ABSTRACT
Previous chapters have concentrated on environmental problems in cities in terms of their impact on human health, natural resources, local ecosystems and global ‘life-support’ systems, and on policies to address these. This chapter considers how these environmental problems and policies fit within a wider debate about sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development is useful because it brings together most of the concerns raised in earlier chapters. It highlights key links between different sectors and between geographic scales (the local, regional and global). It also highlights potential synergies and conflicts between different goals.
