Urban sustainability in the third world : a review of the literature

Abstract

In the extensive and rapidly expanding literature addressing environment and sustainability, relatively little has been written about cities, and even less about cities in the Third World. The urban environment is an emerging field of inquiry and is being addressed by researchers from diverse disciplinary viewpoints. Yet most writers, both from developed and developing countries, who have dealt with issues of urban sustainability in the Third World, agree on a common theme: the main concern is "development," which, in the context of the Third World city, denotes the attainment of a decent standard of living for all residents; and, if such development is to be sustainable, it has to deal with poverty in a way that does not irreparably degrade the environment.