ABSTRACT
The UK has responded relatively well to the call for local action under LA21, the blueprint for implementing the concept of sustainable development agreed at UNCED in 1992. Certainly, there has been a great deal of reported action under the title of LA21 (Voisey, 1998). Many local authorities, community-based organizations and NGOs are doing much more, producing biodiversity action plans, putting in place mechanisms for greater public participation in decision-making and working on areas such as transport, air quality and fuel poverty – namely, the adverse impact on poorer households of higher prices for energy. However, criticism has been levelled at the quality of these initiatives; many only involve a small proportion of the local population, mostly people who already understand environmental principles and concerns (see Levett and Christie, 1999). Activity around LA21 at present is focused on traditional environmental concerns, with rather less attention paid to the issues of economic growth and social needs. This process is usually defined by a small number of usually highly motivated local interests, and is filtered through what is feasible in resource and political terms. This can produce some good work; but looking at the LA21 initiatives alone does not tell the full story about the capacity of people and institutions in any locality to respond to the sustainability agenda or to enter the sustainability transition.
