In Conversation: Sustainability and the City

Sustainability is such a simple word yet it conjures up all kinds of meanings in people's minds. The definition of sustainability, which to me is the most easy to understand, is the one developed by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations, "sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." In other words, a sustainable society doesn't gobble up all of the resources so that there are none left for our children.

We (the planet Earth "we") are going to have some hard choices coming up here rather soon with respect to the topic of sustainability. Economic and physical growth are inevitable but need to be at a sustainable pace. So what choices can we make so that this growth doesn't put future generations at risk?

I was encouraged to see this article from Smart Planet on a recent meeting set up by the software company SAP (who by the way has an awesome online sustainability report). SAP brought together policy makers, energy companies, and city planners to discuss the possibility of sustainable economic and physical growth led by our urban centers. The ideas brought up were encouraging and I hope this model of bringing diverse backgrounds together to discuss the impact we have today on future generations gains rapid acceptance.