El caso español y sus implicaciones para el estudio de la ultraderecha:

Indicator 18: Number of housing units per 100 households

As Chapter 7 of Agenda 21 states, access to adequate housing is essential to people’s physical, psychological, social and economic well-being. Agenda 21 emphasizes the provision of adequate housing for all through housing development and improvement that is environmentally sound. In particular, most growing cities in developing countries experience shortages of housing and face the constant challenge of meeting the growing housing needs. In this respect, expanding the supply of decent, affordable housing is one of key tasks governments need to carry out in developing countries.

Indicator 19: Home ownership rate

Lack of home ownership as well as lack of available housing creates negative effects for a sustainable and healthy community. Promotion of home ownership has been at the heart of governments’ policy objectives in most countries. With an increasing population in growing cities, it is vital to develop plans that promote home ownership as foundations for a sustainable community. Home ownership can be promoted through a sufficient supply of affordable housing, easy access to home loans, and stable home prices.

Indicator 20: Level of educational attainment

Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 recognizes the promotion of education, public awareness and training as being critical for improving the capacity of the population to address sustainable development issues and fostering greater motivation towards sustainable development. Education is regarded as one of the most important tools to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable society by increasing public awareness of environment and development problems (UNCSD, 2001). Education also has a direct effect on employment opportunities, income and public involvement in decision-making.

Indicator 21: Number of students per teacher

Chapter 25 of Agenda 21 (children and youth in sustainable development) stresses the role of children and youth in the protection of the environment and the promotion of economic and social development. Agenda 21 recommends that governments ensure that children and youth have access to appropriate education. Improved standards of education provide them with opportunities necessary to fulfill their personal, economic and social aspirations and potentials. Improving the quality of education contributes to the development of each student's unique potential.

Indicator 22: Number of students per classroom

Education is one of the most powerful forces for economic development.

Education can also lead to improvements in family health, economic and social status. As mentioned above, Agenda 21 emphasizes the need to ensure access for children and youth

to education in Chapter 25. Improved educational environments such as well-developed school facilities are needed to ensure access to basic education.

Category 6: Environment

Indicator 23: Waste generation per capita

Environmentally sound waste management is one of the environmental issues of major concern in maintaining and improving the quality of the environment. The generation of waste is linked to resource depletion and environmental pollution (EU, 2001).

Landfills of waste have adverse effects on the environment such as surface water, groundwater, soil, air and human health. Incineration, the most common alternative to landfill, has also drawbacks such as toxic gaseous emissions and the need to dispose of the ash produced. Chapter 21 of Agenda 21 (environmentally sound management of solid wastes and sewage-related issues) puts emphasis on the need to stabilize or minimize the amount of waste generated.

Indicator 24: Waste recycling rate

Waste recycling is an important component for a sustainable approach to waste management. The greater the amount of recycled waste, the smaller is the disposal need (e.g., landfill and incineration) and overall resource depletion (EU, 2001). Chapter 21 of Agenda 21 underlines the maximization of recycling of wastes and recommends countries to establish voluntary targets for the proportion of waste recycled.

Indicator 25: Water consumption per capita

Water is one of basic natural resources necessary for individual needs and economic purposes such as agriculture, urban development and industrial activities. Water is also important for protecting aquatic ecosystems as the habitat for aquatic species. The sustainable use of water is vital for assuring future socio-economic development in that water consumption is a major pressure on water resources (EU, 2001). Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 (protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources; application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources) also emphasizes the sustainable and rational utilization of water resources.

Indicator 26: Energy consumption per household

As Agenda 21 states, reducing the amount of energy and materials consumed per unit in the production of goods and services can contribute to the alleviation of environmental stress and to greater economic productivity. Chapter 7 of Agenda 21 (promoting sustainable human settlement development) emphasizes the need to increase the efficiency of energy use and to extend the provision of more energy-efficient technology and renewable energy in order to reduce the negative impacts of energy production and use on human health and on the environment.

Indicator 27: Number of air pollution facilities per 10,000 inhabitants

Air pollution has adverse health impacts on humans. As the Rio Declaration states, in order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection should be an

integral part of the development process. However, in many cases, development causes air pollution. Industry, power generation and motor vehicles release pollutants. Agenda 21 underlines the protection of the atmosphere in Chapter 9.

