Local Sustainable Urban Development in a Globalized World

Dr Lauren Heberle is a lecturer at the Center for Environmental Policy and Management, University of Louisville, USA and Susan M. Opp is from Texas Tech University, USA.

• Introduction; 1: Alternative Urban Futures: Designing Urban Infrastructures that Prioritize Human Needs, are Less Damaging to the Natural Resource Base, and Produce Less Waste; 2: Employing Information and Communication Systems in Planning Processes to Increase Efficiency in Sustainable Urban Development; 3: Absolutely Positively Wellington: A Model for Smart Growth; 4: Environmental Quality and Land Use Plans, a New Development in the Netherlands; 5: From a Standard-Oriented to an Integral Quality-Oriented Approach; 6: Town Planning Models: A Look at Polish Cities and Sustainable Development; 7: The Efficiency of Land Use Conversion; 8: Moving Toward Urban Sustainability: A Comparison of the Development of Sustainability Indicators in Seattle and Minneapolis; 9: Assessing Sustainability in Urban Planning: The Potential and Limitations of Indicators as a Means to Measure and Monitor Outcomes of Policy Implementation; 10: Measuring Sustainability: The Role of Ecological Footprinting in Assessing the Impact of Development; 11: Regional Environmental Capacity for Sustainable Growth: A Historical Approach; 12: Sustainability of Urban Transport: Common Strategies and Individual Actions; 13: Mobile Vendors: Persistence of Local Culture in the Changing Global Economy of Bangkok; 14: Educational Changes for Sustainable Cities: Autonomous Knowledge; 15: Educating Architects to Address Urban Problems in Building Design; 16: Education into Citizenship: Environmental Education, Participatory Democracy, and the Precautionary Principle; 17: Public Participation in Achieving Sustainability in Central City Neighborhoods 1; 18: Balancing Economic Growth and Social Equity: Less-Educated Workers in High-Tech Regions; Conclusion

'This volume, addressing the key local public sector issue of our time, offers educational and inspirational, albeit uneven, examples from across the world of successful local pursuit of sustainability despite global pressures. The editors’ opening and closing essays and the overview by Pinderhughes constitute major contributions to the debate on the promise of locally-led sustainability practices.' Peter B. Meyer, University of Louisville, USA '...the book provides a number of excellent contributions ranging from single disciplinary approaches in economic, sociology, geography, and political science to interdisciplinary contributions in urban, transport and regional planning.' European Spatial Research and Policy