| Since the mid-1980s, ecodistricts have caught the attention of the academic world. By concentrating many of the features promoted by sustainable-development advocates, ecodistricts represent an interesting attempt to go beyond the modernist – and unsustainable – vision of the city. In recent years we have witnessed an impressive growth of ecodistrict-labelled projects in European countries, and more specifically in Spain during the recent take-off of the real estate market. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that in many cases, such urban programmes are mere smoke-screens which obscure the financing of traditional housing projects of doubtful sustainable content. In order to explain this phenomenon, we argue that the misuse of the sustainable-development label in Spain is due to a series of institutional mechanisms that ignored middle-term environmental costs. |
