ARI Working Paper Series

Green urbanism is a way to describe settlements that are smart, secure and sustainable. They are smart in that they are able to adapt to the new technologies of the 21st century, secure in that they have built-in systems that enable them to respond to extreme events as well as being built to last, and sustainable in that they are part of the solution to the big questions of sustainability, such as climate change, peak oil, and biodiversity. This paper assesses Green Urbanism in terms of seven criteria: Renewable City, Carbon Neutral City, Biophillic City, Distributed City, Eco-Efficient City, Place-based City and Sustainable Transport City. These criteria will be explained by using best practice examples from other cities. They will then be applied to Singapore to see how the city is going on this new global quest to be innovative and competitive in the emerging green economy.