Local Sustainable Urban Development in a Globalized World

by Opp,Susan M.; Heberle,Lauren C.

• ISBN13: 9780754649946
• ISBN10: 0754649946
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

While 'sustainable development' is a key issue of concern to urban planners across the globe, how it is defined, implemented and measured at the local level remains highly contested and subject to a wide range of external cultural, political and economic pressures. Bringing together leading experts from North America, Europe, the Middle East and SE Asia, this book provides a timely overview of the various methods for understanding and implementing sustainable practices at local levels. In doing so, they present the wide range of local action alternatives available to planners that may be pursued in spite of the constraints generated by globalization processes and highlight the array of public policy options that could reduce the external pressures shaping the possible local alternatives.The book argues that, while local planners and local authorities are willing to act, many are unaware of the range of options available to them. In bringing together these case studies, not only diverse in geographic terms, but also reflecting very different levels of income, general population education, cultural norms, legal systems and government structures, it points out innovations and examples of best practice.

Table of Contents

Sustainable urban development: local strategies as global solutions

Alternative urban futures: designing urban infrastructures that prioritize human needs, are less damaging to the natural resource base, and produce less waste

Employing information and communication systems in planning processes to increase efficiency in sustainable urban development

Absolutely positively Wellington: a model for smart growth

Environmental quality and land use plans, a new development in the Netherlands

From a standard-orientated to an integral quality-oriented approach

Town planning models: a look at Polish cities and sustainable development

The efficiency of land use conversion

Moving toward urban sustainability: a comparison of the development of sustainability in Seattle and Minneapolis

Assessing sustainability in urban planning: the potential and limitations of indicators as a means to measure and monitor outcomes of policy implementation

Measuring sustainability: the role of ecological footprinting in assessing the impact of development

Regional environmental capacity for sustainable growth: a historical approach

Sustainability of urban transport: common strategies and individual actions

Mobile vendors: persistence of local culture in the changing global economy of Bangkok

Educational changes for sustainable cities: autonomous knowledge

Educating architects to address urban problems in building design

Education into citizenship: environmental education, participatory democracy, and the precautionary principle

Public participation in achieving sustainability in central city neighborhoods

Balancing economic growth and social equity: less-educated workers in high-tech regions

Conclusion: roles and realities

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.