Sustainable cities have been popping up around the globe in recent years, however, the idea of a sustainable city or eco-city has been around for a few decades now. The term was first used by Richard Register in his book titled; Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a healthy future.  An eco-city is designed with specific consideration on reducing environmental impact. A main design feature of many of the eco-cities is to stop heat wastage and reduce/neutralize air pollution. Eco- cities are usually inhabited by like-minded people who believe in reducing water, food intake and minimize waste.

Here is a list of ten sustainable cities which are changing the way people live.

1. Calgary, Canada

18,000 Canadians developed a blueprint for a sustainable future when they created the imagineCALGARY Plan for long terms sustainability. The Plan contains a 100-year vision that articulates the city in which Canadians would like to live and how to get there.

2. Masdar city, Abu Dhabi

Masdar is Arabic for “Source”. Masdar is a planned city which relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources and is being designed to be a hub for cleantech companies. The city combines ancient Arabic architectural techniques with modern technology to pioneer sustainable development.

4. Auroville, Tamil Nadu

The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity. Auroville is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics, and all nationalities.

4. Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, China 

It is the result of a collaborative agreement between the governments of China and Singapore to jointly develop a socially harmonious, environmentally friendly and resource-conserving city in China.

5. Clark Freeport Zone 

The Building of the Clark Green City by Philippines Govt. will feature a 50-year master plan that will help decongest Metro Manila, drive the economy and guide the country towards sustainable development.

6. Songdo International Business District, South Korea 

Songdo IBD’s leadership in sustainable development will have key quality-of-life attributes for both corporations and residents. The city will be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified district in Korea.

7. Hung Shui Kiu

Hung Shui Kiu has been identified as suitable for the new development area purposed to cater for long-term development need in Hong Kong. After development, it may accommodate up to 160,000 people in the future.

8. Waitakere, New Zealand

Waitakere eco-city is an opportunity for Waitakere City to become a leader, to enhance its image and to find innovative solutions to the constraints it faces.

9. Hacienda – Mombasa 

Hacienda eco-city in Mombasa is Kenya’s first environmentally, socially, culturally and economically sustainable project. Solar & wind energy along with rainfall will be harvested.

10. Freiburg Breisgau, Germany

SolarRegion Freiburg is a long term development vision that the city of Freiburg in southwest Germany embraced in 1986, which has resulted in multiple benefits for both the environment and the local economy.

India has already started work on sustainable cities with Auroville being the first. Following the Make In India campaign and the Smart City Initiative, more eco-cities will be developed in the near future.