ABSTRACT

The expression ‘sustainable development’ has been used in a variety of ways, particularly within the context of development studies. In the early twenty-first century, we are confronted with several different discourses of ‘sustainable development’, some of which are mutually exclusive. For example, campaigners for greater global equality between nations, huge international corporations and local housing associations have all had recourse to the term ‘sustainable development’ to justify, or embellish, their actions.