Buzzwords and Fuzzwords: Deconstructing Development Discourse

There are sustainable cities, economics, construction, destruction, investing, operation, and, inevitably, consultants – “There is nothing, it seems, that cannot be called ‘sustainable’”.  A correct understanding of the term is important in the processes of policy-making and socioeconomic development as it has become a boundary term used for identification.  Its widespread misuse to further the political and financial objectives of the counterproductive and unsustainable development of our communities and societies across the world has become a major concern to all socioeconomic stakeholders. Concern about the misuse of the term was being voiced well before this article's appearance in 2007.