German Advisory Council on Global Change. The Urban Planet: How Cities Save Our Future. Translated by Jonathan Lutes. German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), Berlin, 2016.
The future of our civilization will be decided in the cities. The internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the Paris Agreement on climate change can only be achieved if we design sustainable and liveable cities across the globe.
The problems and potential solutions faced in doing so can vary widely across cities and urban communities. The cities of this world are quite different from another; they develop very “personal qualities.” In this comic, too, they appear as markedly distinct characters.
The goal of the cities in this comic is to find pathways for a transformation towards sustainability.
A “normative compass” provides orientation in the process, helping to design urban development so that natural life-support systems remain intact, participation is guaranteed in all its dimensions and the urban diversity of our cities and the quality of life of their populations remain priorities.
To do justice to this urban socio-cultural diversity, we collaborated with artists from various cultures and countries – Cameroon, Germany, England, India and Japan. Thus, the peculiarities and character of the cities and their urban communities are also reflected in the book’s graphical realization.
This comic condenses into an illustrated story the fundamental findings of Humanity on the move: Unlocking the transformative power of cities, a report published by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). We hope this book encourages urban societies to champion the liveable and sustainable design of their cities with creativity and fun.
(Text from WBGU Website)
View the comic or download the PDF in English here or in Spanish here.
