Theme Cities: Solutions for Urban Problems

This book reviews a series of new urban ideas or themes designed to help make cities more liveable, sustainable, safe and inclusive. Featuring examples drawn from cities all over the world, the various chapters provide critical assessments of each of the various approaches and their potential to improve urban life.

New Urbanism: creating new areas based on a more humane scale with neighbourhood cohesion

Just Cities: creating more fairness in decision-making so all residents can participate and benefit.

Green Cities: helping places become greener with environmental rehabilitation and protection

Sustainable Cities: avoiding the waste of resources and harmful pollution in settlements

Transition Towns: developing local initiatives for more sustainable actions

Winter Cities: making cities in cold climates  more comfortable and enjoyable

Resilient Cities: strengthening cities to better enable them to withstand natural hazards

Creative Cities: supporting cultural industries and attracting talented individuals

Knowledge Cities: creating, renewing and spreading knowledge and innovation

Safe Cities: ensuring that citizens are better protected against criminal actions

Healthy Cities: making improvements in the health of people in cities

Festive Cities: rediscovering the utility of festive events in settlements

Slow Cities: enhancing locally unique activities, such as local cuisines and community interactions

This volume offers a host of approaches designed to give a new direction and focus to planning policies, helping readers to fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of each potential idea. It seeks to solve the many current problems associated with urban developments, making it a valuable resource for university and college students in urban geography, urban planning, urban sociology and urban studies as well as to planners and the general public.

Wayne Davies is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography, University of Calgary, with main research interests in Urban Geography. In addition to teaching in the Geography Department and in the Urban Studies programme, he served eight years as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Calgary. Educated in the University of Wales he held lecturing positions in Southampton and Swansea before moving to Canada. He is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Swansea and Adjunct Professor in the University of Lethbridge. He has written or edited ten books, including Factorial Ecology, Communities within Cities and Writing Geographical Exploration, in addition to publishing over 120 research papers and acting as consultant to planning and government organizations.