Indicator 28: Number of water pollution facilities per 10,000 inhabitants

Water pollution also threatens environmental sustainability and can have harmful effects on human health. Poor water quality is one of the most serious pollution issues in many urban areas. Agenda 21 underlines the protection of the quality of freshwater resources in Chapter 18. Protection of clean water is a multidimensional endeavor involving various sectors of economic activities.

Indicator 29: Use of chemical fertilizers

Farming practices are an important source of pressure on the environment. In particular, excessive use of chemical fertilizers causes various environmental problems such as water pollution, soil degradation, loss of habitat and biodiversity (EU, 2001).

Chapter 14 of Agenda 21 (promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development) addresses a sustainable supply of plant nutrients to increase future yields without harming the environment and soil productivity. Many countries try to introduce specific incentive schemes to encourage farmers to adopt environmental practices to maintain the countryside, to make production less intensive, to avoid polluting practices and to protect biodiversity (EU, 2001).

Category 7: Economy

Indicator 30: Gross regional domestic product per capita

Growth in material prosperity is an important part of economic development.

Gross regional domestic product (GRDP) measures this growth over time. GRDP is the monetary value of a city or region’s market and non-market activities in a given year.

GRDP per capita provides a good proxy of the material wealth of citizens. As GRDP per capita grows, more resources are available to invest in environmental protection and social welfare measures. However, greater wealth is also linked to greater use of energy and materials. Though there is no explicit target growth rate for GRDP per capita, it is an important measure for the economic and development aspects of sustainable development, including the pattern of consumption and production and the use of renewable resources (UNCSD, 2001).

Indicator 31: Number of people living in poverty per 1,000 inhabitants

Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of unsustainable societies (EU, 2001).

Noting that the eradication of poverty and hunger remains major challenges everywhere, Chapter 3 of Agenda 21 (combating poverty) emphasizes that an anti-poverty strategy is one of the basic conditions for ensuring sustainable development. Agenda 21 underlines the need to develop and implement an effective strategy for tackling the problems of poverty, development and environment simultaneously.

Indicator 32: Women’s job opportunity

Women and sustainable development issues are an essential component of Agenda 21. Women are among nine major groups (indigenous people, local authorities, trade unions, business and industry, farmers and so on) whose involvement is necessary to achieve sustainable development. However, the role of women in achieving sustainable development has been limited by a variety of barriers such as discrimination and lack of access to education and equal employment. Agenda 21 emphasizes the active participation of women in economic and political decision-making to ensure the successful implementation of Agenda 21. Chapter 24 of Agenda 21 (global action for women towards sustainable and equitable development) states the need to support and strengthen equal employment opportunities and equitable remuneration for women in the formal and informal sectors. It recommends that governments develop policies necessary to promote reconciliation of work and family life including the provision of child-and dependent-care.

Indicator 33: Employment density

For achieving a sustainable society, it is important to ensure that residents have satisfactory job opportunities. Job opportunity is a traditional measure of economic vitality.

That is, increased level of job opportunity leads to a vital economy. Chapter 3 of Agenda 21 recommends governments to establish measures that will directly or indirectly generate remunerative employment and productive occupational opportunities on a scale sufficient to take care of prospective increases in the labor force.

Indicator 34: Employment diversification

In order to minimize the negative effects of cyclical downturns and changing market conditions, local economy needs to be diverse. If employment concentrates in a few key industries, a downturn in key industries is likely to have serious repercussions throughout the local economy (Sustainable Seattle, 1998). The resulting cuts in tax revenues and consumer spending can cause other layoffs, driving up homelessness, poverty, and crime rates. A society experiencing such shocks is less likely to have the vision or resources to adequately support sustainable development (Sustainable Seattle, 1998).

Indicator 35: Economic self-sufficiency

Lack of economic self-sufficiency of a city can be caused by various factors such as lack of employment centers, lack of adequate infrastructure including transportation and telecommunication, lack of incentives for entrepreneurial activities, and lack of affordable housing. Lack of economic self-sufficiency causes many negative consequences. For instance, suburban cities without self-sufficient economic base function as bedroom towns for major cities, which results in increase in travel distance (Kim, 2005). Increasing distances between work and home force people to drive more, which harms air quality and causes more energy consumption (National Association of Counties et al., 2001).

Promoting economic self-sufficiency contributes to improving the quality of life of residents by providing more job opportunity, and creating a prosperous, diverse and sustainable economy.