ABSTRACT
A major challenge in contemporary planning practice and research is how to change the direction of societies, making them more sustainable. We currently face enormous challenges, such as climate change and the unfair distribution of the earth’s resources, that call for new ways of thinking about sustainable development. Rockström et al. (2009), focusing on the anthropogenic pressures on the earth system when defining today’s threats, propose that sustainability concerns nine planetary limits that constrain humanity’s safe existence: the climate system, ocean pH, stratospheric ozone, the biogeochemical nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles, global freshwater availability, land use patterns, biodiversity loss, chemical pollution, and atmospheric aerosol loading. They estimate that humanity has already exceeded the planetary limits for the climate system, biodiversity loss, and global nitrogen cycle. If we add to these factors environmental injustice and groups’ differing opportunities to shape their own lives, we face even more challenges. We can no longer walk along familiar paths, but need to rethink current relationships and explore new ways to create sustainable futures. It is important to acknowledge that diverse societal goals require that different choices be made today.
