Democratic Sustainability in a New Era of Localism. By John Stanton

Abstract

This book considers the importance of democratic principles in tackling the complex problems arising from attempts to create sustainable communities in Britain. The ‘sustainable communities’ agenda recognises that although achieving sustainable development will require global agreement, local action will be vital in achieving this aim. It is generally believed that accountability and citizen participation can help to provide solutions to the problems of these communities, but this book seeks to prove this within a theoretical framework based on a model of ‘local sustainability’. The context for this investigation is referred to as ‘localism’ in England and focuses on two recent programmes for neighbourhood action—Labour’s New Deal for Communities programme and the Coalition Government’s Neighbourhood Planning scheme. The book begins by discussing the definition of sustainability with reference to the work of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) and the agreements stemming from the UN Conference on Environment and Development, in 1992. It then outlines the response to these agreements in the UK at both national and local level. From this discussion, the first chapter concludes by devising a model of ‘local sustainability’ that is used as a mode of analysis throughout. The model of ‘local sustainability’ is based on a three pronged approach that includes: the ‘needs of the people’; ‘sustainability’—focusing on the longevity of projects and strategies; and the ‘three pillar approach’—referring to environmental, social and economic development. This is rooted in an analysis of the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development 2005, as inspired by the Brundtland definition of sustainable development and the ‘three pillar’ approach of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for Sustainable Development (agreed at the UN Conference on Environment and Development, in 2012). Having established the model of local sustainability, the book proceeds to detail the notion of accountability and citizen participation and how they relate to ‘local sustainability’, before examining how these principles have underlined the processes of local government reform in recent times. Most significant, is Chapter 5 which contrasts community-led approaches to neighbourhood action under the Labour and Coalition Government administrations.