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Ambitious carbon reduction targets are driving a new era of carbon control reflecting the UK, the EU and international commitment to mitigating the predicted impacts of global warming and climate change. Observed as a transition away from the more holistic goals of sustainable development (While et al., 2001), the ‘low carbon’ (LC) agenda is increasingly recognised as problematic in so far as it is pro-technological and promethean, marginalising the importance of social, political, economic and wider environmental issues. With specific implications for housing and householders, the paper explores how the current preoccupation with ‘LC’ presents some potential pitfalls in relation to advancing sustainable housing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Policy makers and regulators are charged with the daunting task of comparing incommensurate environmental risks to inform strategic decisions on interventions. Here we present a policy-level framework intended to support strategic decision processes concerning environmental risks within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The framework provides the structure by which risk-based evidence may be collated and by assessing the value of harm expressed by different environmental policy areas against a consistent objective (e.g., sustainable development), we begin to form a basis for relative comparison. This research integrates the prior art, examples of best practice, and intimate end-user input to build a qualitative assessment informed by expert judgment. Supported by contextual narratives, the framework has proven successful in securing organizational support and stimulating debate about proportionate mitigation activity, resource allocation, and shifts in current risk thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review analyses the report Learning through Life from the point of view of the sustainable development theme and from a 'South' perspective. The review recognises that the report is written to influence UK policy-makers and practitioners; it has captured the results of a broad-based inquiry, and it therefore has had to proceed within that remit. It introduces some refreshing and innovative ideas to shift the terms in which lifelong learning is considered to be more integrated across the lifespan in the UK. It has located the discussions broadly within the national and global financial and environmental crises and has offered suggestions for ways to encourage individual and collective engagement with lifelong learning as integral to a form of sustainable development. It has implicitly offered a 'critique' of the current provision of lifelong learning within the contemporary economic and political conditions rather than a 'critical' analysis that explicitly advocates radically different ways of being and doing business in the UK and globally. Given the extraordinary times within which we are living and the heightened awareness of the need for bold planetary responses to the economic, political and environmental conditions around the world, the report does not offer 'a great leap forward' but rather offers what have been referred to as 'momentary palliatives for immediate pain' that are not in themselves 'steps towards creating the new successor system that we want'. However, these are not to be sneered at, but to be worked with alongside deep engagement in both debates and experimentation in the search for alternatives that can produce a more democratic, egalitarian learning planet, which can sustain life for centuries to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woking Borough Council in the United Kingdom has long been committed to protecting the environment, a goal explicitly stated as one of the borough's top three priorities. Woking is also known for its pioneering approach in operating an extensive networked electricity and district heating system based on co- and trigeneration, as well as what is understood to be the United Kingdom's first commercially operating 200kWe fuel cell. Its other innovative measures to protect the environment and to reduce pollution include the adoption of energy- and water-saving techniques for council-owned buildings and public places, with revenue savings reinvested back into still additional measures to further improve sustainability. These various initiatives are providing a practical framework for advancing a more equitable, clean, decentralized, and socially cooperative energy system in service to Woking's inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The management of contaminated land is now assuming greater attention in Chinese debates on environmental governance. However, the existing management system appears ineffective as it lacks a clear policy framework and technical basis. In the United Kingdom (UK), contaminated land issues are dealt with through a risk-based approach. This approach emphasizes the application of risk approaches in both technical and integrated management systems. Conceptually, this paper outlines generic issues related to transferring programmes from one place to another. We argue that too much emphasis has been placed on the barriers to effective transfer, rather than focusing on methods of abstracting lessons for application in foreign settings. We then examine the Chinese system and its problems in managing contaminated land before turning to the UK risk-based approach to see what lessons can be learned from it. Four aspects are analyzed and compared: legislative and policy framework; administrative structure and capacity; technical approaches; and incentive strategy. Based on the experience of the UK in practice, some suggestions are then proposed for China in order to improve its management of contaminated land. We suggest that this should include: a focus on the problem sites; development of a risk-based technical approach and integrated management system; the introduction of financial incentives; and the use of planning control as a management strategy. It is believed that a risk-based integrated management approach may be helpful for China to achieve sustainable solutions for contaminated land. