Named examples: Cities in a sustainable future

A named place with a date or figure, linked to your point, turns a general answer into a developed one.

This lesson collects the 27 named examples from the lessons in this chapter, so you can revise them in one place. Each one is also a recall card below, so you can save the whole set and review it before an exam.

Measuring urban sustainability: ISO 37120 city indicators; EIU Global Liveability Index 2025.

Urban growth and population loss: Growing: Delhi, India; Shrinking: Detroit, USA.

Urban demand on the environment: Urban heat island, Singapore.

Urban solid-waste problems: Payatas, Manila, 2000.

Managing urban solid waste: Semakau Landfill, Singapore; Tuas Nexus, Singapore; Tokyo's 23 wards.

Slums and housing deprivation: Dharavi, Mumbai; Canada Real, Madrid, Spain.

Improving housing in slum areas: Kampung Improvement Programme, Indonesia; Baan Mankong, Thailand; Addis Ababa condominiums, Ethiopia.

Urban reimaging: Bilbao, Spain; Cheonggyecheon, Seoul; The High Line, New York.

Evaluating urban reimaging: Cheonggyecheon, Seoul; The High Line's side effects, New York; Liverpool, UK.

Liveability and sustainability: Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ageing and urban life: Japan.

Age-friendly cities: Kampung Admiralty, Singapore; WHO Age-friendly Cities network.

Gender and urban life: World Bank Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning (2020).

Creating liveable cities for women: Vienna, Austria; Women-only carriages.

To use a case, name the place or organisation, give its date or a figure, then say what it shows about the question. One developed case earns more than a list of names.

ISO 37120 city indicators

ISO 37120, first published in 2014, is an international standard set of city indicators, such as air quality, waste recycled and transport use. The World Council on City Data certifies cities that report against it, so their figures can be compared.

EIU Global Liveability Index 2025

The Economist Intelligence Unit scores 173 cities on 30 indicators in five groups: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. In 2025 Copenhagen came first and Vienna fell to joint second with Zurich, after a lower stability score.

Growing: Delhi, India

The UN's 2018 estimates put the Delhi urban area at about 29 million people, and projected it to grow to about 39 million by 2030. Growth on this scale strains housing, water and transport faster than they can be built.

Shrinking: Detroit, USA

Detroit's population fell from 1,849,568 in 1950 to 639,111 in 2020 (US Census), as car jobs and residents moved away. With fewer taxpayers but the same roads and pipes to maintain, the city filed for bankruptcy in July 2013.

Urban heat island, Singapore

NUS researchers report that outdoor air in Singapore's built-up areas can be up to 7 degrees C hotter than in its green areas. Hard surfaces store heat, and air-conditioners pump waste heat outside. Hotter air then raises the demand for air-conditioning.

Payatas, Manila, 2000

After heavy rain, a huge open dumpsite collapsed onto nearby homes, killing over 200 people, many of whom lived by collecting recyclables there.

Semakau Landfill, Singapore

Singapore's only landfill, built offshore, is expected to be full by about 2035. So Singapore burns most waste to reduce its volume and is pushing recycling and less packaging.

Tuas Nexus, Singapore

PUB and NEA are building the first plant in the world planned from the start to treat used water and solid waste on one site. Biogas from used water sludge and heat from burning waste make electricity, so the site makes more energy than it uses. Phases open from 2026.

Tokyo's 23 wards

Burning reduces Tokyo's combustible waste to about one-twentieth of its volume. The ash goes to landfill in Tokyo Bay, and the New Sea Surface site is the last landfill space there. So Tokyo sorts waste strictly to make that site last as long as possible.

Dharavi, Mumbai

One of Asia's largest informal settlements, home to around a million people. It has crowded housing and poor sanitation, but also thousands of small businesses.

Canada Real, Madrid, Spain

Slums exist in rich countries too. About 15 km from central Madrid, more than 8,000 people live in an informal settlement of self-built homes. In October 2020 its unofficial electricity supply was cut, and thousands of people, including many children, lived without power for years.

Kampung Improvement Programme, Indonesia

From 1969, Jakarta upgraded existing kampungs with paved paths, drains, water and toilets, instead of clearing them.

Baan Mankong, Thailand

Since 2003, this programme has given loans and grants to community groups, who plan and rebuild their own housing.

Addis Ababa condominiums, Ethiopia

From 2005, Ethiopia's Integrated Housing Development Programme built blocks of flats for low- and middle-income families, mostly in Addis Ababa. Buyers are chosen by lottery and pay in instalments. UN-Habitat found it built many homes quickly, but the poorest families often could not afford the deposit and some flats were rented out.

Bilbao, Spain

The Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997, helped turn a declining industrial city into a cultural destination. This became known as the "Bilbao effect".

Cheonggyecheon, Seoul (Urban reimaging)

In 2005, an elevated highway was removed and a buried stream restored, creating a long public park through the city centre.

The High Line, New York

An unused elevated freight railway on Manhattan's west side was turned into a public park. The first section opened in 2009. It drew millions of visitors and new buildings to the area.

Cheonggyecheon, Seoul (Evaluating urban reimaging)

The restored stream cooled the area and drew visitors, but rising land values and the removal of old street markets pushed out some small traders.

The High Line's side effects, New York

Property prices and rents near the High Line rose sharply after it opened in 2009. Some long-standing residents and small shops say the park mainly served visitors and newer, richer residents.

Liverpool, UK

Liverpool's waterfront lost its UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021. UNESCO said new development, including the Liverpool Waters scheme, had damaged the historic docks it was meant to protect. Reimaging for investment had cost part of the city's heritage image.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen topped the EIU liveability index in 2025 and aims to cut its carbon emissions sharply. Many residents cycle to work or school, which supports both liveability and lower emissions. But high housing costs show that a liveable city is not always affordable.

Japan

About 29% of Japan's population is aged 65 or over, the highest share of any large country, which strains health care and the workforce.

Kampung Admiralty, Singapore

Completed in 2017, it combines flats for seniors with a medical centre, day care, shops and community gardens in one building.

WHO Age-friendly Cities network

Since 2010, the World Health Organization has linked cities that commit to making housing, transport and services easier for older people to use.

World Bank Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning (2020)

The World Bank found that women in many cities make more short, linked trips for care and walk or use buses more than men. Transport planned mainly for a peak-hour commute by car or train serves those trips badly.

Vienna, Austria

Vienna plans with women's needs in mind: wider pavements, better lighting and housing near shops, schools and transport.

Women-only carriages

Cities such as Tokyo and Delhi run women-only train carriages at busy times to reduce harassment.