Why write a book?
A systems approach to achieve thriving, green and resilient urban places
How our cities and towns develop is key to our future prosperity. Some cities and towns function well today; many need to be improved. The aim of the Urban 2.0 book is to inspire people to work together to create and maintain thriving, green and resilient urban places around the world.
The book takes us through a journey of how to do this using the Urban 2.0 system. This system can be used by anyone who wants to make a difference to urban places, whatever their role and capacity, including municipal authorities and governments, financiers and investors, businesses, academics, NGOs, community groups and citizens. The system scales to whatever size of urban place you are looking at – from changing one street or a small park to improving a mega-city. It also links to the global development agenda led by the United Nations.
Inspiration on what can be achieved when we try, and challenges to be mindful of along the way, can be found in the many examples provided in the book and an accompanying workbook that contains around 300 examples from cities and towns around the world. Tools to help you work through your ideas and select the best ones to implement are provided in another workbook (a summary of which is in the tools & techniques page of this website).
Everyone who lives in cities and towns deserves a good life. Wonderful things can take shape when we put our minds to it. Think what we can achieve if we all play a part to making the urban places where we live, work and visit the very best they can be.
The Urban 2.0 system outline
How the book was written
How the idea for the book came about
The book's author (and the owner of this website) has a lifelong connection with urban environments, in a personal and professional capacity, having lived in a number of cities and towns around the world and visited many others. For several years he reviewed how different urban environments, large and small, function in an effort to find out what makes great ones great, why some struggle with the basics and why many are somewhere in the middle. After a period of detailed research, he started to write the book in April 2020, finalising the draft in late 2024.
The book's ethos is that we should be positive about the future, because we can make positive change happen when we work towards a shared vision and objectives. The Urban 2.0 system described in this website is used in the book to integrate and connect aspects and elements together.
Research into a variety of aspects that constitute the fabric of urban environments has been gathered from a wide range of sources, including holding interviews with people, reviewing books, academic papers and research articles, newspaper articles and attending city/urban events in person and online. The advice of many citizens, small business owners and people working in large corporations, specific experts, urban practitioners including those in municipal authorities, and academics has been very gratefully received to help develop concepts and ideas. The author has travelled to many different cities and towns in different geographies to observe first-hand their local context and to discuss with local experts and observers how well the urban system in these places works together with strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The book has accompanying Workbooks
The Urban 2.0 book draws upon and references many examples of activities, techniques and practices from around the world - whilst not providing the details about them all because of space constraints. Many of these examples have been seen and used by the author first-hand, through visits to and work in cities and towns around the world.
Given the space constraints in the book, these examples have been drawn together into the following workbooks:
The Learning Points & Case Studies Workbook contains over 280 (currently) learning points that are summary explanations and, sometimes, detailed case studies from around the world. The case studies demonstrate the use of the Urban 2.0 system.
The Tools, Templates & SDGs Workbook describes tools, templates and techniques that are mentioned in the book, which can be applied to identifying, selecting and implementing urban initiatives. This workbook includes a method developed by the author to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) into urban planning, design, implementation and management.
A third Additional Information on Urban 2.0 Workbook provides more details about certain parts of the book which are not described in full detail in order to ensure the book is kept conscise.
What the book contains
Systems thinking to achieve thriving, green and resilient urban places
The sections (chapters) of the book which use the Urban 2.0 system are as follows:
1. Governance – agile and innovative urban planning
A general overview about the principles of governance, the challenge of addressing complex needs and examples of considerations municipal authorities need to address.
2. Governance – public and private sector collaboration
How the public and private sectors can work together in an appropriate way to achieve good outcomes for urban environments.
3. Governance – Responsible Finance
The role that public and private finance plays in creating and maintaining good urban environments, and how responsible finance can make a meaningful difference.
4. Ecology – Climate change & disaster risk
How climate change is impacting urban environments and what to do about it.
How urban environments need to contend with disaster risks, and action they can take to avoid disasters.
5. Ecology – Nature-based Solutions
How we can learn effectively from the natural environment and how it integrates with other parts of the urban system.
6. Physical – Infrastructure: transport & mobility
A review of the transport & mobility hierarchy that exists today, whether it is fit for purpose for the future, and ideas to improve the quality of our urban environments by changing “how we move”, which is tightly linked to the other parts of the urban system.
7. Physical – Infrastructure: energy & water
A review of the energy and water needs of our urban environments, the challenges we face around the world and examples of solutions.
8. Physical – Infrastructure: amenities & support
A brief look at some “unsung heroes” of urban environments, such as street furniture, lighting, public toilets and waste management.
9. Physical – Infrastructure: rewiring to be smart
A review of “Smart City” applications in the urban system, and what it really means to be smart (it is not simply about applying the latest technology).
10. Physical – Our buildings & structures
An analysis of the challenges we face to improve built environments around the world, from construction through to the operation of buildings, and why integration with other parts of the urban system is key.
11. Socio-economic – Citizen-based planning
The benefits of involving citizens in decision-making for the urban environments where they live and work, and how to inspire them to help with purposeful change.
12. Socio-economic – Responding to climate change
How to engage with and inspire citizens to act on climate change (strong linkage to section 4).
13. Socio-economic – Life, work & play
How the socio-economic system is evolving – how work is changing, life challenges (including economic pressures such as housing affordability) and leisure pursuits.
14. Socio-economic – Consumption & the circular economy
How we can be more mindful about the goods, products & services we consume, and how to change our mindset to be more responsible and to make the circular economy real.
15. Socio-economic – Good health
How the design of urban environments affects health and wellbeing, including the “microbiome” of cities and towns, key aspects of air quality + pollution, and a brief overview of moving forward from the COVID-19 pandemic.
16. Socio-economic – Good education
A look at some of the educational needs of the citizens of urban environments (of all ages).
17. Knowledge sharing & learning lessons for continuous improvement
How we learn and share knowledge, and techniques that can help us all to maintain our curiosity and desire to improve where we live and work.
The book is laid out so that it can be read different ways, including with accompanying workbooks. It is a practical book that anyone can use to think through and make decisions about ideas and options to improve urban environments.