R ELATIVELY LITTLE HAS BEEN WRITTEN ON THE CULTURAL OR SOCIAL ASPECT OF SUSTAINABILITY, COMPARED WITH THE environmental and economic aspects. Yet, it is increasingly understood and acknowledged that in many cases cultural and social factors are the deciding factors for successful implementations of sustainability strategies. Development interventions that are responsive to the cultural context and the particularities of a place and community, and advance a human-centered approach to development, are most effective, and likely to yield sustainable, inclusive and equitable outcomes (UNESCO, 2012). Some authors even claim that culture should be considered the fourth pillar of sustainability (Nurse, 2006). Wessels (2006) states that adding culture on its own merits to the ecological, economic and social pillars creates a holistic approach to sustainability. Kua (2010) and Gunawansa and Kua (2011) applied similar ideas to propose a sustainability rating system for projects under the Clean Development Mechanism and climate change adaptation strategies respectively. The need to examine the socio-cultural dimensions of sustainability goes along with a call for interdisciplinary cooperation to meet real problems connected to a sustainable development. The following contributions attempt to analyze the cultural dimension of resilience and sustainability from various perspectives. The aim of this special issue is to present innovative views to sustainability challenges and initiate a debate of new solutions to meet them.Three areas are thematically highlighted in this special issue.1. Definitions of cultural sustainability and its relevance to urban and rural sustainability. 2. Stakeholder identification and engagement methodology. 3. Preservation and resilience of communities' heritage, in the presence of shocks.In addressing the relatively meagre literature on the cultural aspect of sustainability, Singh and Keitsch, in their article 'Sustainability and space: a comparison of two cases in Kathmandu, Nepal', opine that planners often neglect the fact that human beings are part of the natural ecosystem and that their ecological needs have to be considered in the process of planning. While exploring the traditional towns of the Kathmandu valley, they found evidence of sustainable elements and practices that are relevant to today's eco-city planning and development. Specifically, most of the traditional towns in the Kathmandu valley were planned with the goal to maintain the natural ecosystem and this has been reflected in the settlement pattern and land use, in the provisions of basic infrastructures. They thus conclude that socio-cultural and ecological traditions can indeed contribute to the transformations of eco-cities.

Design without Borders (DWB) was founded in Norway in 2001. As a child of the design, its ideological traditions has had strong impact on its aims and enterprises. However, its sphere of operation and financial conditions have been those of development aid. These facts have directed its work both ideologically and practically, and thereby also the results. The idea of development aid goes back to the era of Colonialism. A sense of guilt towards what this conception has led to has rightfully been established. There has been little focus on the altruistic side of the idea of the idea. The ideological aim of the design community to contribute to a better human life, is also related to this idea. The investigation consists of an analysis of DWB's ideological background and its achievements, seen at the backdrop of its origin in the ideas of development aid and its way of financing. Two of the projects are used as case studies and a comparative analysis in order to uncover effects and possible improvements. The article is an “insider view,” through which its history and two examples are reported.

An increasing number of people are currently living under poor conditions in enclaves of rapidly growing urban areas. Many of them are of indigenous origin. They are in urgent need of basic equipment to live a healthy and decent life. The products have to be simple, cheap and acceptable to people with different cultural and geographical backgrounds. Methods to realize the design, production and implementation of such appliances are a matter of urgency. Therefore, the ideas of the Austrian-American designer Victor Papanek (1923-1998) have gained new actuality. During the 1960s and 1970s, Papanek played a significant role in the international design community.His ideal was the less polluting design traditions of indigenous people, made by simple methods with local materials. He had many supporters among design students in Scandinavia and Finland, some of whom tried to adapt their work practices to his ideology. The aim of the paper is to investigate what impact his ideas had on the Nordic design community, and in particular, whether it was followed up by stakeholders and eventually reached the target groups in the third world. Success factors and failures are uncovered and discussed to clarify how the ideas might be utilized in the current situation. This empiric study is based on literary reviews, and of interviews with designers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The investigation shows that Papanek's ideas made a tremendous and lasting impact on designers in the Nordic countries and on some of their work. Still, design and production for indigenous people in developing countries seldom occurred, because of a lack of contact with stakeholders. One of the few exceptions was the foundation of the Norwegian organization, Design without Borders, which was mainly financed by the Government, that is, as a result of political decisions. In conclusion, without contact and cooperation with stakeholders, particularly the political and commercial sector, and users in the local communities on the other hand, it is not possible to realize ideas of this kind in the form of products and their use. The work of Design without Borders constitutes a good example of success, and should be used as a model for further work.

There is a basic drive to protect a society's memory by suppressing unpleasant events and their symbols in the collective memory. This prevents learning from the past and a broad and inclusive sustainable development. The theme is exemplified by the terror attack on the Norwegian government buildings, 22 July 2011. The article analyses how collective memory influences society's reactions to and tackling of unexpected critical situations. Hopefully, this will contribute to enhanced competence in tackling similar situations and an updating of the national self-image. The analysis is based on basic theories on collective memory, by among others P. Connerton, P. Ricoeur, E. Said and J. E. Tunbridge. The study has been performed as an analysis of debates in the media, official documents and books. The conclusion is that the symbolic content of architectural monuments may change after being subject to unpleasant events. They function as documentations and reminders of our history and as important resources in a society's learning and development processes and thereby an updated national self-image. This article will hopefully contribute to enhance competence in tackling such challenges and to secure cultural sustainability at a general level, and also in other countries.

Boken tar for seg et av etterkrigsmodernismens hovedverk som allkunstverk og bolig. Forfatteren behandler husets idégrunnlag, planlegning og konstruksjon, samarbeidspartnere og hvilke endringer som er blitt foretatt gjennom tiden. Spesielt det siste er av høy relevans i forbindelse med vår egen tids praktisering av og diskusjoner omkring gjenbruk og transformasjon av våre kulturminner. Den inneholder også biografi og omtale av hans øvrige virksomhet, samt forfatterens tolkning av Planetveien. Blant det som savnes er en utdypende behandling av husets betydning som internasjonal møteplass og en mer analytisk gjennomgang av forholdet til samarbeidspartnerne, spesielt Grete Prytz Kittelsen. Og ikke minst kunne problematikken knyttet til bruk versus bevaring vært viet større oppmerksomhet. Alt i alt er dette en sjeldent god, engasjerende og viktig utgivelse. Snarere enn noen uttømmende fremstilling er boken en appetittvekker til det som ble skapt i forbindelse med Planetveien, og til det sentrale temaet transformasjon.