The majority of the world population lives in cities. We are undergoing an exponential increase in the urban population, and by the middle of the century, it is expected that over 70% of the planet’s inhabitants will live in cities or metropolises. This process, combined with the urban production of industrial society, has created vast simplified urban landscapes, which are both unhealthy and, in many cases, uninhabitable (today, more than 800 million people live in marginal areas, in conditions of basic survival). The scale of how far urban landscapes and quality of life have deteriorated in most cities around the world calls for a thorough regeneration of urban systems on every level, in addition to planning new urban developments based on foundations that are far removed from conventional urban planning proposals.
In addition, urban environments are currently the main factor behind the pressure being exerted on the earth’s ecosystems, on every level. The extent of the impact is such that the current historical period has been classified as a new geological age, known as the Anthropocene era. The process behind these uncertainties has been described as unsustainable and, today, we can say that life on earth depends on a single species and, above all, on the urban systems created by it.
Urban systems will, therefore, be the focus of our attention. Without regenerating existing cities, this problem cannot be solved, and every day that passes sees uncertainties grow. The suggested solutions must, of course, deal with new urban developments, but it is even more important to find solutions for systems that are already built, and which are currently causing damage.
On many occasions, urban planning tools were scarce, while in other cases they were inspired first and foremost by the Athens Charter. Although the Charter aimed to rationalize the compatibility between uses and functions resulting from industrial society, it was unable to predict the serious issues that its proposals would cause and is clearly incapable of addressing the challenges faced in the early 21st century.
An analysis of the biggest problems facing urban systems today has led both continental and global institutions, with the United Nations at the fore, to meet numerous times since the ’70s in search of solutions. The last such meeting, held in Quito in 2016, approved the Urban Agenda. Although the Agenda has good intentions, the results achieved so far are not as expected. Perhaps one of the many reasons for this is the lack of an agreed theoretical framework that intentionally channels the technical, technological, regulatory, economic/financial, organizational/institutional and educational tools required to achieve the framework’s objectives, and the theoretical reference points for different environmental, economic and social conditions.
This document is a draft for a Charter with an ecological foundation, which should serve as a guide for designing new urban developments, for regenerating existing urban systems, and that responds to the current challenges related to sustainability in the information and knowledge age.
