The Compact City and Urban Sustainability: Conflicts and Complexities

At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the Rio Declaration, signed by over 150 countries, set out principles for achieving sustainable development. To support the declaration, the summit adopted Agenda 21, an action plan for the pursuit of sustainable development into the next century, addressed to international agencies, national and local governments and nongovernment organisations (United Nations, 1993).