1. Module 1: Definitions and Delineations
MPP 655: Policy Making for Sustainable Urban Communities
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2. Learning Objectives By the end of this module, you will be able to:
Develop and express a sound operational understanding of the meaning of sustainable development in the context of urban communities
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3. Module Overview
First, we will explore the genesis of the sustainable development discourse
Then, we will explore contemporary definitions of sustainable development
And finally, we will explore the implications of these definitions for urban settlements
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4. Origins of the Sustainable Development Discourse
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5. Origins of the Sustainable Development Discourse
Deeply historical ideas about “harmony with nature”
The “modernization” metaphor and its implications for conventional development
The Brundtland Commission’s rejection of conventional modes of development
The Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, Agenda 21 and a global recognition of the need for an alternative “sustainable” development
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6. Harmony with Nature
All pre-modern vernacular settlements were forced to abide with nature
Nature was the supra-system within which humans were constrained to act
Nature was seen as controlling the everyday lives and the fate of humans
Nature was seen as the source of all that is good and all that is disastrous
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7. The Industrial Revolution and the Emergence of Modernity
As we learned to control the forces of Nature through the application of scientific knowledge, we sought increasingly to bend Nature to our own inclinations, to mold her closer to “our heart’s desire”
Technology emerges as the means by which Nature can be bent to the Human Will
And Capitalism emerges as the mechanism that allows Technology to advance
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8. The Brundtland Commission
Rejects the model of conventional development as “taking” from Nature to meet any and every Human need
Proposes that development can only be sustainable if it is constrained in such a way that it allows us to meet the needs of the present generation without curtailing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
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9. Agenda 21: The Rio Declaration On Environment and Development
The 1992 “Earth Summit” called for a sustainable urban development, particularly in the developing world
It put humans at the center of our concern with sustainable development, and asserted that all people “are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature”
It calls for the development of “sustainable human settlements”
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10. Contemporary Definitions of Sustainable Development
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11. Contemporary Definitions of Sustainable Development
Intergenerational equity
Re-evaluation of the almost single-minded emphasis on economic development, to the exclusion of social and ecological concerns
A call to seek a balance between singular concerns for economy (Wealth), ecology (Nature), and equity (Society)
Some times referred to as People, Planet, and Prosperity
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12. Sustainable Decision Making
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13. MPP Module 1

14. Factors of Production Capitalism Sustainability Ecological Economics
Land
Ecology
Natural Capital
Labor
Equity
Social Capital
Capital
Economy
Monetary Capital
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15. Factors of Production Capitalism Sustainability Ecological Economics
Land
Ecology
Natural Capital
Labor
Equity
Social Capital
Capital
Economy
Monetary Capital
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16. Factors of Production Capitalism Sustainability Ecological Economics
Land
Ecology
Natural Capital
Labor
Equity
Social Capital
Capital
Economy
Man-made Capital
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17. Implications of Sustainable Development for Urban Settlements
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18. Sustainable Urban Development
Smart Growth and New Urbanism
Green Building
Transportation
Energy
Food Planning and Urban Agriculture
Low Impact Development
Heat Island Mitigation
Green Infrastructure
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19. Summary
The idea of sustainability, taken as harmony with nature, is as old as time
More recently, sustainable development has been defined as a sort of development that allows present generations to meet our own needs without curtailing the ability of future generations to meet their needs
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20. Summary (contd.)
Today, a decision is considered sustainable when it takes some balanced account of economic, ecological and equity concerns in a manner that makes room for intergenerational equity
This is sometimes also referred to as People, Planet and Prosperity
And also as Man-made Capital, Social Capital and Natural Capital
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21. Summary (contd.)
From an Ecological Economics perspective, the move to sustainability is taken to be a move from a world in which Man-made Capital was the limiting factor in production, to a world in which Natural Capital is now the limiting factor in production. Thus, rather than optimizing for Man-made Capital, we now need to optimize for Natural Capital
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22. Summary (contd.)
A sustainable urban development is a development that takes account of natural processes and functions, in a manner that allows Nature to do much of our work for us. It takes an ecological approach to development, minimizing the use of Man-made Capital and maximizing the extent to which Natural Capital is conserved and enhanced
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23. Questions?
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