Planning for Sustainable Development: A Paradigm Shift Towards a Process-Based Approach

Planning for Sustainable Development: A Paradigm Shift Towards a Process-Based Approach

Ali Bagheri
Peder Hjorth

https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.310

Source: WeLib

Sustainable development is defined as an evolutionary process and an ideal rather than a fixed end-state or static goal. This conceptual framework emphasizes the capacity of a system to create and maintain adaptive capabilities while simultaneously fostering new opportunities. The core of this paradigm shift involves moving from traditional “fixed-goal” planning, which relies on prediction and preparation for an assumed stable environment, to “process-based” planning that acknowledges complexity and uncertainty. Within this framework, the primary focus is on social learning as a continuous process through which all stakeholders perceive change, adapt values, and evolve understanding of the socio-environmental system.

Practical implementation of this approach relies on several key categories and tools. System dynamics serves as a central methodology, utilizing the concept of “viability loops”—critical negative feedback mechanisms that self-correct a system by keeping reinforcing, or positive, feedback loops in check. Backcasting is employed as a normative tool to develop scenarios for achieving desired futures based on social and environmental values, contrasting with traditional forecasting which attempts to predict the most likely future based on causality. Additionally, model building is redefined as a means of collective learning and knowledge generation rather than a source of precise forecasting or optimal solutions.

The learning process itself is categorized into two distinct structures. The “surface loop of learning” involves collecting information feedback on the functional status of viability loops to implement adaptation policies. This is underpinned by the “deep loop of learning,” where information feedback shapes worldviews, mental models, and moral values. In applications such as urban water management, this approach shifts focus away from isolated supply-side or demand-side management towards integrated, reflexive governance that uses process indicators to monitor the health of systemic balancing mechanisms.

5 Mei 27 Mei 28 April 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 April 2023 Dokumen Dokumen Kinerja Dokumen Perencanaan Februari 2024 Februari 2025 Inspektorat Daerah Januari 2024 Kecamatan Kementerian Dalam Negeri Kinerja Laporan Hasil Evaluasi Laporan Hasil Evaluasi AKIP Laporan Hasil Evaluasi AKIP Tahun 2022 Laporan Hasil Evaluasi AKIP Tahun 2023 Laporan Hasil Evaluasi AKIP Tahun 2024 Maret 2025 Mei 2024 Mei 2025 Music Music Album Musrenbang Musrenbang Kecamatan Musrenbang RKPD Musrenbang RKPD Tahun 2025 Peraturan Bupati Pirate Rencana Kerja Pemerintah Daerah Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Daerah RKPD Tahun 2025 RKPD Tahun 2026 RPJMD Tahun 2025-2029 SAKIP SAKIP Tahun 2024 Sekretariat Daerah Surat Edaran