Two decades after the Brundtland Commission's Report "Our Common Future" adopted the concept of 'sustainable development', this book provides a renewal of the concept exploring the potential for new practices and fields for those involved in sustainability activity. The book addresses a number of themes concerning firstly, the provision of a 'next generation perspective', which was a central, and still unresolved, notion of the original Brundtland definition and, secondly the provision of new milestones for policy and research that can expand the discussion on this second generation concept on sustainability.
The material dealt with in the book offers a wide variety of perspectives on sustainability and reflects the importance of interdisciplinary and transdiciplinary work in the field. Suggesting targets for future analytical and political efforts in achieving global sustainability, this editors offer new analytical opportunities for holistic politics and research at a general and sector level.
Preface; Introduction - a new agenda for sustainability, The Editors; Part I Challenging the Concept of Sustainable development: Sustainable rhythms: when society meets nature, Helge Hvid; A record on modernity, rationality and sustainability, Bo Elling; Sustainability as a tug of war between ecological optimalisation and social conflict solution, Jesper Brandt; Sustainability, biodiversity and the ethical aspects of the deliberate release of GMOs, Peder Agger and Erling Jelsoe.; Part II Sustainability in Relation to political and Institutional Actions and Activities: Sustainable transition of socio-technical systems in a governance perspective, Ole Erik Hansen, Bent Sondergaard and Jens Staerdahl; On a sustainable chemical policy - the significance of risk assessment and REACH, Jette Rank, Kristian Syberg and Lars Carlsen; Sustainability in agriculture and food production, Erling Jelsoe and Bente Kjaergaard; Sustainable development, capabilities and the missing case of mental health, Andrew Crabtree; Economic analyses of sustainable development, Anders Chr Hansen.; Part III Sustainability in an Everyday Life Perspective: Local experimentation and deliberation for sustainable development - Local Agenda 21 governance, Jesper Holm; Democracy and sustainability - a lesson learned from modern nature conservation, Laura Tolnov Clausen, Hans Peter Hansen and Esben Tind; Health, food and sustainability, Kirsten Bransholm Pedersen and Birgit Land; Linking mobility, democracy and sustainability in an inclusive approach to transport, Maria Figueroa; Conclusions and perspectives for research and political practice, The Editors; Index.
Kurt Aagaard Nielsen is Professor all in the Department of Environment, Society and Spatial Change at Roskilde University, Denmark; Bo Elling is Associate Professor, Erling Jelsoe is Associate Professor, Maria Figueroa is Researchers and Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Transport at the Technical University of Denmark.