Cities and communities around the world are currently faced with large-scale environmental challenges caused by irreversible climate change. Many of these challenges come from urban expansion and our resource consumption lifestyles. According to the United Nations, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and it is expected to increase to 68% by 2050.  This rapid urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world’s population is expected to put a heavy burden on the sustainability of human society. The growth of the urban population in Asia and the Pacific is comparatively higher than the other regions reaching 3,985 million, or 75 percent of its projected total of 5,314 million by 2050. 

The global society is putting a common effort to explore the possible solutions to various problems worldwide including urban issues. Recognizing urbanization and the role of cities are critical to achieving the aims of the post-2015 global agendas, the United Nations set the issue of sustainable cities and communities as the SDG 11, which emphasizes the importance of inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable city development. The initiative was more elaborated by Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in 2016. The conference presented the document ‘New Urban Agenda’, which will serve as a guideline for urban development for the next twenty years.

The discussion and debate on urbanization led to the development of the new term “Green City”, which can be interpreted as a combined effort to make cities more eco-friendly, sustainable and resilient. Now the question is “What are the new urban forms or city designs which contribute to sustainable city development in terms of pollution reduction, resource efficiency and climate change mitigation” and “What technologies, strategies, and policies can effectively be applied to make cities greener and more sustainable”.

CIFAL Jeju has been playing the active role to provide capacity-building and policy workshop on environmental sustainability for policy-makers and civil society leaders in the Asia-Pacific region since its establishment, 2010. Especially, as part of the affiliated events of the 6th International Electric Vehicle Expo (IEVE) in Jeju, this workshop is considered more meaningful, with the green city initiative of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province including electric vehicles (EV) distribution policies. The workshop participants will have an opportunity to gain concrete ideas and in-depth knowledge of how to design their cities in a more sustainable and resilient way through various learning methods including lecture, discussion, presentation, and hands-on experience.