Achieving

Sustainability---Reform or
Transformation?
William E. Rees
Journal of Planning Literature, 1995

The Changing Global Context

Humankind, thoroughly
alienated from nature, is
set on an unsustainable
course that certainly
degrades the natural
environment and that
could plausible end with
the ecological razing of the
earth

Do you agree/disagree?

The Changing Global Context

With the onset of humaninduced global change, we

have reached a unique
juncture in history and
planning for ecologically
sustainable economic
development requires
revisiting many of the
assumptions on which
prevailing planning and
development models are
based

Comparing Competing
Paradigms
Expansionist Paradigm
Steady State (Ecological Alternative)
Authors Argument: Many of our socalled environmental problems stem
from flaws in the prevailing
expansionist paradigm that can be
remedied only by a global shift toward
the ecological steady state

Comparing Competing
Paradigms
Expansionist Paradigm
Nature is knowable through reductionist
analysis, observation, and experimentation;
the observer is separate from the observed;
nature is thus objectified.
Economic rationality relies heavily on free and
open markets

Comparing Competing
Paradigms
Steady-State (Ecological Worldview)
The behavior of natural systems is
unknowable (unpredictable) at the whole
systems level, uncertainty is large and
irreducible
Holistic approaches provide the best
understanding of global change
Humankind is an integral part of the
ecosphere
There is no truly objective knowledge
Economy is seen as a highly-ordered, dynamic
system maintained by available energy and

The Ecological Footprint of the

Human Economy
Optimal Sustainable Scale- Does the
economy have an optimal size?

The Ecological Footprint of the

Human Economy
Optimal
Sustainable
Scale

Curves intersect
when falling
marginal benefits
just equal rising
marginal costs

Planning for Sustainability

Authors Conclusions: The prevailing
expansionist worldview could neither
anticipate nor can it explain the pace of
global ecological change.
What can be done?

Planning for Sustainability

Environmental Assessments
Pollution control and environmental
standards legislation
Growth management strategies

A Special Role for Planners

Planners are uniquely positioned to play a
leadership role
For planners, sustainability means
developing and promoting plans that
contribute to more efficient urban form and
to stronger social fabric

dev

Planning for Sustainability

The Do-Nothing AlternativeHow plausible
is the ecodisaster?

The Do-Nothing Alternative

Supported by expansionist beliefs, to
continue as at present with planners acting
as little more than developmental traffic
cops
Present ecological trends, prevailing
sociopolitical values, and the dominant
economic paradigm all enhance the
plausibility of an ecological disaster
scenario.

What can Planners do?

Planners have a professional duty to
consider the evidence supporting various
alternatives before committing to a
particular sustainable-development path.

Consequences Matrix