An article in The Guardian about ways to build sustainable cities offers advice from several experts, beginning with SFI Professor Luis Bettencourt.

Cities must be allowed to evolve, Bettencourt says, "and such a process is not one of simple engineering optimisation, especially when looking at development issues. There are very few consistent studies on how settlements evolve over time, and there is a real need for more."

He notes that urban problems are best solved through planning done jointly between members of communities and the relevant government agencies or authorities. He cites SFI's recent work with Slum Dwellers International.

Read the article in The Guardian (September 9, 2013)