Land use and land management

This chapter explores some of the challenges ahead of Australian cities, and looks to the idea of ecological cities for guidance. Eco-cities can apply new technologies such as co-generation, solar cooling and electric mobility to reduce energy use. The concept of green urbanism arose in the late 1990s, and was directed towards promoting compact, energy-efficient, urban development. Planning for green urbanism is best undertaken in an interdisciplinary context, linking fields such as architectural science, biology and ecology. More recent theories of &s;compact cities&s; and &s;solar cities&s; encapsulate the belief that urban revitalisation and the future of the city can only be achieved through &s;re-compacting&s; the city. Zero waste is a concept that encourages the redesign of resource lifecycles, so that all products and building components can be re-used. Ecological restoration aims to initiate, facilitate or accelerate the recovery of an ecosystem that has been damaged.