This book is about cities as engines of consumption of the world's environment, and the spread of policies to reduce their impact. It looks at these issues by examining the impact of the Rio Declaration and assesses the extent to which it has made a difference. Consuming Cities examines this impact using case studies from around the world including: the USA, Japan, Germany, the UK, China, India, Sweden, Poland, Australia and Indonesia The contributors all have direct experience of the urban environment and urban policies in the countries on which they write and offer an authoritative commentary which brings the urban 'consumption' dimension of sustainable development into focus.

This book is about cities as engines of consumption of the world's environment, and the spread of policies to reduce their impact. It looks at these issues by examining the impact of the Rio Declaration and assesses the extent to which it has made a difference.
Consuming Cities examines this impact using three categories of countries for examples: firstly four countries from the world's core economies - the USA, Japan, Germany and Britain; secondly the experience of the 'giant' states of China and India; finally, the contributors consider the case of smaller countries by including two pairs of countries from the North and the SOuth: Sweden and Poland, Australia and Indonesia where each pair includes one 'developed' and one 'developing' country.
The contributors all have direct experience of the urban environment and urban policies in the countries on which they write and offer an authoritative commentry which serves to bring the urban 'consumption' dimension of ecologically sustainable development to sharper focus, to critically evaluate hthe success of the Rio Declaration and to consider the wider question of global governance for the ecological regulation of cities.