Urban Development Essay

Sustainability has been widely acknowledged as a significant component of cities’ long-term development. Although scholars hold different views on the definitions of sustainability, however, the core pillars of sustainable development are generally classified as environment, economy and society (United Nations General Assembly 2005). These elements are equally important and mutually affected. Hence, a sustainable city is to make corporate development and sustainability in terms of environment, economy and society. Sustainable cities are basically planned and constructed aiming at these three objectives.

To develop a framework for assessing the sustainability of urban development, firstly, I will identify what mainly constitutes sustainable urban form and function within neighborhood scale, then critically analyze some existing approaches to assessing sustainability of urban development, finally give my own framework for sustainability assessment.

There are many aspects that contribute to sustainable urban form. From a large scale, land use and sustainable transport system are two key points. In the aspect of land use, mixed land uses and green spaces are two important things that need to be considered.

Wheeler (2013) says, “buildings are one of the world’s principal users of energy and materials”. Indeed, building construction uses a large percentage of wood, concrete and steel, and buildings leave massive landfill waste after they have been demolished. Not to mention that heating and cooling consume much energy such as electricity and gas in addition to release large amounts of carbon dioxide. Green architecture is to minimize the negative impact on environment and provide a better living experience for residents through proper and scientific design by architects. Since architecture is the main body of a city, their sustainability is certainly a key factor to long-term development of the