ABSTRACT
One of the most important innovations in urban thinking in the 1990s was the introduction of the idea that cities should be sustainable. Following the Rio Summit of 1992, cities achieved a central place in the diagnosis of global environmental ills and Local Agenda 21s were actively taken up by urban authorities throughout the world. Sustainability became instantly a universal policy objective of urban plans, which in turn provoked new forms of interdepartmental cooperation across city government in an attempt to address the complex, integrative aims of environmentally friendly urban development. These experiences were encouraged by multilateral agencies and networked through a variety of sustainable city programmes, but relied mainly on the initiative of local governments working closely with community and social organizations.
