Courageous visions for sustainability in Contemporary Cities

Urbanization has become a mega-trend. By 2050 70% of the world's population is predicted to be living in cities. Additionally, cities have become one of the main drivers of climate change, consuming enormous amounts of natural resources. With the New Urban Agenda in 2016 (Habitat III), an ambitious agenda for more sustainable future cities was adopted. The course Metropolitan Futures Laboratory (MetroLab) in the module Contemporary City at Politecnico di Milano aimed to achieve qualifications for developing sustainable urban visions. The contribution describes the methodological and pedagogical approach of MetroLab with regard to education for sustainable development, selected results of the students' designs for the contemporary (sustainable) city, and the challenges to students' creativity and conceptual skills posed by the sustainable city's need for fundamental change and innovation.