Abstract
The EcoCity concept presented here has been designed in Finland and improved through collaboration with local partners and stakeholders to adapt to varying contexts while trying to provide solutions for the improvement of human settlements around the world, particularly in the Global South. Supported by specific methodologies and effective facilitation processes and skills, also developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. (VTT), it provides a structured yet flexible framework for conducting the complex dialogue leading to ecocity implementation, the importance of which is typically overlooked. This article discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the concept in relation to the general ecocity debate, as well as its main historical influences linked to the Finnish urban development tradition. The process thus enabled is illustrated by a Libyan case study.