Roman Empire Sustainable Development Essay

The concept of sustainability can be attributed to the Roman Empire development. The Romans focused on the development of cities and settlements in a planned and proper way, with a vision of how future expansion would be conducted (Swarbrooke, 2000). Early traditional agricultural practices were also based on the principles of sustainability in some contexts. The traditional farm land was managed to preserve the land from one season to the next (Swarbrooke, 2000). The industrial revolution changed these ideas and concepts. The industrial revolution made urbanization of larger areas and enhanced more pressure on the natural environment and flora and funa (Murphy, 1985; Phillis & Andriantiatsaholiniaina, 2001). The perceived environmental problems and universal response in the 1960’s and 1970’s was the root of the current concept of sustainable

Accoding to them the resources of the world were limited and that the rise in population and development would experience serious constraints by the year 2000 unless changes were made (Ehrlich, 1968; Meadows & Meadows, 1972 as cited by Murphy 1998). The concept of sustainability was formalized in 1987 with the publishing of Our Common Future, also known as the Brunndtaland Report, by the World Commission on the Environment and Development (WCED). Sustainable development was defined in this report as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (p. 43). Murphy (1998) identified 14 major components of sustainable development based on his interpretation of Our Common Future. A summary of these components has three general concepts that are environmental concepts, social concepts, and economic concepts. From these concepts one general goal for sustainable development can be