UCL: launch of sustainable cities Grand Challenge

UCL has launched its Grand Challenge of Sustainable Cities with a debate exploring the most intractable and neglected problems of cities, and ways to solve them.

Cities are now home to half of the world’s population and will house some 80 per cent of humanity by the end of the 21st century. This rapid growth will further stress the urban environment, posing major problems in food security, energy, water, waste, transport, economy, manufacturing and quality of life.

UCL’s Grand Challenge of Sustainable Cities aims to address these urgent issues through the creation of a compelling vision for our cities. At its public launch, a panel discussion explored the key challenges that face cities and society in the 21st century.

A new UCL magazine, ‘Palette’, also launched at the event to explore what a zero-carbon world might look like, the role of urban agriculture in economic recovery, architectural sustainability beyond environmental factors, and managing energy-demand reduction.

UCL’s Provost Malcolm Grant said, “The breadth of UCL research gives us not just the chance, but an obligation to improve the urban environment. To address the complex problems facing cities will require an unprecedented degree of imagination and collaboration.”