Its purpose is to explore the conditions and actions that might either assist or block moves to sustainable urban development. The report is intended to assist planners in the land use and transport fields, and urban policy developers. Integrated planning and sustainable development are part of the current jargon in planning and government policy. The term integrated planning is commonly taken to mean the integration of land use and transport planning. This review concludes that a more holistic understanding of integrated planning is required if real progress towards sustainability is to be made.
Sustainability means, literally, able to be continued without running down.
In practical ecological terms, it refers to attempts to reduce the resource depletion and environmental impacts of an activity. However, it has also taken on more socio-political meanings that relate to economic viability and quality of life. It is corrective action that requires and responds to planning, rather than the elusive state of sustainable development per se. However, the real challenge is to find effective processes to reach the ultimate outcome of sustainability. In addition, indicators of sustainability are still debated and are not widely reported.