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Cities and the Anthropocene: Urban governance for the new era of regenerative cities

Author

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  • Giles Thomson

    (Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Australia)

  • Peter Newman

    (Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Australia)

Abstract

The emerging ‘grand challenges’ of climate change, resource scarcity and population growth present a risk nexus to cities in the Anthropocene. This article discusses the potential that rapid urbanisation presents to help mitigate these risks through large-scale transitions if future urban development is delivered using evidence-based policies that promote regenerative urban outcomes (e.g. decarbonising energy, recycling water and waste, generating local food, integrating biodiversity). Observations from an Australian case study are used to describe urban governance approaches capable of supporting regenerative urbanism. The regenerative urbanism concept is associated with macro-scale urban and transport planning that shapes different urban fabrics (walking, transit, automobile), as the underlying infrastructure of each fabric exhibits a different performance, with automobile fabric being the least regenerative. Supporting urban systems based upon regenerative design principles at different scales (macro, meso and micro) can deliver deep and dramatic outcomes for not just reducing the impact of the grand challenges but turning them into regenerative change. In combination, these approaches form the cornerstone of regenerative cities that can address the grand challenges of the Anthropocene, while simultaneously improving livability and urban productivity to foster human flourishing.

Suggested Citation

  • Giles Thomson & Peter Newman, 2020. "Cities and the Anthropocene: Urban governance for the new era of regenerative cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(7), pages 1502-1519, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:57:y:2020:i:7:p:1502-1519
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098018779769
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. McIntosh, James & Trubka, Roman & Newman, Peter, 2014. "Can value capture work in a car dependent city? Willingness to pay for transit access in Perth, Western Australia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 320-339.
    7. Jan Zalasiewicz & Colin Waters & Martin J. Head, 2017. "Anthropocene: its stratigraphic basis," Nature, Nature, vol. 541(7637), pages 289-289, January.
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    10. Matthew Gandy, 2004. "Rethinking urban metabolism: water, space and the modern city," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 363-379, December.
    11. Garry Glazebrook & Peter Newman, 2018. "The City of the Future," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 3(2), pages 1-20.
    12. Jessica Bunning & Colin Beattie & Vanessa Rauland & Peter Newman, 2013. "Low-Carbon Sustainable Precincts: An Australian Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(6), pages 1-22, May.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Aleksandra Nowysz & Łukasz Mazur & Magdalena Daria Vaverková & Eugeniusz Koda & Jan Winkler, 2022. "Urban Agriculture as an Alternative Source of Food and Water Security in Today’s Sustainable Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-21, November.
    3. Qingchang He & Andras Reith, 2022. "(Re)Defining Restorative and Regenerative Urban Design and Their Relation to UNSDGs—A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-29, December.
    4. Michelle Ann Miller & Mike Douglass & Jonathan Rigg, 2020. "Governing resilient cities for planetary flourishing in the Asia-Pacific," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(7), pages 1359-1371, May.
    5. Ana Corrêa do Lago & Teresa Sánchez Chaparro & Julio Lumbreras, 2023. "A Decade of Climate Action and the Mission towards Climate Neutrality and Adaptation in European Cities: Delivering Urban Transformations?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-13, December.

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