Designing Sustainable Cities

This book emphasizes new ways of designing for a sustainable city and urban environment. From several angles the future of our urbanism is illuminated. From a philosophical point of view, the city is seen as an organism, following complex ecosystemic principles, shining light on indigenous perspectives to become beneficial for sustainable design and core questions are asked whether current architectural practice is really sustainable. Simultaneously concrete practices are presented for cities in transformation, focusing on green infrastructure, smart city principles and health.

Prof. dr. ir. Rob Roggema is currently Professor of Sustainable Urban Environments. He is a Landscape Architect and an internationally renowned design-expert on sustainable urbanism, climate adaptation, energy landscapes and urban agriculture. He has previously held positions at universities in the Netherlands and Australia, State and Municipal governments and design consultancies. Rob developed the Swarm Planning concept, a dynamic way of planning the city for future adaptation to climate change impacts.

Rob has designed and led over 30 design charrettes around the world, involving communities, academics, governments and industries in design processes for more resilient communities. He has written three books on climate adaptation and design, four on Urban Agriculture, and one each about design charrettes, Rio's FoodRoofs and Design for Recovery in Japan.