The MSc Eco-Cities programme addresses how cities can be planned and built to promote low carbon lifestyles, mitigate climate change and promote sustainable ways of living. For the first time in human history there are now more people living in towns and cities than in rural areas, with United Nations estimates indicating that more than 60% of the world’s population, some 4.9bn people, will be living in urban areas by 2030. It’s evident that the scale of urban areas is increasing, fuelled by the advent of new megacities (with populations in excess of 10 million) such as Beijing, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai and Tokyo. It is also clear that the geography of urbanisation has shifted from the developed world of Western Europe and North America to the developing world of Asia, Africa and South America. It is within this context that we explore both the critical theory, and actual practices and processes, of low carbon eco-city development and how they relate to the implementation and application of sustainable development policies worldwide.