The Sustainability Discourse

The sustainability discussion has typically focused on matters of impact reduction, or eco-efficiency. Ecological modernization has been the term used to make processes more efficient, reducing resource use and waste. As a result, the issue has been largely about scientific and technological solutions rather than system-wide solutions. This has led to a “sustainability gap,” where economic, social, and political issues have been left out, resulting in a large “equity deficit.” In order to make a real transition towards sustainability, there must also be social sustainability, as a sustainable society cannot be so without involving social, political, equity, and other relevant issues.
Agyeman explains how weak the United States has been, in terms of policy and understanding, in doing sustainable development. While the Clinton Administration had a desire to pursue it somewhat aggressively, it has strong political and social barriers. The current administration, on the other hand, has assumed that sustainable development is not a U.S. issue but one for other countries, and so has decided to fund developing nations to claim its promotion of sustainable development. Meanwhile, the United States continues to be responsible for the consumption of 25% of society’s resources and roughly 25% of the world’s impact on the environment, though it has less than 5% of the world’s population. Clearly, sustainable development in this case must heavily involve politics if it is going to be done.
Despite this large political barrier, many cities in the United States have taken sustainable development seriously. San Francisco, among the best examples of just sustainability, has focused its efforts on equity, equitable pollution distribution, community participation, and resource use and waste reduction. Many cities are seeing the tremendous benefit of smart growth and community equity and vibrancy. Where sustainable development has at least been approached, there are more involved citizens, a less politically apathetic government, and a move towards environmental impact reduction. While there are is still a long way to go, these cities are setting the examples of what has to be done socially and politically in order to achieve just sustainability.
On a different note, Greening of the City showed the importance of making the city green to achieve sustainability. It makes clear that green itself can be unsustainable if the design is done incorrectly. Rather, greening of the city is an essential component for social improvement, economic savings, and natural connections between humans and other forms of life. Greening of the city aims to improve aesthetics, create social opportunities for community engagement, reduce pollution and enhance the city climate, and reduce energy costs.