Planning energy efficient and livable cities

This note advises city leaders on how to manage the growth and transformation of urban forms toward an energy efficient and livable path through supportive planning policies, zoning regulations, and design guidelines. Achieving these outcomes requires concerted efforts by city, regional, and national governments in setting a forward-looking strategic vision, creating an enabling institutional and regulatory framework, exploiting the right mix of regulatory and incentive based tools, and pursuing sustainable infrastructure financing. City governments have great leverage in shaping the physical form of cities as they are often responsible for preparing and implementing urban plans, and enacting and/or enforcing laws and regulations to guide urban land development.