortable urban environments. Contributions reflect the polyhedric and interrelated concepts of self-sufficiency and sustainability, incorporating trans-scalar design fields covering topics ranging from interconnected sustainable metropolises and the regeneration of green neighbourhoods to self-sufficient buildings and place-based, self-sufficient micro-economies. Chapters illustrate how different design approaches and scales in architecture, engineering, and urbanism are evolving in response to changes in urban living habitats. This volume definitively emphasizes the human impact on habitats, highlighting the importance of circular, small-scale, bottom-up approaches that can collectively contribute to an increasingly sustainable future.