Complex, ecological, creative: the modern city and social change

The modern city is torn by conflicts and contradictions, marked by serious environmental problems (pollution, waste, traffic, etc.), and by large areas of human and urban blight, because its profound changes and the inhabitants of cities meet in a very fractured and parcelled out relationship; the contacts may take place face to face, but nevertheless are impersonal, superficial, and transitory. The critical approach to environmental education and sustainability is to target the inequalities, the wasting of resources, and the arrogance of human domination over nature, but its contribution to appropriate urban development is nevertheless still weak. It is therefore necessary to develop the research on the educational approach to the urban environment. Critical thinking, participation, the ability to imagine future scenarios, and a shared and free access to knowledge are essential elements of the necessary social change toward sustainability.