Abstract
The concept sustainable development came into use when the World Commission for Sustainable Development used it as a central tenet in its analyses. Since that time governments worldwide along with the UN have made sustainable development a political goal for society. Though what is included in ‘sustainable development’ is not clearly defined, the most classical definition says that sustainable development is the ability to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
World Commission on Environment and Development, Our common future, 1987.
- 2.
“We reaffirm that development is a central goal in itself and that sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental aspects constitutes a key element of the overarching framework of United Nations activities.” From the 2005 United Nations World Summit Outcome, adopted by the General assembly.
- 3.
World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 43.
- 4.
Daly, H. “Elements of environmental macroeconomics”, 1991, p. 44.
- 5.
Sachs, W. et al. Greening the north, 1998.
- 6.
Daly, H. “Operationalizing sustainable development by investing in natural capital”, 1994, pp. 32f.
- 7.
Ibid., p. 30.
- 8.
Human Development Report 2007/2008, 2007.
- 9.
Miljöförbundet Jordens Vänner (Friends of the Earth), 1997.
- 10.
Caring for the Earth, 1991.
- 11.
Energy in Sweden, Facts and figures, 2008.
- 12.
Energy in Sweden, Facts and figures, 2008.
- 13.
Energi 2050, 2003.
- 14.
Olja – tillgång och prisutveckling, 2002.
- 15.
Energi 2050, 2003.
- 16.
Hunhammar, S. Exploring sustainable development with backcasting, 1998.
- 17.
IPCC, Climate change 2001, 2001. See also Åkerman, J. and Höjer, M., “How much transport can the climate stand?” 2006.
- 18.
Grübler, A., Nakicenovic, N. and Jeffersson, J. M. A summary of the joint IIASA and WEC study on long-term energy perspectives, 1995.
- 19.
Lenssen, N. and Flavin, C. “Sustainable energy for tomorrow’s world”, 1996.
- 20.
Johansson, T. B. et al. Renewable energy, 1993.
- 21.
Ishitani, H. and Johansson, T. B. “Energy supply mitigation options”, 1996.
- 22.
IPCC, Climate change 1995, 1996a; IPCC, Technologies, policies and measures for mitigating climate change, 1996b.
- 23.
Lenssen, N and Flavin, C. Sustainable energy for tomorrow’s world, 1996.
- 24.
Grübler et al. 1995.
- 25.
US Bureau of the Census, 2004.
Bibliography
Åkerman J, Höjer M (2006) How much transport can the climate stand? Sweden on a sustainable path in 2050. Energ Policy 34(14):1944–1957
Caring for the Earth – A strategy for sustainable living (1991) IUCN, UNEP, and WWF, London
Daly H (1991) Elements of environmental macroeconomics. In: Costanza R, Wainger L (eds) Ecological economics: the science and management of sustainability. Columbia University Press, New York
Daly H (1994) Operationalizing sustainable development by investing in natural capital. In: Jansson A et al (eds) Investing in natural capital: the ecological economics approach to sustainability. Island, Washington
Energi 2050 – närmare solen (2003) Energiframsyn. Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Stockholm
Grübler A, Nakicenovic N, Jeffersson JM (1995) A summary of the Joint IIASA and WEC study on long-term energy perspectives. WP–95–102 International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
Human Development Report 2007/2008 (2007) Fighting climate change: human solidarity in a divided world. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Oxford University Press, New York
Hunhammar S (1998) Exploring sustainable development with backcasting. Stockholm University, Stockholm
IPCC (1996a) Climate change 1995: the science of climate change, technical summary. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge
IPCC (1996b) Technologies, policies and measures for mitigating climate change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge
IPCC (2001) Climate change 2001: mitigation. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva
Ishitani H, Johansson TB (1996) Climate change 1995: impacts, adaptation and mitigation: energy supply mitigation options. IPCC, WMO and UNEP. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
International energy annual 2006 (2009) Department of energy, Washington
Johansson TB et al (1993) Renewable energy: sources for fuels and electricity. Island, Washington D.C
Lenssen N, Flavin C (1996) Sustainable energy for tomorrow’s world. Energ Policy 24(9):769–781
Miljöförbundet Jordens Vänner (1997) Ställ om för rättvist miljöutrymme: mål och beräkningar för ett hållbart Sverige. Friends of the Earth, Gothemburg
Olja – tillgång och prisutveckling (2002) Energiframsyn. Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Stockholm
Sachs W, Loske R, Linz M (1998) Greening the north: a post-industrial blueprint for ecology and equity. Zed, London
Swedish Energy Agency (2008) Energy in Sweden 2008 – Facts and Figures. Eskilstuna
US Bureau of the Census (2004) International Data Base. Data updated September 30, 2004
World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our common future. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Höjer, M., Gullberg, A., Pettersson, R. (2011). Limits of Urban Sustainability. In: Images of the Future City. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0653-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0653-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0652-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0653-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)