The decision-maker, on the other hand, may simply be unable to determine what the next steps ought to be and, consequently, takes no action on critical issues. Strengthening of management and of public participation processes in decision-making are the two principles that should undergird all human settlements and shelter development. From these will flow and better directed decision-making and more effective programmes for implementing decisions. A note on sustainability 1. With regard to human settlements, sustainability refers mainly to sustainability of the natural environment, within which human life may flourish or fade.
Sustainability implies perpetuation.
Humans are both economically and culturally adaptable, leaving behind old methods of production when economies fail and old habits and traditions when societies fail. When the environment fails, however, there is diminished possibility for human economic and social adaptation. Human history argues against the practicability, and even the desirability, of economic and social perpetuation and for the necessity of environmental sustainability. This is not to ignore social and economic needs. By equating social and economic sustainability with environmental or ecological sustainability, however, the concepts are politicized, making it possible for dominant interest groups to argue that what exists is better than what ought to exist.