What this lesson teaches
I can explain sustainable development: present and future needs, linked goals, trade-offs and limits.
Syllabus 8834, Topic 1.1, 1. Sustainable Urban Development. What is sustainable development?
Make a guess
A new housing estate gives thousands of families homes, but it is built on wetland that used to store floodwater. Is it sustainable development?
- Yes, because housing is an essential need.
- No, because nature must be protected whatever people need.
- No, it is a trade-off that needs weighing.
- Yes, because technology will fix any flooding later.
Show the answer
No, it is a trade-off that needs weighing.
The estate meets a real need, but it removes flood storage for future residents. Ask who gains, who loses and whether a better design reduces the conflict.
A sustainable city meets people's needs today without harming the ability of future residents to meet theirs.
Sustainable development is about meeting needs now and in the future. It puts the essential needs of poor people first: safe water, food, shelter and a way to earn a living. A city cannot be judged only by how its richest residents live.
Economic, environmental and social goals depend on each other. Jobs provide income. Clean water keeps people healthy. Healthy people can learn and work. The aim is to improve all three together. Safe public transport, for example, can help people reach jobs and cut some pollution.
A trade-off is when one goal makes another harder. New housing may take land that stores floodwater or shelters wildlife. A cheap service today may leave pollution for future residents to clean up. Ask who gains, who loses and whether a better design reduces the conflict.
There are limits. Current technology limits how well a city can reuse materials and treat waste. The environment can only supply water and land, and absorb waste, at a certain rate. New technology may help, but plans cannot assume it will solve everything.
- Sustainable development
- Meet needs now and in future, especially of the poor.
- Interdependence
- Economic, social and environmental goals affect each other.
- Limits
- Current technology and environmental capacity.
Step by step
Find the needs
Include essential needs and people left out.
Link the goals
Explain one link between the three.
Check the trade-off
Effects on other groups, places and the future.
Real examples to use
UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (2015)
In 2015 every UN member state agreed 17 goals for 2030. Goal 11 is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It joins the economic, social and environmental aims in one target for cities.
Worked example: Cheap homes on a floodplain
A city plans low-cost homes on land that stores floodwater. The homes meet an urgent need, but put residents at risk and remove flood storage for others. A sustainable choice compares safer sites, costs and access to work.
Watch out for this
Sustainable development means protecting nature whatever people need.
It links protecting nature with meeting people's needs, especially those of the poor.
Check your understanding
Which proposal best shows the goals are interdependent?
- Judge new housing by its price, as cost matters most to families.
- Compare housing costs, access to work and flood risk together.
- Put present needs aside until the environmental problems are fixed.
Show the answer
Compare housing costs, access to work and flood risk together.
Yes. It links economic, social and environmental effects.