ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a cursory summary of the complicated relationship between human activity and the developing theory of sustainability. By examining the origins of this concept and the definitions that have emerged to unify sustainability thinking, it presents the argument that regardless of denition, the environment rests at the core of the sustainability challenge and suggests that by understanding the ecosystem base on top of which all development activities assemble a sharper focus of what it means to be sustainable can be understood. When viewed through the lens of the environment, change is both a natural phenomenon that punctuates a dynamic earth system and an often more controversial consequence of human activities on the planet. With “development” and urban expansion common across the planet, the expanded human imprint can be anticipated to induce further changes, calling into question the future of the “ecological balance” that supports human progress.
