An Interpretation of Sustainable Development and Urban Sustainability in Low-Cost Housing and Settlements in South Africa
Date
2003
Authors
Irurah, Daniel K
Boshoff, Brian
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Cape Town Press
Abstract
The sustainable development paradigm can be viewed as a convergence of two paradigms that initially evolved in an antagonistic manner, possibly as far back as the industrial revolution. The first one is the growth and development paradigm, which was strongly rooted in economic growth based on the economic output of an economy as measured by GDP (gross domestic product). Until the late 1900s, governments and communities had committed themselves to a vision of improved standards of living through increasing the GDP of their respective economies, while paying minimal attention to environmental and resource impacts.
Then in the 1950s to 1970s the environmental movement coalesced after almost a
century of isolated pronouncements on resource and environmental degradation
arising from exponential population growth as well as increasing levels of production
and consumption. The movement argued that unless humanity voluntarily controlled
population and economic growth, environmental and resource degradation would put
a limit on human survival. The strongest substantiation of the argument was presented
in the Club of Rome Report, Limits to Growth (Meadows et al., 1972).
Description
Chapter 15
Keywords
Sustainable urban development; environmental and resource degradation
Citation
Irurah, Daniel K and Boshoff, Brian. 2003. An Interpretation of Sustainable Development and Urban Sustainability in Low-Cost Housing and Settlements in South Africa, in Chapter 15: Philip Harrison, Marie Huchzermeyer, Mzwanele Mayekiso (eds). 2003. Confronting fragmentation :|housing and urban development in a democratising society. University of Cape Town Press, Cape Town.