Assessing Sustainable Development: what kind of sustainability for what kind of development?

Abstract

Introducing sustainable development terminology into planning processes raises expectations of an improved ability to address critical strategic issues through cross-sector approaches. Questions arising from this assumption include: What does the new regime allow that the previous one, as represented in particular by the Resource Management Act 1991, did not? What are the key issues? And how are ecological, economic and social values weighted against each other?