Key factors influencing Local Agenda 21 planning approaches

Abstract

Local Agenda 21 as an instrument for sustainable human development at local level is more than fifteen years old. Its original environmental bias has transformed into a multidimensional conception including social and economic change with strong influences on the political realm. Experience shows that many Local Agenda 21 processes do not obtain the expected outcomes due to many external and internal factors that make human sustainable development difficult to materialise at the local level. This paper deals with the issue of identifying the endogenous and exogenous variables that determine the development of Local Agenda 21 processes and set the differences among contexts. The emphasis is placed on methodological approaches to Local Agenda 21 planning and management of the process from a governance perspective. These factors can be appropriated for describing the different elements of Local Agenda 21 activities and their relation to long-term development in a city. Planning and management approaches underpinning Local Agenda 21 can thus be assessed in relation to their contribution to human sustainable development. © 2009 WIT Press.