Since the earliest human settlements were created, clean water, fresh air, and abundant food supplies were the hallmark of livable sustainable cities, and today we demand nothing less. Cities will grow and prosper when the benefits of proximity between people and businesses far out weigh the negative cost of mitigating these impacts. Eco - Cities of the Mediterranean Forum 2008 comes at a very critical time, when we, as decision makers, must make clear decisions today that will have a huge impact on citizens of these cities in the future. By creating habitable, thriving cities and preserving our natural resources today, we will command the respect of future generations.

Great civilizations are measured by the greatness of their cities, Petra, Chiapas, Cairo and Rome are but a few magnificent examples of the human need, not only to coexist and prosper, but to understand and assimilate the environment into their urban plans. These great cities were homes to great civilizations albeit the Nabateans, Inca, Pharos and Romans, one thing is for certain none of the ancient civilizations could have earned their place in history if their urban settlements did not integrate environmental concerns into their city plans. Whatever their reasons were for urban settlement, it was the human ingenuity throughout the millennia that succeeded to bring people into close habitation without suffering the negative impacts associated with polluted air, water contamination and disease. The past great civilizations utilized state of the art means, available at the time, to create their sustainable cities; by comparison, employing the available technology today, we should be able to leap-frog ahead and achieve incredible results.