Sustainable Brownfield Regeneration - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 1082

In many senses sustainability is a journey rather than a destination, a process
rather than a product. Some cities have achieved millennia of longevity, Athens,
Alexandria, Beijing, Jerusalem, Rome; some mere centuries: Constantinople, New
York, London, Boston, Melbourne; still others are new born: Brasilia, Canberra.
Some have come and gone: Thebes, where the Sphinx's riddle led to many a painful
death, Nineveh, Jonah's destination after his Piscean sojourn, Amarna, monothe-
ist Pharaoh Akhenaton's capital, the legendary Atlantis. At some point, demolition
debris acquires the status of archaeological find: rubbish becomes artefact. Rarely
cities are built from scratch, and even more rarely they are built to last: Masdar in
Abu Dhabia is to be designed by Mott MacDonald as the world's first zero waste,
carbon neutral city; meanwhile on China's third largest island, Arup are designing
the Dongtan Eco-city.
London was born due its location: it is one of the first places the Thames could
be crossed. It grew to become the capital city of England and the United Kingdom
and one of the few truly world cities. From its Roman foundations London has been
reclaimed and redeveloped many times as its communities regenerate and flourish
(Fig. 25.2 ).
Tower 42, London's first sky scraper, was built for the NatWest Bank but had to
be re clad and re furbished after it was damaged in 1993. Names clearly matter: 30
St Mary Axe also goes by the moniker Swiss Re Building, but is best known by its
metaphorical nickname, the London Gherkin. Its height is deceptive: at 180 m it is
three times as high as Niagara Falls ( http://www.30stmaryaxe.com /). “St Paul's is
a lasting monument to the glory of God and a symbol of the hope, resilience and
Fig. 25.2 Reflections on London old and new: Tower 42 (the former Natwest Tower), Swiss
re building (aka the London Gherkin) and St Paul's Cathedral mirrored in office window
(source: C P Nathanail, reproduced with permission)