ABSTRACT
The Reader includes case studies of cities with innovative sustainable development plans and papers discussing how best to assess, measure and monitor progress towards the achievement of sustainable development goals at city and national levels. In addition, as most papers in this Reader emphasize, the key issue is not really 'sustainable cities' but cities whose built form, government structure, production systems, consumption patterns and waste generation and management systems are compatible with sustainable development goals for the city, its wider region and the whole biosphere. The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives is an association of local governments dedicated to the prevention and solution of local, regional and global environmental problems through local action. The level of per capita income reached by countries is also rather a limited (and inaccurate) basis by which to classify countries as ‘developed’ and ‘developing’.
