Author(s)

A. Y. Al-Zoabi, O. M. Jarrar

Abstract

The debate on the sustainable city form has reached new horizons, and moved from theoretical perspectives and visions towards implication. This paper is a step towards reducing the gap between theory and practice. It aims to characterize a sustainable city paradigm as a framework through which the sustainable city can be visualized. This paper traces and reorganizes the different debates, scenarios, and visions concerning the sustainable city form in a framework entitled ‘a sustainable city paradigm . The paradigm consists of three proposed components; parameters, criteria and indicators. The paper is mainly focused on the characterization of the criteria and indicators of efficiency parameter as a major strand of sustainable city form. When the paradigm applied, the indicators resemble an instrument of criteria, and hence, efficiency s fulfillment. Once being characterized as a whole, the proposed paradigm is by no means a static model. Rather, it is a dynamic conceptual device to sensitize us to vision (out of many others) of what the sustainable city might become.

Keywords

sustainable city, sustainable city paradigm, efficiency