What's The Point of Sustainable Development?
Definition
Sustainable development
Sustainable development refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- By now you should know to see cities as a system of inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback.
- Sustainable planning is therefore the attempt to shape these flows so the system delivers a high quality of life with a smaller environmental footprint and fewer social inequalities.
What Are The Three Pillars of Sustainability?
- A city cannot be described as "sustainable" if it performs well in only one area.
- Sustainable planning aims to balance three pillars of sustainability:
- Environmental sustainability (protecting ecosystems and reducing pollution)
- Economic sustainability (long-term, fair economic opportunity without destructive debt or corruption)
- Social sustainability (inclusive well-being, rights, safety, access to services, and respect for cultures)
Definition
Environmental sustainability
Environmental sustainability refers to the use and management of natural resources in a way that ensures they can be replenished, and ecosystems can recover and regenerate over time.
Definition
Economic sustainability
Economic sustainability refers to the development of economic structures and systems that allow for the long-term production and consumption of goods and services in a way that meets human needs without depleting natural resources or causing irreversible environmental damage.
Definition
Social sustainability
Social sustainability refers to the development and maintenance of structures and systems that support human well-being, ensuring that societies remain stable, inclusive, and resilient over time.
What Is The Role of Feedback In Sustainable Planning?
- Sustainable planning improves when a city learns from its own performance.
- Monitoring data (air quality, traffic speeds, energy use), community feedback, and political accountability create feedback loops.
- These loops help planners adjust policies when conditions change, for example during rapid population growth, economic shocks, or climate hazards.
What Are Some Frameworks for Planning and Evaluation?
- Because sustainability is multi-dimensional, planners use tools to structure decision-making.
- Two useful frameworks would be the Egan Wheel and SDG 11.
The Egan Wheel
- The Egan Wheel (introduced in 2004 by Sir John Egan in the UK) suggests eight components that together describe a sustainable community:
- Governance
- Transport and Connectivity
- Services
- Environmental
- Equity
- Economy
- Housing and the Built Environment
- Social and Cultural
- It can be used as a checklist to evaluate how well a neighbourhood or city is doing and where improvement is needed.
Note
- Using the Egan Wheel as a Scoring Tool
- Choose a scale (for example, 1 to 5, where 1 is "very weak" and 5 is "excellent").
- For each component, write one or two local indicators (for example, housing affordability, access to public transport, local employment, crime rates, air quality).
- Score your community using evidence (local statistics, field observations, interviews).
- Identify the two lowest-scoring components and propose planning actions to improve them.
- This approach encourages balanced thinking rather than focusing only on environmental issues.
Common Mistake
A scoring tool is only as good as the indicators chosen. If you rely on impressions, or choose indicators that are easy to measure but not meaningful, you can produce a "high score" that does not reflect real lived experience.
Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11)
- SDG 11 emphasises that sustainability is not only about carbon emissions.
- It also includes inclusion, safety, and resilience. Sustainable planning therefore asks questions such as:
- Who benefits from new development, and who is displaced?
- Are housing, transport, and public spaces accessible for different ages and abilities?
- How prepared is the city for hazards such as heatwaves, flooding, or earthquakes?
Hint
- Because SDG 11 is global, each city must translate it into local targets.
- A coastal city might prioritize flood resilience, while a rapidly growing inland city might prioritize housing and water supply.
What Are Some Common Sustainable Planning Strategies?
- Sustainable planning turns goals into practical choices.
- These choices often involve trade-offs, because improving one outcome can create costs elsewhere.
Land Use Planning
- Land use planning decides where homes, shops, workplaces, and services are located, and how dense development should be.
- Compact, mixed-use neighbourhoods can reduce car dependence because more daily needs are within walking or cycling distance.
- However, increasing density can raise concerns about overcrowding, higher land prices, or loss of local character if it is not managed carefully.
Tip
- When evaluating a land use plan, ask:
- Can most people reach essentials (school, food, health care, parks) within a reasonable time without a private car?
- This connects spatial planning directly to sustainability.
Transport Planning
- Transport strongly influences air quality, carbon footprint, and social equity. Sustainable planning typically prioritises:
- Public transport (reliable, affordable, well-connected)
- Active travel (walking and cycling networks)
- Safety improvements (reducing road injuries)
- Freight efficiency (reducing congestion from deliveries)
- Planners must also consider how changes affect different groups.
- For example, restricting car use without providing alternatives can reduce access to jobs for residents who live farther from the centre.
Common Mistake
- A common misconception is that "green transport" is mainly about new technology (electric cars).
- In many cities, the biggest sustainability gains come from changing travel behaviour through design, pricing, and improved public transport.
Urban Infrastructure
- Sustainable planning includes the systems that make city life possible:
- Water supply and sanitation (clean water, wastewater treatment)
- Energy systems (renewables and efficiency)
- Waste systems (reducing waste, re-use, recycling)
- Green and blue infrastructure (trees, parks, wetlands to cool cities and manage stormwater)
- Well-designed infrastructure can protect biodiversity, reduce pollution, and improve health.
Case study
ABC Waters Programme
- In Singapore, green and blue infrastructure is used to manage flooding and heat at a city scale.
- The ABC (Active, Beautiful, Clean) Waters Programme has replaced concrete canals with restored rivers, wetlands, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces that slow runoff and temporarily store stormwater, reducing flood risk during heavy rainfall.
- At the same time, extensive tree cover, green roofs, and shaded streets lower surface temperatures and reduce the urban heat island effect.
- This approach supports environmental sustainability by reducing flooding and heat stress,
- Social sustainability by improving public health and providing safer, cooler public spaces,
- And economic sustainability by lowering flood damage costs and reducing spending on emergency response and healthcare.
What's The Role of Innovation And Smart Cities?
- Scientific and technological innovation can help cities manage resources more efficiently.
- "Smart city" approaches often use sensors, data platforms, and automation to improve services, for example:
- Smart traffic signals to reduce congestion
- Real-time public transport information
- Energy management in buildings
- Monitoring air quality and water leaks
- However, innovation is not automatically sustainable.
Common Mistake
- Technology can widen inequality if only wealthy residents benefit, or if digital services exclude people without reliable internet access.
- Sustainable planning needs governance that protects privacy, ensures access, and targets benefits fairly.
Exam technique
Link each innovation to a specific pillar of sustainability and include a limitation (cost, inequality, maintenance, privacy, or rebound effects).
How Feasible Are Sustainable Cities?
- Whether a city can be truly sustainable is a debated question because cities depend on resources and land beyond their boundaries (their hinterland) and are connected to global supply chains.
- Even a city with low local emissions may rely on imported food, construction materials, and manufactured goods produced elsewhere.
- Still, cities can become more sustainable by reducing per-person resource use and improving well-being.
Exam technique
- A strong evaluation considers both achievements and limitations and uses evidence.
- You can structure evaluation around questions such as:
- Environmental: Are emissions and pollution falling? Is biodiversity protected? Is waste reduced?
- Economic: Are jobs stable and fairly paid? Is development long-term and non-corrupt? Is housing affordable?
- Social: Are services accessible? Is the city safe? Are inequalities narrowing?
- Resilience: Can the city cope with hazards and shocks?
Tip
If you are given a named example, separate strategies (what was planned) from outcomes (what changed). Cities often have impressive plans but mixed results.
Self review
- Define sustainable development in one sentence.
- Name the three pillars of sustainability and give one urban example for each.
- Explain one way to view a city as a system (inputs, processes, outputs, feedback).
- Choose one planning strategy (transport, land use, infrastructure) and describe one trade-off it creates.
