While many of the practices of sustainable land use and development are ancient, the idea of sustainable development is new in the last century, as a conscious choice in today’s era of rapid change, ecological destruction and turbulence. Early voices in the exploration of qualitative development rather than quantitative growth included Helen and Scott Nearing, who settled in Vermont in the 1930s and documented their self-reliant lifestyle in the classic Living the Good Life. Sustainability is reflected in the "design science" of Buckminster Fuller and many followers (link: www.bfi.org); the ecological agriculture of Wes Jackson at The Land Institute (www.landinstitute.org) and John Todd at the Ocean Arks International (www.oceanarks.org); the architectural principles of Ian McHarg’s Design with Nature; the field of ecological economics as framed by Herman Daly, Hazel Henderson, Kenneth Boulding and John Cobb; and many other thinkers and practitioners. The notion of "appropriate technology" for human and ecological well-being was popularized through the E.F. Schumacher Society ( www.smallisbeautiful.org) and also moved into the world of mainstream technology development in successful state models such as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative ( www.masstech.org), one of the premier models for energy efficiency and renewable energy commercialization today).

The 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development, better known as the Brundtland Commission, coined the term "sustainable development" in the framework document, Our Common Future and put forth the most widely quoted definition: development that meets today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. To begin translating this complicated concept into practical reality, hundreds of national delegations, and tens of thousands of citizen representatives, gathered in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. The Earth Summit – with years of preparation and followthrough in many parts of the world - gave rise to key international agreements including the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the Framework Convention on Biodiversity, and Local Agenda 21, a commitment of cities, towns and villages to create their own action plans for sustainable development.

Local Agenda 21 was the impetus behind a global organization, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (www.iclei.org), formed in Toronto and now worldwide with the new name Local Governments for Sustainability. In the U.S., a President’s Council for Sustainable Development was formed in the 1990s and provided recommendations for local and state policy, as well as several years of funding for model projects including urban and industrial development models in Baltimore and Chattanooga. In the Hudson Valley, a regional consultation supported by the President's Council produced a document, "Two Futures for the Hudson Valley," contrasting sprawl with planned "smart growth" and leading to the formation of the Pace University Land Use Law Center to help communities direct their development for most efficient resource use and high quality of life. Sustainable economic and community development has been explored by a wealth of organizations in the Hudson Valley ranging from Mohonk Consultations to the Omega Institute to the Nature Conservancy's Compatible Development Program to the Hudson River Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities.