Exploring Sustainable Development: Geographical Perspectives

Front Cover
Martin Purvis, Alan Grainger
Earthscan, 2004 - 401 pages
Sustainable development is capturing the attention of planners, politicians and business leaders. Within the academic sphere its study is increasingly breaching disciplinary boundaries to become a focus of attention for natural and social scientists alike. But in studying such a key concept, it is vital that there is a clear definition of what it means, how it is applied on the ground, and the influence it exerts upon people's perceptions of change in the physical environment, economic activity and society.Exploring Sustainable Development is a major new text which provides a multifaceted introduction to key areas of study in this field, examining sustainability at the full range of spatial scales from the local to the global. Building on existing theory it demonstrates the unique contributions that thinking geographically about space, place and human-environment relationships can bring to the analysis of sustainable development. This book explores different interpretations of sustainable development in both theory and practice, in developed and developing countries, and in rural and urban areas. It pays particular attention to the local, national and international politics of implementation, the future of climate and energy, the role of business, and different conceptions of agricultural sustainability.This wide-ranging text is ideal for undergraduates and postgraduates in geography, environmental science, development studies, and related social and political sciences.

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Contents

Introduction
1
Geography and Sustainable Development
33
The Role of Spatial Scale and Spatial Interactions in Sustainable Development
50
Linking the Local to the Global
85
Forecasting Urban Futures
99
Making Cities More Sustainable
128
Business Capital and Sustainable Economic Development
156
Sustainable Agricuture for the 21st Century
179
Sustaining the Flow
207
Sustainable Futures for the Arctic North
230
Climate Change Energy and Sustainable Development
250
Sustainable Development and International Relations
279
Future Perspectives
313
References
340
Index
388
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