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The established ‘standard’ model of economic regulation is characterised by independent economic regulators undertaking specialised tasks. There is a clear perception that the roles and responsibilities of regulators are and should be reduced to the execution of the core function, i.e. economic regulation. We argue that this needs to be reassessed in the context of sustainable development in which the integration of economic, social and environmental policy objectives are fundamental. The established model is particularly confronted by problems of regulatory policy indivisibility (social, economic and environmental matters are intertwined at technical levels) and information asymmetry (regulators often have more knowledge of environmental and social effects of economic regulation than government). We propose a ‘revised standard’ model in which economic regulators are more clearly integrated into the regulatory state''s system of governance. Economic regulators retain their independent core specialism but at the same time are encouraged to use their knowledge and expertise to address the social and environmental implications of their core decisions. This is achieved not by extending their decision making powers but by encouraging and facilitating a direct engagement by regulators with the appropriate public authorities on social and environmental decision making. The onus is not only on regulators to engage but also on government which should welcome and encourage such engagement. Although there is some evidence in Britain that the model reflects actual practice, it needs to be more deeply and widely embedded and institutionalised. This can be achieved by high level governmental commitment including specification in sustainable development strategies and principles of good regulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the nature of the relationship between sustainable waste management behaviour between the 'home' and 'work' settings. A questionnaire survey of 566 employees of the Cornwall NHS (National Health Service) was used to examine the nature of the behaviour between the two settings and to understand the main factors influencing the behaviour. The results indicate that there is strong link in the behaviour of individuals between the two settings, with employees who practised recycling activities at home also being more likely to practise a similar behaviour at work. There was also some similarity in the level of sustainability of the behaviour between the two settings. These behaviours were strongly influenced by the underlying attitudes and beliefs of the staff towards the environment. The implications for policy-making to improve sustainable waste management behaviour amongst individuals in England and Wales are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the initial development of the Ecological Footprint in the early 1990s, the concept has gained increased interest amongst academics and practitioners internationally. In the UK, it is estimated that some 60 to 70 Ecological Footprint studies were undertaken between 1999 and 2004. Although the majority of interest in Ecological Footprinting has come from local government, a recent study has found that government officers involved in the formulation of council policy have not been able to engage with the Ecological Footprint as a process or use the results to inform policy decisions. This paper analyses how an Ecological Footprint has been developed for Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The approach used to construct an Ecological Footprint for Cardiff has been significantly different to that which had been used previously in the UK, as it has involved a unique consortium of researchers at Cardiff University and policy development officers at Cardiff Council checking the quality of data used in the Footprint calculation, and developing a range of policy scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine the role of integrated appraisal as a tool for promoting sustainable development and good governance, and the potential tensions that may exist between these two objectives. Drawing upon experience in the United Kingdom, it is argued that an undue emphasis on governance issues may compromise the rigour of integrated-appraisal methodologies and result in a loss of focus upon sustainability concerns, particularly those related to environmental matters. This framework of ideas is explored further with reference to the development of an integrated Appraisal Toolkit for the North West region of England. Ways in which integrated appraisal can retain its place within the suite of environmental assessment tools as a way of supporting more sustainable patterns of development, and at the same time contributing to good governance, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK is reportedly an international leader in the application of environmental policy appraisal (EPA). From the late 1980s until 2004, UK central government sought to produce ex ante assessments of the potential environmental impacts of different policy options. Critics maintain that EPA had a very limited impact on policy-making activities in Whitehall departments. However, the empirical basis for these claims is surprisingly thin. This paper seeks to better understand what facilitated or retarded EPA by looking at its use in Whitehall, with the aim being to draw lessons for the UK's new and more integrated appraisal regime, as well as similar systems in the European Union. The paper finds that the implementation of EPA was both weak and highly sectorised, and that there is an underlying resistance to policy appraisal per se in Whitehall. These weaknesses urgently need to be addressed otherwise new systems of integrated appraisal will not deliver what is expected of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic niche management is a recently developed policy approach which advocates claim, is important in seeding radical transformations in sociotechnical regimes, and transitions to environmentally sustainable regimes in particular. This paper examines a critically important aspect of this approach: the relationship between radically novel sociotechnical practices in niches and the main- stream social-technical regimes they seek to influence. Although the literature notes the significance of this relationship, it does so in a paradoxical way. It is argued that niches are more likely to influence mainstream change when they show a degree of compatibility with the incumbent regime. Yet this compatibility criterion blunts the scope for niches to be radically innovative, thereby under- mining the degree of regime transformation being sought. The case of organic food is used to explore this paradox empirically. The history of the organic niche, and its engagement and entanglement with the mainstream food regime, suggests a dialectical relationship between sociotechnical niches and regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK reviewed its National Sustainable Development Strategy during 2003 and 2004, and produced a new strategy — the third for the UK — in March 2005. Having established that the main weakness of the previous strategy was in its delivery, the review and the resulting new strategy set out to put a much stronger emphasis on delivery mechanisms. In support of this, the process included more participative ways for those involved in delivering to contribute their views and ideas, including web-based dialogue, participative events and seminars, and community level discussions. The key points for the success of the project were the involvement of stakeholders; project management of the process; a marketing and communications strategy; cross-departmental governance; and involvement of an external challenge function (fulfilled in the UK by the Sustainable Development Commission). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of articles related to city planning. "Promoting Retail Innovation: Knowledge Flows During the Emergence of Self-Service and Supermarket Retailing in Britain," by Andrew Alexander, Gareth Shaw and Louise Curth; "The Nature of Op Art: Bridget Riley and the Art of Nonrepresentation," by Simon Rycroft; "Was the 1937 U.S. Housing Act a Pyrrhic Victory?," by D. Bradford Hunt.

