Cities and integrated urban challenges

Abstract

The main concepts and understanding of cities and their meaning and definition are explored. The growth and origins of cities are discussed, and this is supported by statistics and data covering the size and type of city in the UK and internationally. Firstly this chapter explores how cities may be formally defined (spatially and temporally, for example), and what cities represent in terms of their inherent characteristics; is a city a ‘process’ or set of ‘processes’ for example, or an ‘object’, or a ‘system’? The challenges and opportunities for a range of cities now, and in the future, are compared with those from the past. This chapter covers the forces for changes that have driven and are driving city visioning activities and urban foresight as part of this wider agenda. The overall nature and characteristics of these challenges is then explored, and the extent to which they interlink and cross-cut the city and city-region scale and beyond. This will also require new ways of thinking and planning for the future, and what is termed ‘city visioning’ will be an important part of this process. Finally, the chapter examines how urban policy and practice has responded and needs to evolve to meet these different challenges.