Subject(s): Urban ecology (Sociology) -- Municipal government. -- Urbanization in Environmental aspects. -- Local authorities and environment : Cities, town and local authorities- urban and suburban, first urban century, global economic trends and their impacts on cities, advantages and disadvantages of cities for people and environment, sustainable development, brown green agendas for sustainability, environmental sustainability and size and wealth of cities, agenda 21 and role of local authorities in securing sustainable development, governance v/s government, why good governance is important to sustainability, thinking locally to act globally, global decentralization trends, municipal cooperation -- Issues for local action : Governance, decentralized framework, stable institutional framework, improtance of inclusiveness, effective local leadership and policy setting, challenges of implementation, capacity, expanding capacity through collaboration, actions and initiatives to secure sustainability -- Local government in action- summary case studies : Waste management issuescapacity building for sustainable development, political change and urban environmental planning, northern cities and sustainable development -- Local authorities and worldwide sustainable development : Urbaneness and global interconnectedness, emerging worldwide system of urban interdependence, worldwide system for urban sustainability, funding agencies, regional multilateral institutions, associations of municipalities, examples of municipal international cooperation programs, how the system of municipal international cooperation might be improved -- Recommendations : Six major themes of this book, recommendations to international agencies, national governments and agencies, local authorities, municipal associations -- Case studies : Democractization and consensus building for a sustainable development plan- municipality of Peru, mobilizing local resources to address urban environmental issues- metropolitan con cepcion sustainabl cities project in Chile, articipatory solid waste management- urban community of Dakar in Senegal, Greenpoint- Williamsburg environmental benefits program in US, vision 2022 sustainable community initiative- regional municipality of Hamilton Wentworth- Canada, restructuring of municipal finances in Pakistan, agenda 21 Kanagawa in Japan, municipal policy an d participatory dynamics in Mali, solid waste collection and treatment program in France, ecological waste management project in Philippines, concerted environmental action plan in Morocco, fight against waste pollution in Brazil, comprehensive solar energy initiative in Germany, rehabilitation of Rio torres grande de tarcoles in Costa Rica, environmental audit and green strategy in Lebanon, troyan environmental action project Bulgaria, local agenda 21 in UK