The City of Hannover, Germany, has been  designated
as  the  site  of the world exposition  in the year
2000.  Hosting the world's fair on  the  eve of the
next millennium  is both  a great challenge  and  a
great   responsibility.   By   choosing  "Humanity,
Nature, and Technology" as the theme for EXPO 2000,
the  city   has  decided  to  directly  address the
difficult issue  of  imagining  and  encouraging  a
sustainable future. Ideally, humanity will redefine
itself, its  placement  in  nature, and refine  the
role of technology within the environment.

In order to insure that the design and construction
related  to  the  fair  will  represent sustainable
development for  the  city, region, and  world, the
City of Hannover  has  commissioned  "The  Hannover
Principles"  to  inform  the  international  design
competitions for EXPO 2000.  The Principles are  to
be considered by  designers,  planners,  government
officials  and  all involved in setting  priorities
for the built environment.  They will help form the
foundations of a new  design philosophy  underlying
the future of proposed systems and construction for
the  City,  its  region, its  global neighbors  and
partners in the world exposition.

World  history  offers many  examples of  societies
with  environmentally  sustainable  structures  and
communities  which have  endured for  thousands  of
years.   However, we have also  pursued other paths
which  have  led   to  ecologically   unsustainable
practices.  For the development and improvement  of
humankind, it is  imperative to renew  a commitment
to living  as part of  the earth  by  understanding
development and  growth as  processes which can  be
sustained, not exploited to impractical limits.

It  is  hoped  that  the Hannover  Principles  will
inspire an approach  to design  which may  meet the
needs  and  aspirations  of  the  present   without
compromising the ability  of the planet to  sustain
an equally supportive future.