THIS BOOK, ABOUT sustainable urban environments in low and middle-income countries, is an update on a former book Sustainability, the Environment and Urbanization written in 1996. Like its forerunner, it covers social, economic, environmental and developmental factors of urban areas which are then discussed in relation to their interdependence and conceptual characteristics and their urban dynamics. Some case studies are included.

The idea of sustainable development has developed since the mid-1990s, when it was often associated with economic growth and social development that would not undermine environmental and developmental assets for future generations. The scope for this is simultaneously economic, social, political and environmental, in essence being about choosing a range of different patterns of growth and social change that are environmentally and socially better than alternative patterns. In the same period, the idea of governance has also influenced development studies, including such urban subjects as poverty, environmental improvement, health, education, housing and the upgrading of squatter settlements. Governance is practised when there are attempts to improve state-market-society relations and it can be used in policy, planning and economic production. Although the general principles of governance emphasize developmental welfare, in practice, community and governmental roles are influenced by localized politics.

After an introduction, Chapter 2 provides a wide-ranging overview of the way theory is being developed in environmental, social, economic and political studies, all of which are related to development and growth. One of its main features is an extended analysis and discussion of the
interdependence of different forms of capital: environmental, economic, social and human. Chapter 3 covers the principles of law in urban and environmental development through a case study in Bangalore, India. Chapter 4 provides new ways of thinking about the relationships between the green (natural resource) and brown (health and services) agendas, set within the framework of social equity issues in sustainable development. Chapter 5 emphasizes the impact of inequalities in economic and political power in health and the environment, and argues for education and democratization, viewed as a matter of urgency for sustainable development. Chapter 6 evaluates comparative performances in health and governance and relates this to health and governance in post-apartheid South Africa, showing how concepts of governance and
social development have been influencing policy in the World Health Organization. Chapter 7 evaluates policy and practice in the improvement of housing and the environment in squatter settlements and reveals the conditions under which spontaneous physical and aesthetic improvements
take place. Chapter 8 is a case study of Chennai, India showing the historical detail and dilemmas in the localization of Agenda 21; and Chapter 9 covers a case study of Shanghai, explaining how it expresses the major environmental and health dilemmas that occur under intensive and concentrated economic and demographic growth. The concluding chapter covers the creation and destruction of knowledge in sustainable
development, the roles of international organizations, the political economy of development and some broader perspectives of the ways in which environmentalism is conditioned. The recent development of urban change is addressed here in a new theory related to environmental agendas.