Sustainability and the Built Environment: The Role of Durability

A sustainable city combines stable long-term economic growth with a resilient ecological system. It is also a region of social sustainability with low levels of spatial segregation of different socio-economic groups. Spatial inclusion primarily involves provision of equalized city-wide access to ter...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSustainability Vol. 11; no. 18; p. 4926
Main Authors Andersson, David Emanuel, Andersson, Åke E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2019
Subjects
accessibility
Asia
Buildings
Built environment
Cities
Climate change
Consumption
Costs
Decision making
Durability
Economic development
Economic growth
Economics
environmental technology
Europe
France
Housing
Ile de France
Infrastructure
Life expectancy
long-term change
Neighborhoods
Paris
political reform
Public good
public goods
socioeconomic conditions
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Urban environments
Urban planning
Ville de Paris
New York
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:A sustainable city combines stable long-term economic growth with a resilient ecological system. It is also a region of social sustainability with low levels of spatial segregation of different socio-economic groups. Spatial inclusion primarily involves provision of equalized city-wide access to territorial public goods. High durability of physical networks and buildings facilitates economic, environmental and social sustainability. This study shows that durability varies considerably between Asian, European and North American cities, with mean life expectancies of buildings that range from below 20 years in Chinese cities to over 100 years in European cities such as Paris. Urban planning principles that focus on the slow and steady expansion of accessibility and density within a durable built environment are consistent with general economic equilibria, while avoiding the pitfalls of political planning of the markets for private goods.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su11184926