Sustainable development

Sustainable development means improving things in a way that reduces harm and is mindful of the future. It means building things without harming the natural world. The Brundtland Commission said it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".^[1]

Everyone wants a good place to live. Some people want better homes, while others might want better schools, good jobs, better shops, green spaces or safer streets. Others may want all these things. Whatever the problems in any neighbourhood, they can usually be grouped into three issues. People need:

• A better environment – Green spaces, play areas, no litter, gardens, fresh air, less noise and pollution. The resources used should be available for future generations.
• A better economy - Good jobs and pay, reasonable prices, no unfair loans, taxes to help governments fund things
• Better social conditions – respect for others, good places to have fun, community groups with sports and arts, friendly neighbours.

Rapid increases in population can increase demands on things like food and nature and make sustainable development challenging.

This is not just a local issue. The same problems are faced at a national level. If the governments of the world are to deal with poverty, they do not just need to provide money and food aid, they need to help local people get educated and get jobs. People also need a safe environment with adequate homes and drinking water. To make these things work, governments also need to make sure that people have an effective voice in deciding what happens where they live and government money to spend on things.

This approach is called "sustainable development". While this phrase can be confusing, it's now used in many government documents and in funding programmes. Sustainable development has three parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability.

Most people in the rich nations have most of these needs, but there are still many people living in poverty and in poor quality homes. Even if these basic needs are met there are still plenty of ways in which their ‘quality of life’ is under threat: from crime, from pollution, or from living in neighbourhoods where no-one in authority seems to care.

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". - Our Common Future (Report), World Commission on Environment and Development

Many areas have programmes to promote local sustainability: many are called ‘Local Agenda 21’ plans, named after the international Agenda 21 action plan for sustainable development agreed at the United Nations Earth Summit held in 1992.

The UN developed a set of 17 goals aiming at sustainable development. They are:-

1. ↑ United Nations. 1987. "Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development." General Assembly Resolution 42/187, 11 December 1987. Retrieved: 2007-04-12