Cities and sustainable development

Javier Trespalacios
Aug 24, 2017
5 min read

Updated: Oct 30

Based on the lecture given at Corporación Universidad de la Costa (CUC), Barranquilla, on August 24, 2017.

Place des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (Trespalacios, Suforall)

Summary

Cities are much more than collections of buildings, streets, or public services. They are, above all, a reflection of the people who inhabit them. This text, based on the lecture given at Corporación Universidad de la Costa (CUC), argues that urban sustainability must focus on the citizen as the axis of development. From this perspective, sustainability is not limited to the environmental dimension: it also includes social, fiscal, institutional, and economic dimensions. Building sustainable cities means creating places where people want to live, work, participate, and prosper collectively.

Cities as a human project

For a long time, the concept of the city has been reduced to its physical component: buildings, streets, and transportation systems. However, cities are, above all, the result of human interactions. It is the citizens who give meaning to the city, who live it and transform it.

Edward Glaeser, in The Triumph of the City (2011), argues that cities represent humanity's greatest invention. By concentrating talent, knowledge, and creativity, they contribute to reducing environmental impact by taking advantage of proximity and density, and become—when well managed—engines of economic and social development, as well as effective tools for reducing inequalities.

The growing prominence of cities in global well-being and resource management demands a rethinking of their responsibility in the face of contemporary challenges. Thus, authors such as Newman and Kenworthy (1999) and Beatley (1999) argue that urban sustainability must go beyond the merely "green" concept, incorporating social well-being, equity, and citizen participation. From this perspective, sustainability implies that cities must not only mitigate their environmental footprint, but also promote quality of life for all their inhabitants.

Clarifying the concept of sustainable development is essential to understanding its connection with cities. According to the Brundtland Commission (1987), it involves meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own, balancing economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection. In this sense, the connection between cities and sustainable development is key, since urban environments concentrate many of the challenges and opportunities for achieving this balance. Thus emerges the concept of sustainable cities: spaces where policies and management models focused on equity, resilience, and social inclusion are implemented (UN-Habitat, 2012). In this way, the city becomes a fundamental scenario for materializing the general principles of sustainable development.

People-centered cities: The integral sustainability approach

A sustainable city is not defined solely by its respect for the environment. It is defined by its capacity to offer integral well-being and real opportunities to its citizens. In this sense, a truly sustainable city is one:

Where everyone has access to drinking water, sanitation, energy, and waste collection: These services are the foundation of public health and human dignity. Their absence generates exclusion and social vulnerability (World Bank, 2016).
Where public services for education, health, recreation, parks, and libraries exist: Social and cultural infrastructure creates cohesion, strengthens the community, and enables more active citizenship. This was highlighted in UN-Habitat's State of Latin American and Caribbean Cities 2012 report (2012).
Where housing is quality and affordable: Jane Jacobs (1961) reminded us that urban vitality depends on the diversity and accessibility of neighborhoods. Decent and well-located housing is key to an equitable city.
Where efficient and safe transportation systems exist: Sustainable urban mobility reduces emissions, improves productivity, and guarantees equitable access to employment and services. Cervero (2013) points out that efficient transport is an essential component of urban sustainability.
Where people work, feel safe, and are part of a community: Security and stable employment are the pillars of urban well-being. Cities must be spaces where people can develop, not just survive.
Where good public finances, orderly and efficient institutions exist: A city with fiscal stability and participatory governance can guarantee the continuity of its public policies. Citizens, for their part, must benefit from the city, but also actively contribute to its sustainability.

Thus understood, sustainability goes far beyond the environment: it is also social, fiscal, institutional, and economic.

Density, proximity, and urban efficiency

As Glaeser (2011) stated, urban density is not a problem, but an opportunity. When cities are well planned, proximity allows for efficiencies in transportation, energy, and public services, generating lower environmental impact per inhabitant. Furthermore, dense urban environments foster innovation, creativity, and collaboration among citizens. In Latin America, where more than 80% of the population lives in cities (ECLAC, 2016), the challenge is not to stop urbanization, but to improve its quality, strengthening territorial planning and public management.

Urban governance and citizen participation

Sustainable development in cities requires solid institutions, transparency, and citizen participation. Urban policies must aim to:

Promote social inclusion and reduce territorial inequalities.
Foster transparency and accountability in local management.
Drive smart urban planning, avoiding uncontrolled expansion.
Ensure responsible municipal finances that guarantee the continuity of essential services.

When institutions are stable and citizens participate, sustainability ceases to be a theoretical ideal and becomes a shared practice.

Conclusion

Sustainable development in cities involves looking beyond the physical and ecological environment. It requires recognizing that cities are complex social organisms where opportunities, challenges, and collective responsibilities converge.

A truly sustainable city is one where people want to live, where there is decent employment, quality services, security, and social cohesion. They are also cities with healthy finances, strong institutions, and active citizenship.

Une ville véritablement durable est celle où les gens veulent vivre, où il y a un emploi digne, des services de qualité, de la sécurité et de la cohésion sociale. Ce sont aussi des villes avec des finances saines, des institutions fortes et une citoyenneté active.

That was the central invitation of the lecture at CUC: to understand that sustainable development is not achieved through decrees or infrastructure, but through a conscious, co-responsible citizenry committed to the common good.

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

References

Beatley, T. (1999). Green urbanism: Learning from European cities. Island Press. https://www.amazon.com/Green-Urbanism-Learning-European-Cities/dp/1559636823

Campbell, S. (1996). Green cities, growing cities, just cities? Urban planning and the contradictions of sustainable development. Journal of the American Planning Association, 62(3), 296–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944369608975696

Cervero, R. (2002). Urban transport and the environment: Sustainable mobility in developing countries. World Bank. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/466801468178764085/pdf/702060ESW0P1200s0in0Urban0Transport.pdf

Glaeser, E. L. (2011). Triumph of the city: How our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier, and happier. Penguin Press. https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/0143120549

Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. Random House. https://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-American-Cities/dp/067974195X

Newman, P., & Kenworthy, J. (1999). Sustainability and cities: Overcoming automobile dependence. Island Press.

UN-Habitat. (2006). State of the world's cities 2006/2007. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. https://mirror.unhabitat.org/pmss/getElectronicVersion.aspx?nr=2737&alt=1

World Bank. (2011). Urban development overview. World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview