ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN

DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND URBAN PLANNING PRACTICE

ROYAL JADHAV
13ARC11
5TH YR B.ARCH
Historical background
All about sustainable development started within 2 decades by discipline in economics. English political
economist Thomas Malthus works had let for a debate thats will the growing population of earth will be
served by limited Natural resource.

In the recent year, global concern is spread about the Natural resources which are non renewable which is a
major problem for the production industries as well as economic growth causing the reason behind
environmental instability and pollution. Economists have begun to address the question first posed by Malthus
whether rapid growth in population and in resource use but only linear growth in technology and whether
the present way of economic development is sustainable.

The term, sustainable development, first appeared in the World Conservation

Strategy drafted by the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP. and the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN in 1980. It should be
through conservation, defined as the wise use of natural resource to meet
the requirements on present generation and to maintain the same for the
upcoming future generation

Economic sustainability
Economic sustainability is a system of production that satisfies present
consumption levels without compromising future needs. The sustainability that
economic sustainability seeks is the sustainability of the economic system
itself.

The belief of economic sustainability was originated by Hicks. In his classic work
Value and Capital 1939; second edition 1946., Hicks defined income as the amount one
can consume during a period and still be as well off at the end of the period.

A way to implement the theory of economic sustainability in a practical sense is to fashion a method of urban
design that meets the urban service needs of the general public, particularly the urban poor, while enhancing
the naturalness of the urban environment. This planning approach is found in Lerners work for the Brazilian
city of Curitiba
The centerpiece of Lerners revitalization program for Curitiba is its bus system. The city of Curitiba permits
only high-rise apartment buildings near its major bus lines, and in the bottom two floors of these are located
stores. With stores nearby, residents need to travel less. The closeness of the major apartment complexes to
the buses gives a large number of travelers convenient access to transportation. The bus system is the right
mix of red express buses on special lanes that speed past slower traffic, local feeder buses, and buses that
allow riders to circulate in the downtown area. Riders insert tokens to enter giant, steel-and-glass boarding
tubes located at bus stops, and then wait for the buses to dock. This increases the efficiency of the bus system
by saving time usually wasted in fare-paying. The specially designed buses themselves are faster, cheaper, and
more comfortable than automobiles, which may explain why more than 900 000 riders a day, or two-thirds of
Curitibas population, rely on them. As a result of its popularity, Curitibas public transit system pays for itself
Moore, 1994.Curitiba is also a green city. Lerner has promoted the creation of public parks, placed a lush
botanical garden downtown, and established green zones to safeguard its open space. Busy downtown
avenues have been converted into pedestrian malls, causing businesses there to flourish. The law protects every
tree in the city. A tree, once planted, can be cut down only with a special permit, and
substantial fines are imposed upon those who fell trees illegally. Two trees must
be planted for every tree cut down. By favoring urban gardens, open space, and trees,
Curitiba has increased its amount of green space per per- Son a hundredfold in 30 years

The population of Curitiba has grown five times in 20 years, as displaced rural farmers have moved to its
shantytowns, called favelas. In many Brazilian cities, the narrow, dirt roads of the favelas are strewn with
rotting garbage. This is not the case in Curitiba. Lerner convinced the city that it would be more cost effective
to divert money from garbage collection and use it to buy food to distribute to the poor of the favelas. In
exchange for six bags of trash, residents are given one bag of groceries consisting of dietary staples such as
rice, beans, eggs, bananas, and onions. This innovative program, which feeds over 100 000 people and
collects 400 t of garbage per month, has made the streets of the favelas clean Moore, 1994; see also
Goodstein, 1992, Kepp, 1992 and Margolis, 1992..
Lerners approach to recycling was similarly clever. Rather than ordering residents to recycle, Curitiba simply
asked them to separate dry trash such as plastic, paper, metal, and glass. from wet trash such as potato peels
and orange rinds . Lerner toured the public schools with an inexpensive stage play in which actors dressed as
leaves}the Leaf Family}educated children why recycling is important and how to sort trash. Soon, children
became the leaders of household recycling efforts, teaching parents how to prepare trash for collection by the
specially equipped green trucks that began appearing on their streets. To recycle even more thoroughly,
Curitiba allows private organization of cart people and street sweepers to buy recyclables from residents and
groom the streets. Curitiba now recycles 70 percent of its paper and 60 percent of its plastic, metal, and
glass}a rate better than that of Japan Moore,1994..

Curitiba has not only become more livable by improving its environment, but by enhancing the strength of its
citizens. It provides free medical care, dental care, and child care for the poor. This has caused Curitibas infant
mortality rate to decline by 60 percent in 20 years. Improved health and the availability of child care has
allowed the poor to work more and to be more productive members of society. A policy of investing in human
capital has given the people of Curitiba a palpable enthusiasm, a brightness and zest Moore, 1994..
Social sustainability
This theory of social organization identifies a negative linkage between sustained
colonization, sustained poverty levels, and sustained natural resource exploitation. There
is a divergence of opinion in development theory whether environmental sustainability is
a prerequired of economic growth and poverty, or economic growth and poverty
alleviation are needed before environmental sustainability can even be addressed.

There is some evidence that environmental sustainability may be a necessary pre-condition of sustained
economic growth. For example, the United States has been expanding the amount of its land area covered by
trees since the 1920s and actively managing its soils since the 1930s. These measures have greatly improved
Americas productivity in paper products and foodstuffs since the Great Depression. On the other hand, some
developing countries, for example, Costa Rica, are depleating their long-term socio-economic prospects by
engaging in rapacious resource depletion.

The latter position was defended by the late Indian Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi, on the grounds that very poor countries must accept temporary
environmental degradation in order to meet immediate needs of food and shelter before they
can pursue permanent economic and environmental improvements. Her view was that developing countries
simply cannot afford to put environmental protection before economic development. In contrast to this view,
the theory of social sustainability conclude that the mitigation of poverty need not entail environmental
decline. It aims to suffer poverty within the existing resource base of a society.

Alexander 1994. writes that Kerala may present the best example of how civilization can cope with growing
human population in an era of less natural resources. Keralas fertility rate of two children per female and
very low consumption levels, he suggests, characterize the prudence that will permit human society to attain
a high quality of life in the 21st century. Historically, most human societies were organized around large
families and low consumption levels. This remains the norm in the developing world. Societies in the
developed world have made a transition to small families and high consumption levels. A few exceptions to
this pattern exist in the modern world, for example, resource-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, which can afford
large families and high consumption levels. What distinguishes Kerala as a possible future world norm,
among other things, is its small families and low consumption levels of probably even greater significance
than its small family formation is that Kerala has achieved high social development levels}such as low infant
mortality rates, long life expectancy, and high rates of literacy, education and political participation}
without emphasizing economic growth
Ratcliffe, 1978; Alexander, 1994.. Keralas Gross National Product of $350 per capita is very small, yet its rates
of high school enrollment and life expectancy are almost as high as those in developed countries. Almost 95
percent of females in Kerala enroll in high school and life expectancy there is 72 years. By comparison, only 31
percent of Indian females enroll in high school and life expectancy in India is only 59 years. These figures
suggest that Kerala citizens are attaining wellness despite Keralas low rate of economic devel-
opment Alexander, 1994..
Underlying social sustainability in Kerala is an emphasis upon satisfying human needs in such essential areas
as nutrition, health care, and education. Each household receives a ration card that allows them to buy
limited amounts of basic commodities such as rice, wheat, sugar, palm oil, and kerosene. sold at fair price
shops at controlled prices. Despite this subsidy, food intake except in Vitamin C and calcium is lower in Kerala
than recommended. Yet, through equitable food distribution and efficient use of available nutrients for child
nutrition by women in a society in which 86 percent of females are literate, Kerala has virtually eliminated
malnutrition. In health care, Kerala practices the ayurvedic and homeopathic traditions while adopting
methods from Western medicine. A visiting nurse system maintains a high level of individual and household
health.

Education is focused upon the primary and secondary levels, where it is most socially beneficial Alexander,
1994. Social sustainability in Kerala seems to have emerged as the result of both progressive political
reform and cultural factors. Kerala elected a communist regime in its first parliamentary elections
in 1957, but instead of dictatorship, the working class prople retained power over its leadership. The result
was an emphasis on land reform and a leveling of the economic playing field. Hence, Kerala avoided the
political force and economic immovability that has troubled other communist states Franke and Chasin, 1989;
Baird, 1993; Alexander, 1994.. Instead, cooperation among a synergistic mix of Muslims, Christians,
and Hindus emerged. A matrilineal cultural tradition permitted gender equality to take hold. A Gandhian
campaign against the caste system fostered the forces of communitarianism Alexander, 1994..

Environmental sustainability
Environmental sustainability requires maintaining natural capital as both a provider of economic inputs
called sources. and an absorber called sinks. of economic outputs called wastes.. At the sink site, waste
emissions from industrial production must be controlled so as to not exceed the capacity of the environment
to use them without damaging it Goodland, 1995..

