The Basis for Sustainable Development:

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The Basis for Sustainable Development A Utopian
Dream or an Achievable Reality?
By Joshua Levine ESM 275, Fall 2003 Instructor
Paul Wack AICP
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Summary

• What is sustainable development?
• Assessing the interaction between economic,
  social, and environmental needs
• Corbett Corbetts assumptions that will guide
  planners in promoting sustainable development

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What is Sustainable Development?

• In 1987, the United Nations defined sustainable
  development as
• Development that meets the needs of the present
  generation without compromising the ability of
  future generations to meet their own needs.

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What is Sustainable Development?

• Planners contextual definition serves as a more
  malleable framework for action
• Reproduction
• Cultivating community renewal
• Balance
• Finding respective compromise
• Link local to global concerns
• Communities do no function in a vacuum
• Dynamic process
• Communities must constantly assess and reassess
  goals

Source Berke, P.R. Manta Conroy, M. Are we
planning for sustainable development? Journal of
the American Planning Association, 2000, 66(1),
21-33.
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Sustainable Development Dynamics

• Sociopolitical considerations for attaining
  sustainable development
• Economic
• Business growth and efficiency
• Social
• Social justice
• Economic opportunity
• Environmental
• Conservation of natural resources
• Public health

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Campbells Planners Triangle
Source Campbell, S. Green cities, growing
cities, just cities? Journal of the American
Planning Association, 1996, 62(3), 296-312.
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What to do?

• Planners, policy makers, and NGOs should
• Manage and mitigate conflicts between economic,
  social, and environmental positions
• Promote creative solutions to position
  communities near the center of the triangle

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What to do?

• Corbett and Corbetts psychological assumptions
  that drive the need for designing sustainable
  communities
• Based on the concept of village homes but can be
  applied to a larger scope of planning
• Even though each assumption is theoretical in
  nature, it serves as a framework or guidelines
  for developing in a sustainable manner
• Assumptions are based upon the overall goal of
  sustainability for all three entities economic,
  social, and environmental

Source Corbett, J. Corbett, M. Designing
Sustainable Communities. Island Press, 2000 pgs
53-60
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Assumptions and Plans of Action

• Assumption
• Ecosystems and parts of ecosystems composed of a
  wide variety of species tend to adapt better to
  environmental changes or human tampering than do
  those composed of fewer species.
• Plan of Action
• Create communities with diversity
• Energy
• Food sources
• Economic enterprise

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Assumptions and Plans of Action

• Assumption
• Humans for the most part genetically adapted to
  the environment that existed 200 to 20,000 years
  ago. This adaptation involves not just our
  physical makeup but also our modes of perception
  and behavior and relates to the social
  environment as well as the physical environment.
• Plan of Action
• Exchange our dependence on automobiles for more
  social alternatives
• Design communities where amenities are within
  walking distance
• Bike paths

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Assumptions and Plans of Action

• Assumption
• The relationship between people and the
  environment goes both ways humanity both shapes
  and is shaped by its environment.
• Plan of Action
• Stop designing communities with mobility as the
  key goal
• Encourage community interaction
• Center should focus on civic activities

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Assumptions and Plans of Action

• Assumption
• Humans can adapt to a wide range of
  environmental conditions, but the result of
  adaptation to inhospitable conditions is
  temporary or chronic stress.
• Plan of Action
• Eliminate excess noise
• Design transportation routes so that they do not
  disturb parks and residences
• Materials and methods of construction should be
  compatible with climate, culture, and local
  character

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Conclusion

• Summary
• Identified the meaning of sustainable development
  both politically and contextually
• Discussed the various interactions (conflict
  complement) between economic, social, and
  environmental entities in a community through
  Campbells Triangle
• Utilized the dynamics of these interaction to
  relay simple solutions that planners can
  implement to develop more sustainable communities

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Conclusion

• True sustainable development may not be
  achievable but working toward sustainability will
  help solve the social inequity, environmental
  degradation, and economic injustice.

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Questions?