Sustainability and Sustainable Development: An Introduction

The challenge in teaching an introductory course on sustainability is there are many ways to teach it, and many issues to cover. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals offer a cohesive and interconnected set of topics to help address this problem – indeed the SDGs are now the guiding framework for planning and implementing sustainability through 2030. They are the focus of international development efforts, and the lingua franca of sustainability as a field of study, the international consensus on “what is sustainability?” As such, the UN SDGs present an ideal framework for an introductory level textbook because taken together, they integrate the “Three Es”―environment, economic development, and equity―that are the core definition of sustainability.

This book introduces students to sustainability structured around the 17 UN SDGs. Through a global perspective, with attention given equally to how sustainability challenges the highest income countries of the Global North, as well as to the moderate- and low-income countries of the Global South, Benton-Short synthesizes basic environmental science, policy, and interdisciplinary perspectives while investigating key challenges to developing a more sustainable future through the SDG framework.

Readers will easily tackle this complex set of topics through an accessible writing style, comprehensive scholarship, and diverse perspectives. Guided by a lush art program, complete with numerous maps, figures, and photos to enliven the presentation, students will develop a greater understanding of the important trends in sustainability in the twenty-first century. The broad arguments highlighted through numerous case studies and boxes prepare global citizens to grapple with the environmental, social, economic, and political challenges that face our collective future.

Features of this exciting, brand-new text include:

• Chapter opening learning objectives to guide students’ course goals
• Helpful study aids such as key terms―bolded in the text and compiled both at the end of each chapter and in a comprehensive glossary
• End-of-chapter questions for discussion and activities to promote active learning
• A stunning art program, with detailed maps, figures, tables, and photos, to engage students as visual learners
• Critical Perspectives and Expert Voice boxes to present the diverse perspectives in sustainability
• Interconnections boxes to help students tie together ideas across the issues
• Key Terms and Concepts and Understanding the Issue boxes to go in-depth on important topics
• Making Progress and Solutions boxes that show students hopeful trends toward seemingly intractable problems
• SDGs and the Law boxes that provide a legal and governance context.