This book addresses an urgent need to rethink the future of human settlement amid significant economic, social, and environmental change, arguing that we must look beyond today’s “sustainability” paradigm toward a continuously evolving framework. It examines how the service economy shapes settlement evolution, filling a major gap in the literature. While service-driven business models are widely used, the service economy’s social challenges - and its role in worsening economic and environmental crises - remain poorly understood through the lens of settlement evolution. Drawing on a new theoretical approach rooted in post-industrial and post-anthropocentric perspectives, the chapters emphasize the need for innovative settlement design and development.

Dalia Vidickienė is a lead author and Principal Researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Department of Business Ecosystems, Lithuania.

Rita Lankauskienė is a Principal Researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Department of Business Ecosystems, Lithuania.

Rasa Melnikienė is a Principal Researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Department of Business Ecosystems, Lithuania.

Živilė Gedminaitė-Raudonė is a Principal Researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Department of Business Ecosystems, Lithuania.

Vitalija Simonaitytė is a Senior Researcher at the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Department of Business Ecosystems, Lithuania.

Paweł Chmieliński is an Associate Professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Poland.

Goda Lukoseviciute is a Research Associate at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Luxembourg.