This conference aims to address the many inter-related aspects of the urban environment from transport and mobility to social exclusion and crime prevention. The meeting will build on the contributions made in previous conferences, which successfully managed to provide an international view of the problems facing modern cities and their solutions.

Urban areas produce a series of environmental challenges arising from the consumption of natural resources and the consequent generation of waste and pollution, contributing to the development of social and economic imbalances. All these problems, that continue to grow in our society, require the development of new solutions.

The Sustainable City 2012 follows six very successful meetings held in Rio (2000), Segovia (2002), Siena (2004), Tallinn (2006), Skiathos (2008) and A Coruña (2010). The conferences attracted a large number of contributions from participants from different backgrounds and countries. The variety of topics and experiences is one of the main reasons behind the success of the series.

Conference topics include;

- Planning, development and management
- The community and the city
- Urban strategies
- Landscape planning and design
- Urbanization of rural areas
- Architectural issues
- Cultural heritage issues
- Waste management
- Case studies
- Environmental management
- Sustainable energy and the city
- Transportation
- Intelligent environments and emerging technologies
- Urban metabolism
- Waterfront developments
- Planning for risk
- Quality of life
- Infrastructures and social services
- Sustainable urban tourism
- Vernacular architecture
- Planning for natural hazards