Culture, the fourth pillar of sustainability

Title: Culture, the fourth pillar of sustainability

Author: Agenda 21 for culture

Year: n/a

Type of Resource: Bibliographic references

Copyright: © Agenda 21 for culture. Open-access with attribution—see agenda21culture.net.

Short Description:
The concept of sustainable development traditionally includes three pillars: economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental balance. However, since the early 2000s, there has been growing recognition that these pillars no longer fully represent the complexities of global societies. As a result, the addition of a cultural dimension to sustainable development has been proposed.

In 2010, the Executive Bureau of UCLG endorsed the policy statement “Culture is the Fourth Pillar of Sustainable Development” at the 3rd World Congress of UCLG in Mexico City. This statement calls on cities and governments to develop cultural policies and integrate culture into all public policies. Rather than placing culture in a hierarchical structure, the document advocates for culture as an essential, interconnected pillar of sustainable development, equal in importance to the other three.

External Link: https://www.agenda21culture.net/sites/default/files/files/documents/en/zz_culture4pillarsd_eng.pdf