Assessment terms for local sustainability management

After the Conference for Environment in Stockholm in 1972 and after the release in
the same year of the first report to the Club of Rome, „The Limits to Growth“, was
understood that the wish of increasing our life quality by using new technological
applications could have beside desired effects, also undesired ones. Worldwide
began debates on scientific, political and social levels in order to find solutions for
these problems. The concept of sustainable development, defined for the first time
1987 in the Brundtland Report, largely discussed 1992 during the so-called “Rio”-
Conference as well as 2012 during the “Rio+20”- Conference, was worldwide
accepted as a possible solution for the global complex ecological, economic and
social problems. On a local level best strategies have to be found for developing
sustainable cities as well as most appropriate assessment terms. Newly debated
strategies for sustainable urban development have at their base the concept of
"Decoupling” firstly developed 2013 in the Club of Rome. Using new transportation
possibilities, other than cars as well as rehabilitating residential urban buildings and
constructing green buildings are as well in the discussions. These aspects are related
to mindset changes and to a new type of education of the young generation, a socalled Holistic Education for Sustainable Development. Presently it is still not very
clear what a sustainable city should be and what components should be included,
getting a ”general methodology” for sustainable cities represents a big progress in
this field.