The Sustainable Development Paradox: Urban Political Economy in the United States and Europe

by Rob Krueger (Editor), David Gibbs (Editor)

Sustainability--with its promise of economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental integrity--is hardly a controversial goal. Yet scholars have generally overlooked the ways that policies aimed at promoting "sustainability" at local, national, and global scales have been shaped and constrained by capitalist social relations. This thought-provoking book reexamines sustainability conceptually and as it actually exists on the ground, with a particular focus on Western European and North American urban contexts. Topics include critical theoretical engagements with the concept of sustainability; how sustainability projects map onto contemporary urban politics and social justice movements; the spatial politics of conservation planning and resource use; and what progressive sustainability practices in the context of neoliberalism might look like.

310 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2007

Reviews

[Justin Meek]

Unfortunately this book was written for academics who seemingly haven't stepped off campus since receiving their graduate degree. As such, the essays within each chapter throw around hifalutin language & ideas that strangely do not seem to resemble the world we live in, let alone offer a cogent critique of the way humans live and their effect on the environment.

[Lisa]

Although the chapters are a bit uneven (and the early ones tend to tip over into left-wing paranoia), a lot of good theoretical work on sustainability in cities: what does it mean, what challenges does it present, what avenues of research remain to be explored? It also includes more social and participatory perspectives, which is always refreshing.

[g]

I am not very well versed in the literature on sustainability, and I enjoyed this edited volume. The first essay by Erik Swnygedouw is a favorite.