Caroline van Bers

Seeking Substance in Sustainable Development

Abstract In this article, the authors discuss approaches for turning sustainable development rhetoric into individually recognizable alternatives that may contribute to achieving sustainable societies. They discuss geographic, historical, human-ecological, and simulation approaches and provide some detailed examples of reorientation of current human activities toward a sustainable society using “design criteria.”

Ecological design criteria for a sustainable Canadian society

SummaryThe purpose of this paper is to develop specific ecological design criteria for a sustainable Canadian society. Ecological design criteria complement socio-political ones which have also been developed by the Sustainable Society Project at the University of Waterloo. The criteria derive from an evaluation of the major areas of human activity and interaction with the natural environment in light of our knowledge of ecological systems and resource management. The criteria, like the Sustainable Society Project as a whole, are an attempt to suggest needed, feasible, medium to long-term changes in human activities to comply with the ecological and socio-political limits and constraints that must be recognized in order to achieve societal sustainability. The specific design criteria identified here are not the only ones possible, desirable, or necessary — a complete and certain list is inherently impossible. But the design criteria developed here are illustrative of the kinds of changes that are necessary to achieve sustainability.