What is a “sustainable city”?
Fred Lee
Department of Geography
The University of Hong Kong
March 15, 2012
What is a “sustainable city”?
What is “sustainable development”?
Ambiguous definitions  confusions & contradictions
~ “sustainable cities”? or
~ cities that contribute to “sustainable development”?
Historical context
~ UNCED (1992):
> Agenda 21: Program of Action for Sustainable Dev’
> “Local Agenda 21” (Ch. 28 of Agenda 21)
Why Local Agenda 21?
Historical context
~ Habitat II (1996): Habitat Agenda
> “Sustainable human settlements”
(Ch. III.B.)
* “green city”
* “eco-city”
* “liveable city”
* “environmental city”
* “zero-emission city”
What is “sustainable development”?
~ sustainability
> what is to be sustained?
> what sector(s)?
> at what scale?
~ development
> what goal(s)?
> for whom?
> how?
Discourse on sustainable development
~ one-sided emphasis on: sustainability
[ecological sustainability]
~ consequences (at city level):
> investment to reduce use of fossil fuels
> decrease throughputs of resources
> control pollution
> draconian measures on pop. growth & mobility
* such policies do little for the poor
* may even exacerbate their problems
Ambiguous definition  confusions
~ What does “sustainable development” mean?
> “ensuring human activities can continue”? or
> “keeping natural capital intact”? or
> “meeting human needs”?
What is “sustainable development”?
~ the WECD definition:
“Sustainable development is
development that meets the needs
of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own
needs”
WCED definition
~ sustainable development
> poverty & inequity  ecological crises
~ two major aspects need to be combined:
> meeting human needs
> keeping natural capital intact
~ two key principles need to be observed:
> inter-generational equity
> intra-generational equity
Critics of dominant definition (ecological sustainability):
~ critics: emphasize the need to discuss & define
development goals
> SD means more, not less, growth
* growth eliminate poverty & inequity
> SD demands social change
* re-distribute assets & resources
> SD requires trade-offs
* reconcile conflicting development goals
Ambiguous definition  confusions
~ What does a “sustainable city” mean?
> “keeping an urban human settlement functioning”? or
> “cities that contribute to SD goals”?
~ Our Common Future’s principles:
> meeting human needs in cities
> minimizing the transfer of costs from city-based
production, consumption or waste generation to
other people or ecosystems, both now & in the future
What is a “sustainable city”?
~ a provisional definition:
“a city designed, built, and
managed in a manner where all
its citizens are able to meet their
own needs without endangering
the well-being of the natural
world or the living conditions of
other people, now or in the
future”