Puerto Vallarta, the famed resort town south of Nayarit on Mexicos western coast, has been impacted by
growth, and tourism has degraded the natural beauty that attracted people to it initially. For this reason,
Mexican and foreign investors are looking to Nayarit for future development. But how is the development of
Nayarit to be balanced with the preservation of its natural beauty, its 180 miles of nearly fresh beaches, its
green mountains and vital wetlands? Murphy, 1992; Basiago, 1994..
Nayarits response was to ask The Cousteau Society, the international environmental group, to draft a
sustainable development plan. In the process, Nayarit and The Cousteau Society have become what the Earth
Summit referred to as partners for sustainable development .

First, the Cousteau Society assembled a team of Mexican resource managers. It felt that a team of nationals,
rather than outsiders, would produce the most culturally appropriate plan. They would also be most qualified
to adapt its suggestions to changing conditions and see them implemented Murphy, 1992; Basiago, 1994..

Second, these managers were enrolled in an academic program at the University of Floridas Center for
Wetlands. There they took courses in systems ecology, ecological engineering, environmental economics,
resource evaluation techniques, and resource management. They studied resource management strategies
pioneered by environmental scientist H.T. Odum. The Odum method compares affected resources and
development alternatives, using energy value as a common denominator Murphy, 1992; Basiago, 1994..

Third, the affected environment was considered. Nayarits coastline is a region of remarkable geographic
diversity and exceptional natural beauty. A broad coastal plain unrolls to the north, comprising a carpet of
lagoons and wetlands, marshes and sandbars. Mangroves provide a nursery for shrimp and other marine life,
though in some areas the trees have been cut for firewood and construction or the lagoons excavated for
aquaculture ponds. Farther to the south, a neovolcanic zone is characterized by a narrow coastal plain and
relatively steep mountains supporting a subdeciduous forest. Behind the rugged coastline with its beautiful
beaches, many of the valleys and gently sloping hills support both irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture.
Even farther south, the mountainous Sierra Madre coastal zone gradually gives way to the floodplain of the
San Marcos River, which supports intensive agriculture. The diverse ecosystems of this highly varied
geographical region support 16 endangered species Murphy, 1992; Basiago, 1994..

The University of Florida team studied the attributes of Nayarits landscape}its vegetation, land use, soils and
geology}identifying them as either constraints on or as opportunities for development. Based on this
information, the sensitivities of the marine and terrestrial ecological communities were explored from the
viewpoint of minimizing the eventual impacts of development. Social and cultural constraints and
opportunities were also analyzed and integrated into the recommendations. The primary goal was to foster a
process of development that would not destroy Nayarits environment Murphy, 1992; Basiago, 1994..
The outcome of this process was a set of recommendations for Nayarit based on sound ecological principles
and legislation from other regions of the world. These guidelines identify the suitability of lands in the coastal
zone for different types of development, including tourism, aquaculture, fisheries, retail, marine commerce,
housing, transportation, parks, public facilities and recreation. However, they also identify the suitability
of lands in the coastal zone for different types of conservation, including natural areas to be protected from
development, for economic, public safety, ecological and aesthetic reasons. Nine categories of reserves and
protected areas have been proposed to protect Nayarits terres- trial environment and marine resources
Murphy,1992; Basiago, 1994..

Conclusion
The alternative models of cultural development in Curitiba, Brazil, Kerala, India, and Nayarit, Mexico
examined here embody the substrates of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In light of the
widespread pathology that characterizes urban development in many of the worlds cities, these models are
significant, as harbingers not merely of urban sustainability but of urban vitality.

Curitiba has thrived by building an efficient intra-urban bus system, expanding urban green space, and
meeting the basic needs of the urban poor. It suggests that economic sustainability requires planning for
people, making the city more green, and, hence, more livable, for people.

Kerala has attained social harmony by emphasizing equitable resource distribution rather than consumption,
by restraining reproduction, and by attacking divisions of race, caste, religion, and gender. It suggests that
social sustainability requires planning that encourages peoples cooperative rather than their competitive
impulses.

Nayarit has sought to bring development and the environment into balance by framing a nature- friendly
development plan that protects natural systems from urban development and that involves the public in the
development process. It suggests that environmental sustainability requires planning that provides for
ecological conservation in the formative stage of the development plan.

A detailed examination of these alternative cultural development models reveals a myriad of possible means
by which economic, social, and environmental sustainability might be advanced in practice. While these
examples from the developing world cannot be directly translated to cities in the developed world, they do
indicate in a general sense the types of imaginative policies that any society must foster if it is to achieve
urban sustainability.

Reference
The Environmentalist 19, 145]161 1999. Q 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston. Manufactured in the
Netherlands (GOOGLE SCHOLAR )

Economic, social, and environmental sustainability in development theory and urban planning practice
A. D. BASIAGO* P.O. Box 4222, Chatsworth, CA 91313-4222, USA (GOOGLE SCHOLAR )