Introduction

Abstract

Looking today to the challenges for planning and design of sustainable built environment including, carbon emissions, climate change, human health, water problems, biodiversity, scarcity of resources, depletion of fossil fuel, population growth and urbanization; sustainable architecture will play a key role for the sustainable development of society as a whole. Cities and buildings can be seen as microcosms, a potential testing ground for models of the ecological and economic renewal of the society. In this context, this chapter provides an introduction to the book readers and shares with them the vision and key research questions that guided the research development in relation to sustainable urban and architectural development. The chapter presents the scope of research and the motivation behind writing this book. A discussion on the ecological and economic challenges in relation of the built environment and its environmental impact highlights the need for a paradigm shift.