Upcoming book edited by Dr. Sébastien Darchen (UQ planning) and Associate Professor Glen Searle (University of Queensland/University of Sydney): Planning Innovations for Urban Sustainability: A Global Outlook with Routledge, Routledge Studies in Sustainability, to be published in the second half of 2018.

As the world becomes more and more urbanised, it is urgent to propose solutions to solve current sustainability challenges for the three arenas of sustainability: social sustainability, environmental sustainability and urban economic sustainability. This edited volume focuses on the politics of sustainability by interrogating the trade-offs made between the three arenas of sustainability in the implementation of innovative solutions. As the book analyses the procedural side of sustainability it offers a new perspective on the implementation of sustainability that will be very useful and attractive to both planning professionals and academics. The analysis of sustainable solutions to current challenges is centred on the concept of innovation. Innovative solutions come from a process that is embedded in a local societal and institutional context. But this process, in a globalised world, can also be influenced by external factors (such as urban policies or planning models applied in other contexts) and/or the networks in which a city might be involved. This book deals with the politics of sustainability in the implementation of planning innovations. The book’s structure is based on the recognition that planning solutions for sustainability cross three arenas: the social arena, the environmental arena and the urban economic arena. Finally the book also analyses to what extent planning innovations can be translated to one context to another: we reference the transferability of innovations.

The book gathers 23 collaborators (academics and planning practitioners) presenting case studies of sustainable urbanism from around the world. The book features case studies from a variety of settings, including among others: Helsinki (Finland), Medellin (Colombia), Freiburg (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Guangzhou (China), Singapore, Los Angeles (US), San Francisco (US), Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Vancouver (Canada), Seoul (South Korea), Mexico (Mexico City).