Ecological urbanism is the development of multi-dimensional sustainable human settlements and communities within harmonious and balanced built environments [1], inspiring an urbanism that is more socially inclusive and sensitive to the environment. By adopting a more symbiotic relationship between the built culture and the natural system, architects and urban designers are playing an important role to create urban fabric and form that are harmonious and responsive to the local communities, culture, and climate.

As the world population grows, rapid urbanisation and urban sprawl are expected to take up lands, greenness, and the fresh air in the suburban or country areas. While the Garden City and the Compact City models are bounded within predetermined boundaries, the Continuum model offers a conceptual alternative for Ecological Urbanism where the boundary lines will altogether disappear – urban, suburban, rural – as parts of a continuum. It is expected that the world population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and 75% of them will settle in urban and semi-urban areas, architects and urban designers shall re-think the question of “What will be the future model of ecological urbanism?”

Issues of Urban Heat Island (UHI), carbon emission, energy crisis, air pollution and waste management are among the challenges faced by the cities and communities. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) - “Sustainable Cities and Communities” entails making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. There is an urgent need to develop eco-cities which are human settlements modelled on self- sustaining resilient structure and function of natural ecosystem [5]. The World Bank defines eco- cities as "cities that enhance the well-being of citizens and society through integrated urban planning and management that harness the benefits of ecological systems and protect and nurture these assets for future generations” [6]. Nevertheless, many examples of ecological urbanism design nowadays are not from the tropical regions. Therefore, there is quest for an innovative approach to implement ecological urbanism in the tropics for tropical urbanism.