1

Response to Campbell.

LA 589: Sustainable Urban Design Theory

Submitted by Urvi Varma

Scott Campbell's 1996 article, "Green Cities, Growing Cities, Just Cities? Urban Planning and the
Contradictions of Sustainable Development," remains a relevant and enduring source of wisdom in urban
planning and design, even nearly three decades after its initial publication. Today the three corners of
the triangle suggested by Campbell: The Economy, the Environment and Equity are still equally forming
the foundation of Sustainable Development of the Cities. However, the term
“sustainability” is tossed in every conversation about Urban Planning and City development with still no
consensus on its exact meaning.

Comparing the proposed triangle by Campbell in today's context it can be identified that two of the
aspects are recognized more as the third aspect remains out of balance. For example, the situation
hasn’t changed much over the years where the term sustainability is vaguely linked with environmental
sustainability or green development overshadowing it as a holistic approach along with the economic
and social aspects. As a result of this economic development of the cities is always kept on the highest
pedestal and the term sustainable or green is a mere code requirement whereas the term social
sustainability is often trade-offed by economic growth. Supporting the argument, the diagram below
draws a line between Campbell’s theory (Figure 1) and the different combinations of the theory in
today’s time (Figure 2).

Campbell used the terms environmental, economic and equity in a much broader spectrum and each
term holds its individual position. However, if have to break down the needs or the conflicts faced by the
city each of the categories can be put in more than one corner. Hence instead of separating each aspect
of sustainable development in a corner of the triangle, it should be reshaped to overlap the criteria as
shown in Figure 4 (Left). For an understanding using the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the
United Nations where the ideal “sustainable” city goals are classified as individual terms rather than
putting them in any one of the categories. Studying Figure 3 we can segregate each of the goals
mentioned by the United Nations in more than one category. For example, the goal for Quality Education
would lie either in the equity or economic spheres. Whereas responsible consumption and production
would lie in the spheres of environmental and economic spheres. This suggests that for sustainable
development each goal fulfils at least two of the three corners of the proposed triangle by Campbell. It is
also very evident from the sustainable development goals of the United Nations that environmental
sustainability is emphasized the most out of all the needs.

Going back to the argument made by Philp Berke in his article Twenty Years After Campbell's Vision: Have
We Achieved More Sustainable Cities? In this article, he argues that Campbell didn’t consider
implications of the climate change in his proposed theory of sustainable cities. Can we say that
environmental sustainability is an inevitable goal? As we fast-forward to the present, the landscape has
shifted. Environmental concerns, propelled by climate change and resource depletion, have ascended in
importance. We still value economic growth, but there's an increasing recognition that it must be
distributed more equitably. In the updated triangle, the vertices representing environmental
sustainability should be a larger sphere wherein lies the spheres for social and economic sustainable
 2

development to mirror current urban planning priorities. We have come too far from preventing climate
change this implies that green cities are no longer the criteria to be the selected goal. Achieving green
cities should be the inherent choice along with other layers of equity and economy. Figure 4 (Right)
suggests the updated version of Campbell’s theory.

In conclusion, Scott Campbell's 1996 article acts as a guiding beacon in the realm of urban planning and
design. It continues to inspire us as we navigate the intricate landscape of urban development. As we
address contemporary urban planning and design challenges, let's keep in mind the wisdom shared in
Campbell's work and use it as a foundation. In this ever-evolving urban landscape, reevaluating and
updating our approaches is essential to create more sustainable, equitable, and resilient cities.

List of Figures.
 3

Figure 2: Current distribution of the equity, environment and economy in the development of the cities.
This image suggests each scenario follows one of the three conditions. Size the of the circles represents
the importance of each aspect of the Urban Realm.

Figure 3. Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations.

 4

Figure 4: (Left) Ideal diagram for sustainable cities vs (Right) the diagram for the cities addressing climate
change. Size the of the circles represents the importance of each aspect of the Urban Realm.