Urbanism and Sustainable Development: Useful Frameworks for Combating Climate Change

As our globe undergoes extraordinary surges in urban growth, the concept that saving the environment must come at the cost of slowed social and economic development becomes increasingly convincing. While sustainability and urbanization are not mutually exclusive, creating a framework for development that fulfills the needs of a progressively urbanized world without undermining the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs is modeled by a variety of theoretical approaches. Faced with the challenge of a growing population limited by natural resources, realizing sustainable development will require a unique style of leadership that capitalizes on new opportunities through innovation at the regional and national levels. This paper seeks to outline the demands of two major sustainable urban design theories, free market environmentalism (FME) and the eco-city movement, and to address their social justice implications