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Sustinable Developmen
tSustainable Development Sust. Dev. 10, 187–196 (2002) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/sd.199

ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY: FITTING THEM TOGETHER INTO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Bob Giddings, Bill Hopwood* and Geoff O’Brien Sustainable Cities Research Institute, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Sustainable development is a contested concept, with theories shaped by people’s and organizations’ different worldviews, which in turn influence how issues are formulated and actions proposed. It is usually presented as the intersection between environment, society and economy, which are conceived of as separate although connected entities. We would argue that these are not unified entities: rather they are fractured and multi-layered and can be considered at different spatial levels. The economy is often given priority in policies and the environment is viewed as apart from humans. They are interconnected, with the economy dependent on society and the environment while human existence and society are dependent on, and within the environment. The separation of environment, society and economy often leads to a narrow techno-scientific approach, while issues to do with society that are most likely to challenge the present socio-economic structure are often marginalized, in particular the
* Correspondence to: B. Hopwood, Sustainable Cities Research Institute, 6 North Street East, Newcastle-upon-Tyre, NE6 2Jf, UK. E-mail: william.hopwood@unn.ac.uk
Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

sustainability of communities and the maintenance of cultural diversity. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Received 1 February 2001 Revised 18 April 2001 Accepted 24 April 2001

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CONTESTED CONCEPT ustainable development is a contested concept with a wide range of meanings. It is embraced by big business, governments, social reformers and environmental activists, all of


References: Acheson D. 1998. Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health: Report. Stationery Office: London. Barton H. 2000. Conflicting perceptions of neighbourhood. In Sustainable Communities, Barton H (ed.). Earthscan: London; 3–18. Cock M, Hopwood B. 1996. Global Warning: Socialism and the Environment. Militant Labour: London. County Durham. 1997. The First Three Years of Sustainability in Action. County Durham Local Agenda 21 Partnership: Durham. Daly H. 1992. Steady State Economics. Earthscan: London. DETR. 1999. A Better Quality of Life: a Strategy for Sustainable Development for the United Kingdom. DETR: London. du Plessis C. 2000. Cities and sustainability: sustaining our cultural heritage. In Cities and Sustainability: Sustaining Our Cultural Heritage, Conference Proceedings, Brandon P, Lombardi P, Perera S (eds). Kandalama: Sri Lanka. Expert Group on the Urban Environment. 1996. European Sustainable Cities. European Commission: Brussels. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment 195 B. GIDDINGS, B. HOPWOOD AND G. O’BRIEN Pearce D, Markandya A, Barbier E. 1989. Blueprint for a Green Economy. Earthscan: London. Rees W. 1995. Achieving sustainability: reform or transformation? Journal of Planning Literature 9(4): 343–361. Rowell A. 1996. Green Backlash. Routledge: London. Shiva V. 1998. Biopiracy: the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge. Green: Dartington. Wackernagel M, Rees W. 1996. Our Ecological Footprint. New Society: Gabriola Island, Canada. West Midlands Round Table. 2000. Quality of Life: the Future Starts Here. West Midlands Round Table for Sustainable Development: Solihull. Workshop on Urban Sustainability. 2000. Towards a Comprehensive Geographical Perspective on Urban Sustainability. Rutgers University: New Brunswick, NJ. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Website. 2001. http://www.wbcsd.ch [6 February 2001]. World Economic Forum (WEF) Website. 2001. http://www.weforum.org [6 February 2001]. World Health Organisation (WHO). 1997. City Planning for Health and Sustainable Development. WHO Regional Office Europe: Copenhagen. WCED. 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford University Press: Oxford. BIOGRAPHY Bob Giddings, Bill Hopwood (corresponding author) and Geoff O’Brien work at the Sustainable Cities Research Institute, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Correspondence to Bill Hopwood, Sustainable Cities Research Institute, 6 North Street East, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 2JF, UK. Tel.: 0191 227 3108 Fax: 0191 227 3066 E-mail: william.hopwood@unn.ac.uk Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Sust. Dev. 10, 187–196 (2002) 196
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