Where Sustainability Stands Now: Contemporary Trends and Future Prospects

Abstract

Thumbing through a copy of Jane Jacobs’s seminal 1961 work The Death and Life of Great American Cities, it is surprising how little is said about the relationship between urban growth and development and the larger circle of natural assets upon which life in the city depends. This might possibly be attributed to the formative experiences that led Jacobs to write the book, reflecting her pique with the building predilections of Robert Moses and imbuing Death and Life with an inward focus revolving around issues of urban regeneration and neighborhood protection. Of course, the year following publication of Jacobs’s formative book saw the appearance of another work that would shape the attitudes of future generations and do as much as anything to ignite the environmental movement in America. This was Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, published in 1962. Yet, there has not always been a well-reflected convergence between the views espoused by these two groundbreaking books. The editor’s recollection is that early-term graduate students in urban studies and planning found Jacob’s book on their reading list while graduate students in environmental studies were directed to Carson. With the urban sustainability movement, the convergence between urban development and the environment has come much more clearly into focus.