How Sustainable is Sustainable Planning? - An analysis from the perspective of holistic sustainability

Abstract

The concept of sustainability has been gradually adopted by the planning field, since the call for Sustainable Development by the Brundtland Report in 1987. However questions remain on how holistically is sustainability addressed by the planning field. This theoretical research examines this by performing a literature review and analysis on the concept of sustainability and on aspects of sustainable planning. It is shown that sustainability and planning share a multitude of common aspects, but certain aspects of sustainability seem to be less addressed: global and distant impacts of local activities and lifestyles, intra-generational equity and fundamental change. Both sustainability and planning appear to add value to each other.