Territorio, Sociedad y Desarrollo Sustenable; Estudios de sustenabilidad ambiental urbana, especio editorial

THIS BOOK PRESENTS the results of the research project SADU (Environmental Sustainability of Urban Development) taking place in Mar de Plata, Argentina. It consists of an analysis of the problems associated with urban development by considering all four dimensions of sustainability – political, social, ecological and productive. Moreover, it reviews the four main issues in urban policies – governance, productivity/competitiveness, human development and ecological sustainability – from an environmental viewpoint.

The first chapter provides the methodological and conceptual framework. The author highlights both the pitfalls and the opportunities of an integrated approach to urban environmental planning and management. However, his emphasis is mainly on the potential and the wide-ranging implications of using such an approach in this current period of crisis of conventional planning and of decline in local and national institutional capacity.

A correct understanding of what is meant by “nature” and “ecological sustainability” in an urban context is crucial for the research subject, and Chapter 2 is devoted to this purpose. The author discriminates between primary and secondary nature, and between natural resources and urban environmental services. The transition from the former to the latter is described as the result of technological mediation and transformation processes. This anthropogenic distortion generates the existence of risks that threaten urban sustainability as a whole. The interaction between society and nature is also the subject of the next chapter, which analyzes the socio-environmental impact of structural adjustment on the fishing industry in Mar de Plata. Ongoing globalization processes are recognized as being at odds with sustainability, since they concede an excessive importance to economic issues at the expense of social and environmental ones.

Productive sustainability is further explored in Chapter 4, which undertakes an environmental assessment of fruit and vegetable farming in the peri-urban belt of the city. This constitutes a critical subject matter since the peri-urban areas are among the most conflictive ones in terms of the use of environmental resources.

Chapter 5 examines the political dimension of sustainability. The consideration of issues such as democracy and decentralization leads to the notion of governance as the key concept in the context of the constraints posed by globalization. The municipal policies in Mar de Plata are explored in terms of the environmental impact of current processes and in relation to community-based organizations.

The first part of Chapter 6 sets the background for an analysis of social sustainability, with an evaluation of the social capital of the city. The second part of the chapter focuses on the issue of social vulnerability while the following chapter deals with poverty. With regard to the former, the existence of socio-territorial stratification of social vulnerability is acknowledged. Concerning the latter, the author points out the need to redefine concepts such as urban environment and poverty as well as the need to create new politico-territorial units within cities in order to overcome current constraints.

Due to its interdisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest to scholars from a wide range of disciplines with an interest in urban issues and development. Policy makers wishing to implement the sustainability agenda will also find this volume useful.