Abstract: For sustainable development projects to be beneficial to the environment, society, and economy, awareness is key on all levels. I have dissected several sustainable development projects in Rio de Janeiro, in order to demonstrate the constraints forced on developing areas through Westernized ideologies and top-down approaches. It is key to focus on local members of the community and their needs before initiating a sustainable development project. Instead of the transference of ideas and projects from the Westernized nations, it is detrimental to embark upon the different cultural, social, environmental, political, and economical constraints that could produce undesirable consequences. Bottom-up approaches allow grassroots involvement and knowledge to maximize benefits of sustainable development, so that the local population and environment are at the heart of all projects. Urban sustainability is key in this growing industrial and capitalist phase of development, and the shift of focus to these different approaches will not only eliminate the conundrums in the city of Rio, but also create sustainability throughout the world as a whole.