In the UK there has been a serious attempt under the current government to foster policy making which is evidence-based and therefore more likely to deliver its intended results. In this article we consider the types of evidence and evidence making that might be required to build effective policy for addressing environmental inequalities. We draw on our experiences of developing an action research approach to policy making in the Environment Agency over a two year period from July 2002 to August 2004. We conclude that an action research approach is well suited to policy making within this new but rapidly growing area of sustainable development policy and urge further exploration of such approaches as a means of better connecting the relevant research, policy making and practitioner communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews trends in integrated appraisal with specific emphasis on work within UK Government. It shows how these newer approaches link with current appraisal methods. A two-stage approach is increasingly advocated: first, the potential impacts of the proposal under consideration are 'screened' against a range of economic, social and environmental criteria; second, there is more detailed appraisal where this is considered necessary using appropriate appraisal tools. A brief review is given of existing appraisal tools and their relationships to one another: appraisal should facilitate the use of different tools for different purposes. Finally, we consider the challenges and opportunities of integrated appraisal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implications for sustainability policy of environmental uncertainty and indeterminacy, and relates the associated problems with a conventional understanding of sustainable development to Hayek's critique of collective planning. It suggests that the appropriate recourse is not, however, a Hayekian endorsement of the free market, but an extension of his key idea of spontaneous order to characterise the learning society. The argument is illustrated by a practical application: the analysis of natural capital explored in this Special Issue is shown to be directly relevant to the improvement of the UK's headline sustainability indicators package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability requires the integration of social, environmental and economic concerns in international, national and local policy-making. One of the most powerful forces for sustainable development in practice was the Earth Summit of 1992, with its Agenda 21 and Local Agenda 21 (LA21). This latter agenda--the set of policies that aims to create the means to facilitate local sustainability--is particularly important for communities. Community development programmes that also include aspects of sustainable development would seem to embody the spirit of LA21. There are many such diverse schemes and what has emerged is a range of local initiatives that demonstrate parts of the sustainability concept but not a clear picture of sustainable development which covers all of its aspects. In order to examine this proposition further, an analysis of the community garden movement in the UK was carried out. Community gardens are open spaces managed and operated by members of the local community for a variety of purposes. In the UK many of these are to be found in inner city areas such as in Bradford, Leeds, Bristol and Sandwell. Their growth is marked by their own association--the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. The gardens have a variety of purposes: in conjunction with vegetation growing (either as landscape or for consumption), some schemes are experimental permaculture plots, others use organic methods and yet others are concerned with health, education and training issues. All appear to be based in a sense of community, with participation and involvement being particularly strong features. This sense of community participation and empowerment is what links examples of community gardening. The research reported here collates information gathered from the respondents of a questionnaire and from in-depth interviews, and draws out some of the similarities and themes that community gardens exhibit. From the results, it is suggested that the community garden movement could act as a model for the implementation of social, economic and environmental policies at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes stock of the housing and environment debate and argues that much of the optimism of the early 1990s has declined. Our own work is reviewed as an example of the limits of previous approaches to analysing contemporary housing and environmental issues. There appears to be a paradox in that housing organisations are now much more environmentally aware; many are developing green housing projects, and yet the development of theory has lagged behind. It is argued that the analysis of environmental issues in housing studies needs to be strongly linked to wider debates and cross-cutting themes such as social and economic sustainability, social integration and fair competition in the context of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reveals the failure of seven major British departments to include sustainable development in their 1998 Public Service Agreements (PSA) Quality of life indicators; Agency in charge of environmental issues; Relationship between PSA and the indicators.

