Constructing sustainable urban futures: from models to competing pathways

Abstract

This paper begins to build a conceptual framework that acknowledges the multiplicity of pathways towards different sustainable futures that often co-exist within a single city. There are three stages to the argument: the shift from the concept of a singular towards multiple models of what the sustainable city might become; the rejection of the simplistic use of models and the development of competing pathways to sustainable cities; and the recognition that a wide diversity of sustainable urban futures are likely to coexist within a single city. The analytical framework of social constructivist theory developed here usefully demonstrates the contingent and contextual nature of technological innovation and building design.

Keywords:

• urban futures
• sustainability
• regional development