
The Imperatives of Sustainable Development
Needs, Justice, Limits
Routledge (Publisher)
2nd Edition
Will be published approx. on 16. February 2026
Book
Hardback
330 pages
978-1-032-99337-9 (ISBN)
Description
Taking the ethical foundations from the seminal UN Report (1987) Our Common Future, this revised and updated second edition builds a model that emphasizes three equally important moral imperatives - satisfying human needs, ensuring social justice, and respecting environmental limits.
The model presented identifies sustainability themes and assigns thresholds to them, defining the space within which sustainable development can be achieved wherein it recognises that different countries face different challenges and must follow different pathways. This revised edition has been brought up to date throughout and contains three new chapters exploring the history of the concept, including the status of the UN SDGs, competing indicators and models of sustainable development, and an overview of global and local changes in the six sustainability themes. It is divided into four parts, each contributing to a deeper understanding of what sustainable development is and what is required to achieve it, including an introduction to key arguments, theoretical foundations and competing models, new empirical knowledge discussing how different countries position themselves in relation to sustainable development, and future directions, offering perspectives on how it can be achieved locally and globally.
Building on the extensive literature exploring needs, equity, justice, environmental science, ecology, and economics, this book will be essential reading for everyone interested in the future of sustainable development and in the complex environmental and social issues involved.
The model presented identifies sustainability themes and assigns thresholds to them, defining the space within which sustainable development can be achieved wherein it recognises that different countries face different challenges and must follow different pathways. This revised edition has been brought up to date throughout and contains three new chapters exploring the history of the concept, including the status of the UN SDGs, competing indicators and models of sustainable development, and an overview of global and local changes in the six sustainability themes. It is divided into four parts, each contributing to a deeper understanding of what sustainable development is and what is required to achieve it, including an introduction to key arguments, theoretical foundations and competing models, new empirical knowledge discussing how different countries position themselves in relation to sustainable development, and future directions, offering perspectives on how it can be achieved locally and globally.
Building on the extensive literature exploring needs, equity, justice, environmental science, ecology, and economics, this book will be essential reading for everyone interested in the future of sustainable development and in the complex environmental and social issues involved.
More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Postgraduate, Professional Practice & Development, and Undergraduate Advanced
Illustrations
10 s/w Tabellen, 24 s/w Zeichnungen, 24 s/w Abbildungen
10 Tables, black and white; 24 Line drawings, black and white; 24 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
737 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-99337-9 (9781032993379)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Erling Holden | Kristin Linnerud | David Banister
The Imperatives of Sustainable Development
Needs, Justice, Limits
Book
approx. 02/2026
2nd Edition
Routledge
€65.20
Not yet published

Erling Holden | Kristin Linnerud | David Banister
The Imperatives of Sustainable Development
Needs, Justice, Limits
E-Book
02/2026
2nd Edition
Routledge
€55.49
Available for download

Erling Holden | Kristin Linnerud | David Banister
The Imperatives of Sustainable Development
Needs, Justice, Limits
E-Book
02/2026
2nd Edition
Routledge
€55.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Erling Holden | Kristin Linnerud | David Banister
The Imperatives of Sustainable Development
Needs, Justice, Limits
Book
09/2017
1st Edition
Routledge
€232.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Persons
Erling Holden: Professor in Renewable Energy at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management; and Adjunct Professor at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
David Banister: Professor Emeritus of Transport Studies and Senior Research Fellow at St Anne's College, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK
Kristin Linnerud: Professor in Renewable Energy at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management; and Adjunct Professor at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
David Banister: Professor Emeritus of Transport Studies and Senior Research Fellow at St Anne's College, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK
Kristin Linnerud: Professor in Renewable Energy at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management; and Adjunct Professor at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Content
Part I: The Idea
? Chapter 1: The moral imperatives of sustainable development
? Chapter 2: A Brief History of Sustainable Development
Part II: The Theories
? Chapter 3: Satisfying human needs
? Chapter 4: Ensuring social justice
? Chapter 5: Respecting environmental limits
Part III: The Model
? Chapter 6: A normative model of sustainable development
? Chapter 7: Indicators and thresholds
? Chapter 8: The sustainable development gaps
? Chapter 9: Models for sustainable development
Part IV: The Implications
? Chapter 10: Progress towards sustainable development
? Chapter 11: Local sustainable development: Lost in translation?
? Chapter 12: Global sustainable development: The next steps
? Chapter 1: The moral imperatives of sustainable development
? Chapter 2: A Brief History of Sustainable Development
Part II: The Theories
? Chapter 3: Satisfying human needs
? Chapter 4: Ensuring social justice
? Chapter 5: Respecting environmental limits
Part III: The Model
? Chapter 6: A normative model of sustainable development
? Chapter 7: Indicators and thresholds
? Chapter 8: The sustainable development gaps
? Chapter 9: Models for sustainable development
Part IV: The Implications
? Chapter 10: Progress towards sustainable development
? Chapter 11: Local sustainable development: Lost in translation?
? Chapter 12: Global sustainable development: The next steps