Sustainable development is a term that can mean different things.
The topic encompasses not just issues of land use and urban sprawl, but also social questions such as prosperity and poverty. It is the hot new phrase among planners, corporate publicists and politicos. Programs to help make America sustainable are a major plank in the political platform of Vice President Al Gore in the race to be the next president. Programs include rebuilding on old factory sites, turning abandoned rails into trails and preserving rivers. A fancy party at the Henry Ford Museum's Lovett Hall featuring William Clay Ford Jr., Congressman John Dingell and Dearborn Mayor Michael Guido.