Sustainability is a tool that has been used by governments and developers to promote green initiatives in cities. Growing out of the promotion of sustainable development for developing countries, sustainability emerged as a global proposal at the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit. In theory, sustainability is achievable through a balance of three pillars - economy, environment and social equity. However, in practice it still remains a challenge. The social equity portion of sustainability is concerned with providing local communities ability to participate in decision-making as well as benefit from development projects. Public participation aims to ensure that local concerns and needs are met.