ABSTRACT
Sustainability and sustainable urban development have endured as concepts for the past 40 years in spite of a lack of consensus about the meaning of the terms. Despite no political or scientific agreement, these concepts remain relevant and persistent ideologies. The lack of broadly accepted definitions has allowed for consensus to evolve in support of the idea that it is morally wrong to treat the world as an inexhaustible resource or, in other words, unsustainably. Despite the diffuse nature of sustainability, it endures and remains a necessary consideration in metropolitan policy formulation. The goal of this chapter is to help you develop your own position on the role of landscapes in enacting sustainable development policies. Such ethical positions do not exist in isolation; they derive from your education, life experiences and personal values. However, decisions that you could make in the future might potentially affect millions of citizens, and therefore are not to be made solely on your own perspectives.
