ABSTRACT
Fundamental to sustainable development is active public participation in decisions which affect the environment. Popular involvement in the planning and management of the environment is most effective at the local level of the quarter, district or neighbourhood. It is at this scale of planning where the local resident has most knowledge and expertise (Moughtin, 2003). The resident of the neighbourhood has firsthand experience of problems faced by the family, friends and neighbours. There is, therefore, a need to support, develop and institutionalize this local participation by creating formal political structures which empower the citizen. The development of local political structures having the power to influence decisions which affect the local environment is the route to fulfilling the ideals of sustainability. This chapter seeks to explore the forms that the city quarter may take to fulfil this political role in the sustainable city.
