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3.5 billion People, half of the world’s population, live in urban areas. In the coming decades, 95 percent of urban expansion will take place in the developing world. By 2050, the urban population is expected to reach 6.5 billion. Cities occupy just 3 percent of the Earth’s land but account for 60 to 80 percent of energy consumption and 75 percent of carbon emissions. In 1990, there were 10 cities with 10 million inhabitants or more; by 2014, the number of “mega-cities” had reached 28, home to a total 453 million people. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.

According to Brundtland Commission in its 1987 report “Our Common Future”, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Since the Brundtland Report, the concept of sustainable development has developed beyond the initial intergenerational framework to focus more on the goal of "socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth.

Probably most of the major environmental problems of the next century will result from the continuation and sharpening of existing problems that currently do not receive enough political attention. The most emerging issues are climate changes, freshwater scarcity, deforestation, and fresh water pollution and population growth. These problems are very complex and their interactions are hard to define. It is very important to examine problems through the political, cultural, social-economic and technological system. Even the interconnections between environmental problems are now better known, we still lack exact information on how the issues are linked, on what degree they interact and what are the most effective measures.

Questions in respect to environment, sustainable development and urban policy arising are:

1. How increasing urbanization is affecting environment?

2. Whether expanding urbanization is one of the reasons for climate change?

3. Whether developing countries are formulating effecting policies for urban development to check environment governance?  

4. How sustainable development could help in environment governance in cities?

5. How ICT could be applied for environment governance in cities leading to sustainable development?

There is complete eradication of habitats as an outcome of urbanization and native species are pushed out of cities. Activities in cities release a wide range of emissions into the environment including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, lead, and many other pollutants. Pollutants are often dispersed across cities. Burying tremendous amounts of waste in the ground at municipal and industrial dumps is posing a threat to human life and health. In respect to environment, sustainable development stands for: to promote development without causing harm to the environment, to make use of environmentally friendly practices, and to minimize the depletion of natural resources. The goal of environmental sustainability in cities is to conserve natural resources and to develop alternate sources of power while reducing pollution and harm to the environment.

3.5 billion People, half of the world’s population, live in urban areas. In the coming decades, 95 percent of urban expansion will take place in the developing world. By 2050, the urban population is expected to reach 6.5 billion. Cities occupy just 3 percent of the Earth’s land but account for 60 to 80 percent of energy consumption and 75 percent of carbon emissions. In 1990, there were 10 cities with 10 million inhabitants or more; by 2014, the number of “mega-cities” had reached 28, home to a total 453 million people. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.

According to Brundtland Commission in its 1987 report “Our Common Future”, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Since the Brundtland Report, the concept of sustainable development has developed beyond the initial intergenerational framework to focus more on the goal of "socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth.

Probably most of the major environmental problems of the next century will result from the continuation and sharpening of existing problems that currently do not receive enough political attention. The most emerging issues are climate changes, freshwater scarcity, deforestation, and fresh water pollution and population growth. These problems are very complex and their interactions are hard to define. It is very important to examine problems through the political, cultural, social-economic and technological system. Even the interconnections between environmental problems are now better known, we still lack exact information on how the issues are linked, on what degree they interact and what are the most effective measures.

Questions in respect to environment, sustainable development and urban policy arising are:

1. How increasing urbanization is affecting environment?

2. Whether expanding urbanization is one of the reasons for climate change?

3. Whether developing countries are formulating effecting policies for urban development to check environment governance?  

4. How sustainable development could help in environment governance in cities?

5. How ICT could be applied for environment governance in cities leading to sustainable development?

There is complete eradication of habitats as an outcome of urbanization and native species are pushed out of cities. Activities in cities release a wide range of emissions into the environment including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, lead, and many other pollutants. Pollutants are often dispersed across cities. Burying tremendous amounts of waste in the ground at municipal and industrial dumps is posing a threat to human life and health. In respect to environment, sustainable development stands for: to promote development without causing harm to the environment, to make use of environmentally friendly practices, and to minimize the depletion of natural resources. The goal of environmental sustainability in cities is to conserve natural resources and to develop alternate sources of power while reducing pollution and harm to the environment.