ABSTRACT
The history of planning for a Local Agenda 21 in Munich started in the spring of 1994, when programme planners of the Münchner Volkshochschule (MVHS), the local adult education institution, chanced upon the results of the Rio conference. Since "sustainability" and "Agenda 21" were terms not yet widely known among the general public, they decided to start a discussion process with local initiatives and organizations. Quality of life and participation, while long-established issues in urban development, have taken on a new meaning and importance in the 1990s. Participation in the 1970s started with citizen protest generally directed against modernization projects perceived as threatening people's individual quality of life. Popular participation in planning is largely a child of the late 1960s and 1970s. The concept of "sustainability" illustrates this integrated perspective, and the sustainability debate has shifted notably to the local level, making "sustainable urban development" arguably the key topic for research and urban development planning.
