limitations of fertile land, and, therefore, his theory of population may be considered
an argument about sustainability. In fact, this Malthusian theory crops up frequently
in contemporary arguments concerning sustainability. For instance, to use solar
energy through photosynthesis as an example, the Earth’s uptake over the course
of a year, which is not used to sustain the life of plants themselves is referred to as net
primary production (NPP). The NPP directly consumed by human beings and
domestic animals (as food, feed, and timber) accounts for 4% of the amount
generated on land and rises to 2% on the oceans. Among the approximately
30 million species of animals on Earth, the amount consumed by humans alone
therefore is disproportionately large. In other words, from the viewpoint of Earth’s
carrying capacity, it is believed that perhaps the entire planet and, in fact, all
countries are already overpopulated (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1990). From a historical
perspective, there are also those who use the population dynamic model based on
Malthus’s model as an integral aspect of a model to attempt to explain the economic
rise and fall of Easter Island from the viewpoint of improvement in economic
productivity, population dynamics, and exploitation of environmental resources
(Brander and Taylor 1998).
Next, I would like to review the argument of the stationary state of John Stuart
Mill (Mill 2008). Mill argued that a nongrowth orientation was essential for the
protection of vital areas of the natural environment. This suggests that environmental
limitations clearly include renunciation of economic growth in certain areas. Along a
similar vein is Boulding’s “Spaceship Earth” argument (Boulding 2008). Boulding
argued that the growth of economic systems was limited by environmental capacity
in terms of both input (material and energy) and output (waste). Daly presents a
similar argument in his steady-state economic system (Daly 2008) by describing a
concept of entropy in material and energy, and restrictions on economic scale and
growth that would follow. Amid these discussions, one argument that had impact
was Meadows’s argument on the limits to growth (Meadows et al. 1972, 2004).
Meadows asserts that our systems have now reached the stage where we will begin to
experience retaliatory effects of our excessive pursuit of economic and social
prosperity.
As the above arguments attest, discussions on sustainable development have for
the most part been based on the conflict between economics and the environment.
Sustainable development is about development with the expectation of continuing to
meet the needs of human beings and improving quality of life based on the premise
that existing ecosystems and species can continue to reproduce themselves (Allen
1980). This concept has a hierarchical structure that considers economic and social
benefits with a clear awareness of the limitations of environmental aspects and shares
common aspects with the concept of city sustainability presented in this chapter.
However, it should be noted that Allen’s definition does not include a concept for
ensuring fairness between generations or within a generation. A generally more
renowned concept of sustainable development is detailed in the Brundtland Report,
which asserts that sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs (WCED 1987). As a concept, it is relatively high in abstraction
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K. Mori
an argument about sustainability. In fact, this Malthusian theory crops up frequently
in contemporary arguments concerning sustainability. For instance, to use solar
energy through photosynthesis as an example, the Earth’s uptake over the course
of a year, which is not used to sustain the life of plants themselves is referred to as net
primary production (NPP). The NPP directly consumed by human beings and
domestic animals (as food, feed, and timber) accounts for 4% of the amount
generated on land and rises to 2% on the oceans. Among the approximately
30 million species of animals on Earth, the amount consumed by humans alone
therefore is disproportionately large. In other words, from the viewpoint of Earth’s
carrying capacity, it is believed that perhaps the entire planet and, in fact, all
countries are already overpopulated (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1990). From a historical
perspective, there are also those who use the population dynamic model based on
Malthus’s model as an integral aspect of a model to attempt to explain the economic
rise and fall of Easter Island from the viewpoint of improvement in economic
productivity, population dynamics, and exploitation of environmental resources
(Brander and Taylor 1998).
Next, I would like to review the argument of the stationary state of John Stuart
Mill (Mill 2008). Mill argued that a nongrowth orientation was essential for the
protection of vital areas of the natural environment. This suggests that environmental
limitations clearly include renunciation of economic growth in certain areas. Along a
similar vein is Boulding’s “Spaceship Earth” argument (Boulding 2008). Boulding
argued that the growth of economic systems was limited by environmental capacity
in terms of both input (material and energy) and output (waste). Daly presents a
similar argument in his steady-state economic system (Daly 2008) by describing a
concept of entropy in material and energy, and restrictions on economic scale and
growth that would follow. Amid these discussions, one argument that had impact
was Meadows’s argument on the limits to growth (Meadows et al. 1972, 2004).
Meadows asserts that our systems have now reached the stage where we will begin to
experience retaliatory effects of our excessive pursuit of economic and social
prosperity.
As the above arguments attest, discussions on sustainable development have for
the most part been based on the conflict between economics and the environment.
Sustainable development is about development with the expectation of continuing to
meet the needs of human beings and improving quality of life based on the premise
that existing ecosystems and species can continue to reproduce themselves (Allen
1980). This concept has a hierarchical structure that considers economic and social
benefits with a clear awareness of the limitations of environmental aspects and shares
common aspects with the concept of city sustainability presented in this chapter.
However, it should be noted that Allen’s definition does not include a concept for
ensuring fairness between generations or within a generation. A generally more
renowned concept of sustainable development is detailed in the Brundtland Report,
which asserts that sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs (WCED 1987). As a concept, it is relatively high in abstraction
166
K. Mori