Assigned Readings

Wheeler & Beakley Part 1. Read the entire section, paying special attention to the chapter from "your" author and two the last two chapters about the Bruntdland Commission and the Rio Convention.

Class Preparation

Wheeler and Beakley provide key portions of writings by seminal thinkers about sustainable development, particularly sustainability within the urban context. You will be asked to select any one of these writers (excluding the last two chapters) and learn more about how he/she has influenced our contemporary thinking about sustainable communities. We will use the much of this class session to discuss the contributions of these thinkers. You should be prepared to participate in a discussion about the author you select. Do not prepare a presentation. I will be asking some broad questions about what sustainability means and how our thinking about this concept has evolved. I expect you to be able to contribute to the discussion of those questions. You will submit a 3-5 page document based on your preparation (see below). I will share this document with your colleagues.

Here are some questions for you to think about as you prepare for class.

1. Is urban growth -- the actual physical growth of cities -- inevitable? Certainly, towns and later cities have grown for the past 10,000 years, with few exceptions. The "black plague" in Europe is one of the few exceptions. Estimates of the death rate during that event range from 25 to 50%. Not only was the population greatly reduced, but so was the actual physical size of many European towns and cities. Locally, some citiies have decreased in size as the result of local disasters -- New Orleans in the United States and Kinshasa in the Congo are examples. Overall, however, the trend has been toward more and more, larger and larger cities.

2. Are cities inherently "unsustainable"? They certainly change over time. Contemporary London looks very little like the London of the late 1800s. Contemporary Mexico City looks little like the Aztec city. Yet, in every era, it seems that cities are both magnets that offer opportunities and resources that cannot be accumulated in rural areas -- and conditions that threaten the quality of life, if not the very life, of their inhabitants. The smog-filled London of the 1800's is gone. But today's London seems to bring a host of ills that are every bit as serious as those of the industrial city. The archaeological record shows us that both the pre-Columbian Maya and the Aztec cities caused enormous environmental destruction and were subject to outbreaks of disease. Modern day Mexico City is, some claim, the most congested city on the planet.

3. To what degree is sustainability a question of morals and ethnics? Aldo Leopold is credited with the first expression of what later came to be called "deep ecology" -- the idea that ethics and morality require that human beings hold all living organisms, and perhaps even the ecosystem itself, in the same esteem that we hold human life (in theory). Others argue that sustainability can never be cased on concepts of morality, value systems, or ethics either because (a) it won't work or (b) to do so inevitably suggests that some people or social groups exhibit moral superiority over others.

4. To what degree is sustainability compatible with economic growth? Herman Daly, Andre Gunder Frank, and the Meadows all suggest, explicitly or implicitly, that economic growth, and particularly capitalist economic growth, are inherently unsustainable. Daly calls it "growthmania" and argues for a steady state economy. Frank sees capitalist development as the cause of underdevelopment. And the Meadows are viewed by many as modern-day Malthusians, opposed to growth of any kind. Does sustainable development mean development without growth?

5. Can we "plan for sustainability," or is sustainability a process rather than an outcome? Both McHarg and Jacobs, at different times and from different perspectives, seem to argue that planning, per se, is part of the problem. Contemporary American society has certainly moved radically toward a planned approach to development, however flawed the execution of the plans may be. Our decisions are highly circumsized by zoning laws, growth development plans, environmental impact regulations and the like. Will more and better planning create more sustainable landscapes? Or is it the process that matters, and particularly the active involvement of the citizenry in the decision-making process about development?

Due Today

Seminal Thinkers about Sustainable Communities. Prepare a short (3-5 pages) annotated bibliography and analysis to show how these authors have influenced contemporary discussions and conceptions of sustainable community development. Your document should include the following components. (1) An annotated bibliography, using APA style. Provide brief (one paragraph or so) summaries of some of the key literature that you consult. (2) A synthesis of your conclusions about how this author's ideas have influenced our thinking. Consult the published research and academic literature, not popular web sites and such. Use the UF electronic library search system. Academic Premier is the search engine I use, but feel free to experiment. If you simply enter the name of the author I guarantee you will find relevant, useful contemporary academic literature that refers to the work of every one of these authors. I know. I tried it. Submit the document electronically (by e-mail to me) prior to class. Use your last name and the word "seminal" as the file name for this document; e.g., Swisher_Seminal.

Additional Resources

You're on your own to find them!