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Reflection Paper
Urban Sustainability

Urban sustainability was a topic that was largely unknown to me, and my understanding
of it was limited and surprisingly skeptical. My upbringing in Tehran, one of the bustling and
polluted mega cities in the world, left me feeling hopeless about the possibility of living in green
and sustainable cities. However, my perspective was transformed through my study of urban
sustainability course. I'm going to talk about how my knowledge has expanded, enabling me to
see cities in a new light. Firstly, My preconceptions were that sustainable cities had to be built
from scratch, and that existing cities were a lost cause, contributing significantly to the world
problems specially climate crisis. I learned that sustainable cities can be created by transforming
existing cities, rather than starting from scratch. Secondly, I gained a new appreciation for the
complexity of cities as living organisms, where everything is interconnected, and changes to one
aspect of the system can have far-reaching consequences. Finally, as a masters student
specializing in climate change, I gained a deeper understanding of how cities can be a crucial
part of the solution to this global challenge. Through this essay, I will explore how my
perspective on urban sustainability has evolved, and how this new understanding can help us
create livable, equitable, and resilient communities.

Initially, I had a narrow view of sustainable cities. I believed that the only way to achieve
sustainability was to create new cities from scratch, especially in developing countries. I had lost
hope for the existing mega-cities like Tehran, where I have lived most of my life. The only
solution in my mind was to create new, sustainable cities in different areas and encourage people
and incentivise them to move to those areas. I hoped that this would eventually lead to the
transformation of the big cities into sustainable ones. However, taking an urban sustainability
course has completely changed my perspective. I have learned that existing cities can be
transformed into more sustainable versions of themselves. This can be achieved through various
strategies such as energy-efficient building designs, green infrastructure, public transportation,
and sustainable food systems. I have come to realize that cities can become more sustainable by
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adopting new policies, practices, and technologies. The article about Urban regeneration and how
cities around the world have designed complex processes to address underutilized and decaying
urban areas article gave me some insight about how it's feasible to make urban developments on
existing cities. It argues that the need for massive financial resources and community buy-in is
one factor that determines the success of regeneration efforts. Private sector participation is a
significant factor in the success of regeneration of underutilized urban land. The article also
identifies four distinct phases: scoping, planning, financing, and implementation, which local
governments can use to systematically design a regeneration process. The article highlights the
importance of balancing vision, planning principles, and facilitating negotiation amongst the
public, private, and community sectors. (World Bank, 2023)

Not only my knowledge was limited about how to make cities sustainable, but I had a
very limited knowledge about how cities work. My understanding of urban sustainability was
limited to improving overall energy efficiency, creating more green spaces and parks in urban
areas and have an effective recycle strategy. However, the urban sustainability course changed
my perspective completely by making me look at the cities as living organisms. This means that
cities are complex systems with interconnected parts, and that changes in one part of the system
can affect the whole. Seeing cities as living organisms made me realize that urban sustainability
is a complex and systematic way of revolutionizing cities and the only way we can make changes
is involving anyone who is involved in the city, multi stakeholder governance and planning to be
more precise. It involves taking into account various factors such as energy use, transportation,
waste management, social equity, economic development, creating livable and equitable
communities and more. Also as mentioned before, urban sustainability is a holistic approach that
requires the involvement of various stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, and
policymakers. That is why progressive Mayors and local governments worldwide collaborate
with designers, architects, planners, and local communities to propose and implement innovative
solutions for sustainable urban spaces. As an example Barcelona seeks to include every voice in
city decision-making through a dynamic participatory process. Civil associations collaborate
with the government to improve outcomes by combining efforts. (WEF, 2019) Through this lens,
I have also come to recognize the potential for urban sustainability mechanisms to promote
social justice and human rights, especially for marginalized groups such as women in certain
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parts of the world. For instance, throughout the last 7 months, a female revolution has been
happening in my home country, Iran. Women are trying to gain their rights as simple as wearing
what they wish and choosing their own means of transportation. I realized that urban
sustainability can play a role in promoting women's rights such as mobility and freedom. While
women are currently prohibited from cycling in Iran, urban sustainability principles prioritize the
health and mobility of all city residents, and can provide a platform for advancing gender
equality and inclusion. Furthermore, promoting gender equality and empowering women is a key
aspect of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11, which aims to make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. (OECD, 2023) Therefore, it is essential to
incorporate gender-sensitive approaches in all aspects of urban sustainability, from transportation
planning to housing design, to ensure that the benefits of sustainable development are equitably
distributed and reach marginalized groups, such as women. This realization has further
strengthened my conviction that sustainable urban development is a vital component of building
a more equitable and just society including every being that is connected to this complex setting.

Urban sustainability has completely transformed my perspective on cities regarding their

role in climate change. As someone who is deeply concerned about the issue and the need for
solutions, I used to view cities as nothing more than polluting entities that contribute to climate
change. However, this course opened my eyes to the potential of cities as solutions to the
problem. By implementing sustainable practices and policies, cities can drastically reduce their
carbon footprint and become leaders in the fight against climate change. This realization was a
game-changer for me, as I now understand that urban sustainability is not only about making
cities greener and more livable, but also about creating a better future for all. Cities are a crucial
component in the fight against climate change, as they contribute to a significant portion of
global greenhouse gas emissions. However, cities also present a significant potential for
mitigating these emissions and addressing the climate crisis. Urban centers are centers of
innovation and collaboration, and with the right policies and interventions, cities can become
engines of sustainability. Strategies such as improving public transportation, increasing energy
efficiency, promoting renewable energy sources, and implementing green infrastructure can help
reduce emissions while creating livable, equitable, and resilient communities. Cities face barriers
to delivering climate action, such as difficulty in making a successful case for climate action to
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decision-makers and stakeholders, and competing priorities. However, evidence shows that well-
planned climate action can have positive non-climate benefits, such as reduced air pollution, job
creation, reduced inequality, and improved public health. Designing policies that tackle both
climate change and other city priorities can increase support from local stakeholders and
decision-makers, accelerating city climate action. Cities that understand co-benefits are
delivering more climate actions. (Minas et. al. 2020)

In conclusion, my perspective on urban sustainability has significantly evolved through

their study of urban sustainability. Initially, I believed that sustainable cities could only be
created from scratch and that existing cities were a lost cause. However, I learned that not only
cities are a dead cause but they are a huge potential for tackling many issues in our world.
Furthermore, my perception of cities as living organisms has allowed me to recognize the
potential for urban sustainability to promote social justice and human rights. Overall, the I now
believe that sustainable urban development is crucial to move towards solving the climate
change catastrophe and building more equitable and just societies for all the habitats.
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References
• Minas, A., McLachian, C., Lovell, A. (2020). The Co-benefits of Climate Action: Accelerating
City-Level Ambition. CDP Disclosure, Insight, Action. Retrieved from:
https://cdn.cdp.net/cdp-production/cms/reports/documents/000/005/329/original/CDP_Co-
benefits_analysis.pdf?1597235231#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20co%2Dbenefit,through%20e
xpansion%20of%20green%20space.

• OECD iLibrary (2023) Women and SDG 11 – sustainable cities and communities: Make cities
and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Gender and the Environment:
Building Evidence and Policies to Achieve the SDGs. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-
ilibrary.org/sites/db5d855d-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/db5d855d-en

• WEF (September 2019). Here's how we can design inclusive cities. Sustainable Development
Impact Summit. Retrieved from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/here-s-how-we-
can-design-inclusive-cities/
• World Bank (2023). Urban Regeneration. Retrieved from:
https://urbanregeneration.worldbank.org/about