DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.1059

Summary
The author of this passage discusses the differences between livability and sustainability, describing them as belonging to different qualitative types. Livability is described as dynamic and unplanned, while sustainability is about rate-independent planning. The author suggests that livability may trump sustainability in the present, but sustainability can wait until material pressures force a change.
The author goes on to describe how livability changes as resources become scarce, and how high-gain systems are less efficient than low-gain systems. The conflict between livability and sustainability is described as a complex system, and the author suggests that teaching global systems thinking in the early school years could give the next generation a clarity of vision and flexibility of mind that will help as resources become more scarce. Making livable sustainable systems matter of fact to the next generation is the only fully promising path forward.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The paper reflects on the difficulty of transform the current way of thinking of people based on monodisciplinary traditional education paths. We are all encouraged to think globally, but our species is not endowed with that ability.
For this reason, the paper affirms the value of the education of children about systems thinking. The paper uses this approach to reflect on the conflicts between sustainability and livability, showing that they cannot be invoked at the same time in a unified model.

Point of Strength
The paper outline some characteristics of livability and sustainability of a system.
The livability is dynamic, labile, local, has a short-term horizon, and maximize the immediate gain.
Sustainability is structural, global, planned, has a long-term horizon, and distributes the gains over time.
Livability can be seen as the flux of a process, while sustainability can be seen as its static constraints.
Using these conflictual characteristics, the paper shows the value of a complex systems approach for planning sustainable systems and their dynamic adaption to the flux of the concept of livability.
Generally, this paper could be used during lessons to discuss the use of static and dynamic variables in a complex approach. Furthermore,
It is a milestone to reflect on the crucial role of multi-temporal and multi-spatial scales for sustainable landscape planning.