Planning Sustainable Cities: Global Report on Human Settlements 2009 - Just Released

The 2009 Global Report on Human Settlements, focused on Planning Sustainable Cities, was released this week by UN Habitat. Information is available online. Various background studies prepared for the report will be made available from this link. A blurb and contents list are shown below.


Planning Sustainable Cities — Global Report on Human Settlements 2009


Planning Sustainable Cities reviews recent urban planning practices and approaches, discusses constraints and conflicts therein, and identifies innovative approaches that are more responsive to current challenges of urbanization. It notes that traditional approaches to urban planning (particularly in developing countries) have largely failed to promote equitable, efficient and sustainable human settlements and to address twenty-first century challenges, including rapid urbanization, shrinking cities and ageing, climate change and related disasters, urban sprawl and unplanned peri-urbanization, as well as urbanization of poverty and informality. It concludes that new approaches to planning can only be meaningful, and have a greater chance of succeeding, if they effectively address all of these challenges, are participatory and inclusive, as well as linked to contextual socio-political processes.



Planning Sustainable Cities will be released in October 2009.



GRHS 2009



Chapters

Foreword, Introduction, etc.



Part I. Challenges and Context

Chapter 1. Urban challenges and the need to revisit urban planning

Chapter 2. Understanding the diversity of the urban context

Chapter 3. The emergence and spread of contemporary urban planning



Part II. Global Trends: The Urban Planning Process

Chapter 4. The institutional and regulatory framework for planning

Chapter 5. Planning, participation and politics



Part III. Global Trends: The Content of Urban Planning

Chapter 6. Bridging the green and brown agendas

Chapter 7. Planning and informality

Chapter 8. Planning, spatial structure of cities and provision of infrastructure



Part IV. Global Trends: Monitoring, Evaluation and Education

Chapter 9. The monitoring and evaluation of urban plans

Chapter 10. Planning education



Part V. Global Trends: Future Policy Directions

Chapter 11. Towards a new role for urban planning



Part VI. Statistical Annex

Harnessing the Wind and Africa's future

William Kamkwamba's book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
is truly a story about hope against all odds and points to the real path and goal of development--to support and nurture the power, intellect and creativity already on the ground. You can find out more at William Kamkwamba's blog.

Here is a short video where Kamkwamba himself talks about the book and you can see video of his remarkable makeshift windmill.