IN MY EXPERIENCE there are two kinds of Green people. There are philanthropists (lovers of humankind), who see the revolution in communications and the collapse of the city economy as the opportunity for the greening of the dense Victorian city. And there are the misanthropists (haters of humanity), who want to pull up the drawbridge to exclude those urban hordes from "rural" England, which they quaintly equate with a "natural" environment. They want to keep those beastly city-dwellers in the urban ghetto. The rich, of course, know the advantages of both environments and have a country seat and a pad in town.

I am happy to say that the authors of this report (the final text was written by John Jopling and Herbert Girardet) are among the philanthropists. They do not demand policies of town- cramming to fill up the empty spaces in the city. They want instead the greening of the city with tree-planting, allotments and gardens. They want an integrated public transport policy and the extension of car-free zones. They want to see cycling as the dominant local form of transport, they want self-build and dweller-controlled housing, small industry, small schools, local composting of sewage, solar power generation, combined heat and power schemes, the intelligent use of water, including use of London's waterways.

And a series of boxed items from other cities around the world is used to indicate that some city, somewhere, is trying out each of the long series of endeavours to make cities sustainable.

In 1992 the leaders of over 150 governments travelled to Rio de Janeiro for the Earth Summit. Plenty of street-children were quietly eliminated in preparation for the assembly. One thing that emerged from their deliberations was known as Agenda 21, calling for local authorities to "play a vital role in educating, mobilizing and responding to the public to promote sustainable development." Its Chapter 28 calls for each local authority to "enter into a dialogue with its citizens, local organizations and private enterprises and adopt a Local Agenda 21."

This aspiration, signed by the British government, has been a useful weapon for environmental campaigners, and for their allies within local government, in pressing for the changes that the authors of this report want to see. They argue that "Since the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986, London has been governed directly from Westminster through the 'Government Office for London', by London Borough councils hamstrung by the powerlessness of an increasingly sidelined UK local government and by an assortment of unelected quangos."

And they add that one of the problems of the London Boroughs is that they have little sense of identity. "They were formed by amalgamating smaller boroughs: their size is more appropriate for efficient service delivery than for effective democratic control and accountability." Consequently, the report wants a new directly elected authority for London and "a high profile London Citizens Forum, so that Londoners can keep sustainable development at the top of the city's agenda," as well as smaller, more responsive boroughs.

There is a great deal more to be said about the question of whether Green people should get involved in recommending administrative structures, or whether, as a busy minority of activists, they should be content with the role of lobbying for action towards sustainability. An informed and aware public is the first essential in the hard task of making cities sustainable, and
this report is an excellent step along that road.

End

Colin Ward is a veteran environmental writer. His 1989 book Welcome, Thinner City is still available for £1.75 from Freedom Book- shop, 84b Whitechapel High Street, London El 7QX.