Sustainability

Contemporary literature is now full of more or less imaginative or apocalyptic references to global climate change and its consequences on the world and its civilizations. Despite the resistance of some large countries, the global community has now accepted global warning, at least in general terms, and has agreed to introduce measures to stop (or at least slow down) the devastating effects of climate change on the Earth’s ecosystem. There is, therefore, no need to add much more to the descriptions offered over the years on the subject or to highlight the importance of a paradigm shift in land use and consumption. There is, however, space for thinking that is still profound and sufficiently wide-ranging concerning the way in which architecture (and in particular the design of cities) can interact with on-going climate processes. However, the topic must be segmented into “scales.” The “macro” scale of urban and regional planning aims to trace the major strategic orientations for the development of metropolises by working on a number of aspects. The economy, society, transportation, industry, and energy are all matters of paramount importance but they do not say anything to us about the smaller scale “fine grain” of cities.