Reconsidering the way we live

The mutation of our daily environment, the evolution of our individual behaviour... How does sustainable development affect our lifestyles?

New urbanisation

Although the Agenda 21 concept appeared in 1992 (Rio Summit), it was in 1994 that cities were considered to be the ideal scale for Sustainable Development action (Aalborg Charter). In Europe, in 2007, the Leipzig Charter provided the basis for a common policy on urban development. Even though no precise definition exists, we can simply state that a "sustainable city" is a city that promotes sustainable lifestyles: the approach cannot be successful without the commitment of its inhabitants and its visitors. Here, the state, local authorities, businesses, NGOs and unions are working together on a collaborative project.

Designing a sustainable city isn't easy: the city of tomorrow cannot be thought of as a target that's set 20 or 30 years in the future, starting from scratch, like some of the "new towns" that were created in the past. It is estimated that 85% of housing in 2050 already exists today. The city of tomorrow therefore is already part of a pre-existing context and it is evolving gradually. Furthermore, all sizes of cities need to be considered, not just megalopolises: more than half of the population lives in cities containing less than 500,000 inhabitants. Lastly, the sustainable city does not stop at the boundaries of the town: it also includes visitors from outside.

Of course, a sustainable city must take into account environmental problems: climate change, energy consumption and the preservation of both resources and environments. However, a technical and independent answer to each of these items would be insufficient: the sustainable city must, first and foremost, lead to a comprehensive design, so as to optimise the potential of the available urban space. Beyond the environmental component, the design of the city must reinforce social cohesion as well as solidarity between both regions and generations. With this objective in mind, each urban planning project must be developed while applying several principles: systematically seeking social and functional diversity; breaking down barriers, while avoiding urban deserts as well as the road logic that isolates neighbourhoods and repels pedestrians; keeping in mind the long term, preserving historical sites while planning for scalability in the future; increasing the population density, in order to limit infrastructure requirements (roads...) and the costs of urban management, as well as favour the close proximity of both shops and services; providing adapted public transport methods, which allow a maximum number of users to be mobile. This comprehensive and coherent design facilitates the integration of technical solutions that preserve the environment: low-energy housing, water networks, waste management... For inhabitants, this design fosters the sense of community, a crucial prerequisite for citizen behaviour.

Towards responsible consumption

Mass consumption has significantly modified our society, leading to an unprecedented impact on our environment, natural resources and populations. The primary cause is waste: 90% of materials used during the production process are wasted ⁽¹⁾, only 10% are found in the finished product. This has gradually given way to the concept of "ecological modernisation" and "environmental technology": what if technical progress was enough to solve environmental problems? As a result, innovative products are now appearing, which are safer on the environment and more ethical.

Meanwhile, recent years have seen the emergence of consumption that takes the environment into account, and political consumption as well ^{(2 ; 3)}. It doesn't question the capitalist structure of society; instead, it criticises it or attempts to change it through its weight on the market: choosing an eco-designed or fair trade product, buying local, consuming organic foods, or not consuming (boycott) are becoming forms of citizen action. The term "consum'action" is now being used. More and more consumers are saying that they are aware of the social and environmental qualities of products. However, the identification of these criteria on labels is limited and barely regulated, and the evolution of consumption patterns is very slow. Moreover, "virtuous consumption" is largely offset by the increased number of products that are available.

For many, environmental technologies cannot be avoided, but they insufficient given the magnitude of changes required to make our consumption sustainable. In addition, questioning our consumer society implies pondering the notion of economic growth to which it is closely linked. The circle of economic growth is not always virtuous: by "creating wealth", consumerism also leads to serious harm (pollution of drinking water for example). However, such damage leads to new markets (water filtering carafes, mineral water), which in turn create growth! A company that would have avoided these problems would have probably contributed to a lower GNP... Another shortcoming of a model based on economic growth: an entire series of activities - domestic work, volunteer work, public interest work and "non-productive" public service - are not accounted for although they are unquestionably useful. In sum, the consumer society can, on one hand, value non-productive work and, on the other hand, ignore work that is vital for society. These observations should lead our society to reconsider how we account for the wealth that is "created" by mankind. They also incite us to individually question our way of life: which purchases are essential? Among our activities, which ones bring real progress to our society?

Preserving resources, managing our waste, conserving nature

In all activity sectors and in our lifestyles, the conclusion is the same: it's time for moderation. In particular, the use of natural resources should be kept at a minimum: the usefulness of each resource extraction must be assessed and the least predatory solutions should be favoured.

The waste issue can be approached in the same way: all waste comes from natural resources. As such, the production of unnecessary waste is not satisfactory. Our lifestyles should be reconsidered in order to aim for full use of our waste: reuse, recycling, composting and combustion to create energy. The accumulation and the burial of thousands of tons of waste can no longer be tolerated. Moreover, the costs of waste reprocessing must be internalised, which means that they should be integrated into the costs of the activities that create them.

These resource management reflexes gradually reconnect Mankind with Nature, and they naturally lead to its protection. Because preservation of the environment that rests solely on the establishment of national parks and the restoration of wildlife areas by NGOs is not enough. The protection of nature must be based on the principle of responsibility: each human activity must limit its impact, and each impact should be compensated for.

Written by Florent Planas for "One year for the Planet" (translated by Anyword).

Find out more…

1. Norman Myers, Jennifer Kent, The New Consumers : the Influence of Affluence on the Environment (Island Press, 2004)
2. Dominique Desjeux, La consommation (Presses Universitaires de France, 2006)
3. Franck Delpal, Georges Hatchuel, Consommation et modes de vie (Credoc, 2007)
4. To better understand sustainable cities, see French Sustainable Development Department’s website: www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/-Villes-et-territoires-durables-.html
5. To better understand consumer systems and the issues surrounding them, please take a look at the reports put together by Edwin Zaccaï and Isabelle Haynes, La société de consommation face aux défis écologiques (La documentation Française, 2008).