Urban policy for sustainable development : taking a wide-angle view

Abstract

The scope of urban policy for sustainable development depends on one's definition of sustainability. Formulating policy in the narrow sense of the term would involve seeking to minimize the environmental impacts of human settlements. A recognition of the multi-dimensional nature of sustainability would lead to attention being paid to the use of settlement policy to advance a variety of aims-ecological, economic, and social-or what Pearce (1992) has identified as three hallmarks of sustainable development: survival, equity and welfare. 1 In this review of literature relevant to urban policy for sustainable development, we consider both empirical writings and more "visionary" work. The bulk of the empirical writing has been done in the last 25 years, whereas much of the visionary work is historical. However, as modern ecological thought in many cases draws direct inspiration from the visionary planners and urbanists of the past, some of the writings we consult in the visionary section are also contemporary.