What comes to mind when you think of the city of the future?
Back in the 1970s, people believed that in another 50 years, the streets would be full of flying cars, huge skyscrapers and engineering works using impossible forms. Now, we are living in that present, and the image we have of the city of the future is very different. We think of a sustainable city with fewer cars, more green spaces, resilient infrastructure and functioning on the basis of circular economy.
Cities aren’t just where we live, they are the engines of our future, and they need a radical reboot. Moving beyond the usual ‘less harm’ approach, regenerative cities aim to restore ecosystems, fuel economic prosperity and build strong social bonds. In the process, they transform how we plan, build, and govern our urban environments, so that we can thrive for generations to come. The idea of sustainable regeneration has been around for some time.
Historically, cities closely corresponded with their geographical surroundings and relied on this for the provision of food, raw materials and other goods. Cities using organic waste from the urban core to fertilise surrounding ecosystems have a symbiotic relationship to their surrounding area, and can be described as the original state of the polis. Urban regeneration is an urban planning strategy where money is invested for the improvement of specific urban areas. Often referred to as urban renewal, urban renaissance or even urban redevelopment, it tends to focus on three core areas — economic revitalisation, social regeneration and sustainability. The goal of urban renewal is to address the above issues through investment and improvement in infrastructure, economic opportunities, social provisions and public facilities.
The concept goes beyond sustainability and strives not only to avoid damage but to repair and regenerate. It seeks to build economies and communities that prosper so that the planet prospers, too. In the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, urban decay, urban shrinkage and even ghost cities have become recurring phenomena across the urbanised world, with areas in our biggest cities decaying or even being abandoned altogether. Urban regeneration has long been a popular approach by city planners and governments to combat these issues and restore the quality of life in derelict and blighted areas.
So by 2050, the UN estimates that 70% of all people will live in cities — up from the present 55%. It is estimated that 90% of future urban population growth will occur in the cities of Asia, Africa and to some extent, South America. Recently at the National Urban Conclave-2026 in Bhubaneswar, the Odisha government expressed desire to work towards developing modern infrastructure and institutions to support the state’s anticipated urban growth. The state aims to increase its urbanisation rate from the current 17 per cent to 40 per cent by 2036, outlining the its vision for modern infrastructure, planned urban expansion and a $500-billion economy by the centenary of its formation.
It means the state where nearly half of its population would be living in urban settlements, its towns and cities urgently need to transform their neighbourhoods and be responsive to the specific needs of their residents. Public authorities and urban planners need to adopt efficient planning policies to accommodate new households, increase economic activities and expand urban infrastructure while preventing land take and its concomitant repercussions. Thus it should come as no surprise that towns and cities are in the front line of the climate crisis and require revisit of urban plans that are essential to halting global warming.
Cities are at the heart of the state’s challenges and solutions. They consume nearly 80% of energy, emit over 70% of CO2 emissions, and will house the majority of the state’s population in the next two decades. It means rapid urbanisation will keep cities and towns growing, despite resource depletion and climate change, putting immense pressure on our built environments and the economics that govern them.
While sustainability has long been a goal for many cities, it often focuses on minimising harm rather than creating a net-positive impact and economic prosperity, both equally important for thriving cities. Regenerative cities go beyond a basic understanding of sustainability by actively restoring ecosystems, enhancing community well-being and fostering economic resilience. They do not merely reduce negative impacts. They contribute positively to their environments, making them healthier, more equitable, and more adaptive to future challenges. Now the question is — how to plan and build regenerative cities?
Traditional sustainability approaches in urban planning often operate within short-term policy cycles, emphasising incremental improvements in energy efficiency, waste reduction, or transportation. While these efforts are necessary, they fail to address the systemic and long-term nature of urban challenges. Current methods tend to focus on isolated solutions, such as renewable energy deployment, the ‘15 minute city’ or green buildings, without integrating the broader social, ecological, and economic systems in which they operate. This fragmented approach results in missed opportunities for long-term resilience and self-sufficiency.
Regenerative cities embrace a systemic approach, recognising that cities function as living organisms with interconnected layers. This is in itself not new, and also covers approaches that have been around for decades, building on the work of many in this field, and learning from a wealth of successful cities. At its core, the regeneration plan seeks to improve the quality of life and well-being of urban residents. Over time it can have an immeasurable impact on the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people, and produce wide-scale social, economic and environmental benefits. Unlike sustainable cities that aim to reduce harm, regenerative cities create positive environmental and social impacts, ensuring long-term resilience, self-sufficiency and well-being for all inhabitants.
A regenerative city is an urban environment that actively enhances and replenishes the ecological, social, and economic systems it depends on. Regenerative cities offer a powerful vision for Odisha urban environments that actively restore nature, enhance social well-being, and build resilient, flourishing economies. The journey toward regenerative urbanism begins with robust systems analysis, inclusive stakeholder co-creation, and iterative solution‑building, culminating in a living, long‑term plan that adapts to changing contexts and emerging insights.
As we have seen across the globe, the new model city is based on the most demanding requisites. But each of these conditions is necessary to guarantee a sustainable future for the planet. The road is long, but some cities have already decided to take their first step toward urban sustainable regeneration. There are thousands, if not millions, of initiatives that can be undertaken under the scope of regenerative cities. But the need for change is urgent.
People and the planet need new urban models, and live together in new kinds of cities. Then why not Odisha, we ask on World Cities’ Day.
