Disrupting comfort: From low-carbon to low-impact cities

Alejandro De Castro Mazarro; Neelakshi Joshi; Lasare Samartzidis

doi:10.14512/rur.2567

Authors

Alejandro De Castro Mazarro Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development
Neelakshi Joshi leibniz institute of ecological urban and regional development
Lasare Samartzidis Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.2567

Keywords:

Low-carbon city, Low-impact city, Resource efficiency, Resource sufficiency, ecomodernism, Ecological economics

Abstract

In this commentary, we argue for the low-impact city as an alternative to the dominant urban imaginary of the low-carbon city. We adopt an ecological economics lens to expose the limitations of the urban resource efficiency paradigm when tackling environmental degradation beyond city boundaries. Based on the interpretation of urbanisation as a material practice, we urge for a fundamental recalibration of sustainability paradigms in urban planning. To integrate the impacts of urbanisation on non-urban landscapes within the framework of urban sustainability science, we furthermore stress the urgent need for frugality, resource reduction, and inclusiveness in urban planning practice.

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