Do you think that the lifestyle of the inhabitants of your town or city reflects behavior that is in line with the concept of sustainable development? In your opinion, what should be improved?

Sourav Deshwal, New Delhi, India,

MIM Applicant, 2013

Sustainable DevelopmentEfficient Achievement with minimum wastage of resources.

Understanding the concept of sustainable development can lead to efficient city and create least amount of wastage.

Clean, green and efficient means of development is a better place to live and improve the lifestyle of the inhabitants.

Better, planned sustainable development would cause less global warming, less pollution and better place to breath.

Lifestyle of the Inhabitants-Geert Hofstede 5 Traits of Indian Culture-

Sustainable development can be directly correlated to cultural dimensions. Firstly understanding the personality traits of the people is vital.

PDI- Power Distance

IDV- Individuality

MAS- Masculinity/Feminity

UAI-Uncertainty Avoidance

LTO- Long Term Orientation

Geert Hofstede, 2013

An understanding of the culture can directly leads to the sustainable development. The Geert Hofstede model helps to understand more about the people in India and

their behavior which can be correlated to the sustained development. Culture sensitive approaches have demonstrated concretely how can one address both

the economic and human rights dimensions off poverty at the same time. Some of the key factors that affect the sustainable development are- Education Cultural Conflict Corruption

Education-

The real problem arises in creating awareness with the inhabitants of the city and educating them for better way of lifestyle or standard of living. Till now more then 30% of the individual are below poverty line which leads to child labour and other less ethical means of living.

Educating these individual is a barrier as its hard to convince them to make them use to sustainable development means because factors such as money and convenience is an issue. Plus its

to make them come out of their comfort zone to take some initiative for better well being of the city.

Cultural Conflict-

India being a land of many cultural heritage sometimes creates and issue towards the sustainable development. With communities disagreeing on developments due to their religious views.

Corruption-With sustainable development of the city corruption is the biggest hazard. Things that are promised by the government for the well being of the inhabitants takes time to reach them.Things promised such as solar street lights, better roads, public toilet, clean roads and more is not served to the common people as the corrupted officials do not deliver what is for the good for the city.

Culture drives sustainable development-

The culture can be a powerful driver for development, with community-wide social, economic and environmental impacts.

Culture-led development also includes, social inclusiveness and rootedness, resilience, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship for individuals and communities, and the use of local resources, skills, and knowledge.

Respecting and supporting cultural expressions contribute to strengthening the social capital of a community and fosters trust in public institutions.

Cultural factors also influence lifestyles, individual behaviour, consumption patterns, values related to environmental stewardship, and our interaction with the natural environment.

Conclusion- Acknowledging and promoting respect for cultural diversity within a

human right based approach, moreover, can facilitate intercultural dialogue, prevent conflicts and protect the rights of marginalized groups, within and between nations, thus creating optimal conditions for achieving development goals. Culture, understood this way, makes development more sustainable.