sustainable and integrated development—a critical analysis可持续发展和综合开发,批判性分析.pdf

Sustainability 2012, 4, 141-153; doi:10.3390/su4010141 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article Sustainable and Integrated Development—A Critical Analysis Christopher J. Koroneos * and Dimitri Rokos Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Program ‘Environment and Development’, School of Rural and Surveying Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Iroon Polytecniou 9, Zografou 157 80, Athens, Greece; E-Mail: drdrok@central.ntua.gr * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: koroneos@chemeng.ntua.gr; Tel.: +30-210-7723085; Fax: +30-210-7723085. Received: 12 September 2011; in revised form: 2 January 2012 / Accepted: 3 January 2012 / Published: 12 January 2012 Abstract: The words “Sustainable Development” are frequently used by very lightly, to the extent that they have lost their meaning. There is a presumption that for any perspective analysis or any development proposal, these two words are the most appropriate. Sustainability has been incorporated in the objectives of many studies. The historical model of industrialized societies in the 19th and 20th centuries served as the central notion of what constitutes development in both the cost-effectiveness and equity perspectives. According to some analysts, this path represents the model for global prosperity. However, a number of growing parallel literatures recognize the importance of diverse development pathways in achieving an environmentally and socio-economic