Examines a case of local sustainability planning development in Great Britain. Emergence of a vision-driven super-network from its beginnings as an informal network space associated with the nature conservation forum; Characteristics and nature of the actor-network theory; Processes involved in the transformation into a vision-driven network.

The perceived threat of climate change has become an important global issue of the 1990s, with measures to limit its ramifications now commonly linked to mainstream policy agendas. Reducing carbon intensity can be achieved through both supply and end-use energy strategies, though improvements in end-use efficiency are said to offer the best opportunities both in terms of effective investment and producing results in the short to medium term. UK policy makers have stressed that energy use in the home is a pressing area to be addressed. This paper reviews the myriad of efficiency options available, assessing the effectiveness of national and supra-national strategies in encouraging technical efficiency and stimulating beneficial behaviourial changes. Findings indicate that the range of (and commitment to) current efficiency measures, reinforced by a lack of policy coherence, ensures that future prospects remain ambiguous. Initiatives, though conceived at a variety of spatial scales, tend to be implemented at a localized level and it is the actions (and interactions) of local actors that may well determine the shape and success of sustainability measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the implementation of Local Agenda 21 in Great Britain which aims to fulfil the requirements of Agenda 21 adopted at the Earth Summit in 1882. Environmental issues and socio-economic issues in sustainable development; Summary of issues to be addressed by local authorities; Need for integrated approach; Analysis of questionnaire responses.

Studies the Local Agenda 21 to promote sustainable development at the municipal level in Great Britain. Progress on strategy production and adoption; Case studies; Nature of claims made in relation to sustainability networks; Role of local government.

Focuses on the motivations and perceptions of participants in Local Agenda 21, the principal means of addressing sustainable development practice at the local government level in Great Britain. Placement of emphasis on the need for participatory processes and innovative policy options; Holistic approach to quality of life concerns; Legitimacy of local government as a key player in sustainable development.

Italy- Protected Areas and the 'Caracas Action Plan' (Andrca Sillloncini) 95UK- National Sustainable Development Plan 104 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on Great Britain's response to environmental management issues spelled out at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Concern for sustainable development by the United Nations Conference on Environmental and Development (UNCED); Elements of a Local Agenda 21 program.

The author reflects on the significance of environmental knowledge for Great Britain's economic sustainability. According to the author, environmental knowledge has been a major factor for the nation's economic development, as it triggers the creation of a better participatory environmental policy. Several types of knowledge can be combined to provide some form of unified basis for policy, planning, and decision making to proceed.

Reports on British government ministers' support of a code that aims to increase the number of environmentally friendly buildings in Great Britain's towns and cities. Focus on the Code for Sustainable Buildings, which is the centerpiece of a report from the Sustainable Buildings Task Group; Call for government and industry to lead the way in raising the quality and sustainability of new and refurbished buildings; Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's prediction that high quality buildings will be paramount to creating places where people want to live and work.