Sustainable Environmentally Friendly Townships (SEFT) - the underlying philosophy

Abstract

Man and nature are inseparable, they are interwoven. Cities are the creation of culture and should be conceived not in opposition to nature but as an extension of nature. The role of nature is even more crucial today to maintain sanity as we are living in a heavily polluted world and mechanized world The re-greening of our cities is not only for beauty's sake but has become a matter of psychological necessity and oar responsibility. Bringing nature into the city will restore man's relationship with nature and create the ambience for the renewal of human society. This paper proposes a Sustainable Environmentally Friendly Townships (SEFT) which is in line with the moral and ethical principles of Islam as the underlying philosophy governing our future Urban development policies. The paper examines the various dimensions of SEFT from both the sociological and Islamic perspectives. It is hoped that this new dimension will be placed centre- stage that will help the 1nation towards achieving a livable and sustainable city.