The Endless City

written by Ricky Burdett

 

Beneath the skin of the world’s cities lie deep connections between social cohesion and built form, between public transport and social justice, between public space and tolerance, and between governance and the way urban citizens live their lives. More than ever before, the shape of cities, how much land they occupy, how much energy they consume, how their transport infrastructure is organised and where people are housed – in remote, segregated environments behind walls or in integrated neighbourhoods close to jobs, facilities and transport – defines the environmental, economic and social sustainability of global society.