Sustainable Communities in Europe
Edited By William M. Lafferty
'Invaluable as a source of collected case studies.'
Cameron Sustainable Development Solutions
Paperback
November 2001 •
240 pages •
216 x 138mm •
ISBN 9781853837913
Clear objectives were set at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 for local authorities to prepare, implement and monitor a Local Agenda 21 (LA21): a strategic programme, plan or policy for achieving sustainable development locally, derived through consultation with citizens and relevant local stakeholders.
Sustainable Communities in Europe presents detailed research into the participation and involvement of local communities in 11 European countries. Overviews of implementation in each country are accompanied by comparative analysis of positive and negative changes to date. Useful examples of best practice case studies are provided, and crucial barriers to achieving sustainability are highlighted.
This most broad-based and systematic study of LA21 ever produced offers important lessons and suggestions for the future which will be invaluable in preparations for the forthcoming Earth Summit 2002 to be held in Johannesburg.
'A useful and interesting book for all those that are involved in Local Agenda 21 processes.'
European Circular
CONTENTS
Foreword by Margot Wallstrom
Preface
Introduction
Sweden: Problems and Prospects at the Leading Edge of LA21 Implementation
Finland: In Search of New Implementation Patterns
Denmark: The Participatory and Consensus-seeking Approach of the Danish LA21
Norway: LA21 as a Means of Interpreting and Achieving Sustainable Production and Consumption
The United Kingdom: Mainstreaming, Mutating or Expiring?
Ireland: Starting Late: Building Institutional Capacity on the Reform of Sub-national Governance?
The Netherlands: Probing the Essence of LA21 as a Value-added Approach to Sustainable Development and Local Democracy
France: LA21: A New Tool for Sustainable Policies?
Austria: From Eco-social Market Economy to LA21
Italy: Converging Pathways between Central and Local Levels of Government?
Spain: La21: A Question of Institutional Leadership?
Conclusions and Perspectives
Index
William M Lafferty is professor of political science at the University if Oslo, Norway, director of the Programme for Research and Documentation for a Sustainable Society (ProSus) within the Research Council of Norway and co-editor of From the Earth Summit to Local Agenda 21 (Earthscan, 1998).