Anyone who is somewhat familiar with current issues in planning has mostlikely heard of UN Agenda 21, something most often brought to discussion by NIMBYists and the right wing skeptic who fear a takeover of the United States by the UN or a world government conspiracy.
But what actually is it? Is it a set of binding guidelines that member nations are required to follow, or is it simply the recognition of a problem?
The Agenda is composed of 27 principles which highlight various economic and environmental goals which communities should strive for in order to be considered “sustainable”. Special attention is paid to developing countries and to womens' rights. The Agenda is silent on enforcement of these issues, and states that it is the right of nations to exploit their natural resources at will.
Thus, it is simply the recognition of the problem of development on the environment, much the same way that warning labels on packs of cigarettes and bottles of alcohol are recognitions of the health problems they cause.
However, the Agenda promotes a skewed view of the issue of urban development. The word “environment” is mentioned forty times throughout the course of the article, whereas the word “economic” is only mentioned four times. Thus, the Agenda promotes the idea of New Urbanism from the typical environmentalist perspective, rather than taking a broader, all inclusive view and including economic and social arguments.
This perspective serves to isolate people of other political views who would otherwise support many issues raised for New Urbanism, as stated in an earlier post.
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