There
is a better way to build our communities.
The tools exist, they
are in use, and they are mainstream.
The private and public
sectors are already leading by example, and realizing economic,
environmental, and community benefits in the process.
We have a
responsibility, as community leaders and decision-makers, to create a
more livable world for ourselves and our children.
Sustainable development
is a philosophy, a way of thinking, and a way of looking at the world
through a different kind of lens.
Sustainable development
is a way of using an evolving set of principles and practices to make
decisions that minimize negative environmental impacts while ensuring
positive social and economic benefits.
The Building
Sustainable Communities series of
fact sheets
will empower decision makers with knowledge and ideas for building
sustainable communities where the natural environment is healthy and
safe, where the economy is strong, and where everyone has equal
opportunity to share in the benefits of a clean environment and
prosperous economy.
WHY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
Illinois cities and towns continue to grow, and with growth comes
economic development essential to enhancing the competitiveness and
quality of life of our communities. However, growth at the expense of
life-sustaining natural resources, existing community amenities, or
opportunity for all is both shortsighted and unwise. Without proper
attention to the impacts of unmanaged growth, our urban regions are at
risk of losing qualities that make communities unique and desirable
places to live and work.
Unmanaged growth can result in such negative impacts as increased
flooding and associated property damage and degraded water quality in
our streams, lakes, and groundwater resources. Increasing distance
between jobs and where people live causes traffic congestion and reduces
time spent with family and friends. The homogenization of communities
with commercial strips while downtowns struggle for revenues wastes the
very qualities that make our communities worthwhile living spaces.
Managed, sustainable growth, however, accommodates increases in
population, protects natural resources, and encourages economic
development for the benefit of the entire state. The primary philosophy
of sustainable growth is that new development and redevelopment can be
done in such a way that it provides environmental, economic, and quality
of life benefits to all residents.
The
Building Sustainable Communities
series
of
fact sheets
was produced by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission and
Campaign for Sensible Growth with funding by the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The series presents thirteen
sustainable development techniques, why they are important, how they can
be and have been applied in communities throughout the state, and where
to go for further information. It is intended primarily to assist local
government officials in making sustainable community decisions and
secondarily as a guide for those working with local governments such as
developers, civic organizations, and the private sector. Illinois' local
decision makers are empowered with much of the authority for making
wise, sustainable choices, and for working with developers to create
successful, livable communities.
View a Building
Sustainable Communities
slide presentation.
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT?
Sustainable development has taken on a variety of meanings, yet one
interpretation is generally accepted:
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable development in action aims to minimize negative
environmental impacts while ensuring positive social and economic
benefits. Sustainable development fosters economic growth without
sacrificing the natural resource assets of the community. It promotes
double bottom-line investments, providing returns for investors as well
as social and economic benefits for residents. It creates active,
walkable, and full service communities within compact neighborhoods and
town centers. It fosters easy access to community amenities and services
regardless of location or socioeconomic status. It reduces disparities
between cities and suburbs. And it encourages meaningful community
participation, leadership, and ownership in the decision-making process.
Truly sustainable actions and decisions are those that enhance
environmental integrity, economic prosperity, and community livability.
Environmental integrity
is
the protection and improvement of the air, water, and land that all
living things depend on for survival. It means not only doing no harm
to the environment, but actually enhancing the environment through our
development decisions.
Economic prosperity
enhances community well being by attracting residential, commercial,
and industrial development and encouraging all sectors of the economy
to use sustainable practices.
Community livability
refers to how we plan, build, and rebuild our communities so that they
are vibrant, desirable places that enhance all residents' quality of
life and the social fabric. It means that all of our residents have
access to public transportation, job training and employment, and
housing that is within economic reach.
These three principles are interrelated - a project that achieves one or
two of these elements at the expense of another is not sustainable.
Truly sustainable development includes all of the elements and enhances
the long term quality of life in our communities.
WHAT ARE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES?
In addition to an overall
Sustainable
Development Guidebook from the Campaign for Sensible Growth, a
wide range of sustainable development practices are covered in the
following series
of 13 fact sheets:
Introduction:
Overview of the
Building
Sustainable Communities series.
Agricultural Land Preservation:
Protect prime farmland and rural character and promote sustainable
farming practices.
Air Quality Protection and Improvement:
Reduce air pollution from mobile and stationary sources and allow for
transportation options.
Building Green Infrastructure:
Protect an interconnected system of natural areas, parks, greenways, and
open space.
Community Character and Historic Preservation:
Preserve the unique qualities of our communities such as landscapes,
streetscapes, public spaces, historic buildings, and landmarks.
Conservation Development:
Integrate development with natural resources and open space.
Creating Livable Communities:
Build active, attractive communities with easy access to residential,
commercial, and recreational areas.
Energy Efficiency and Green Buildings:
Decrease energy consumption, use more renewable energy, and reduce the
impact of built structures on the environment.
Reusing Built Environments:
Develop abandoned, idled, or under-used properties and buildings back
into productive use.
Strengthening Local Economies:
Train the local workforce, support local business, and build technology
infrastructure.
Sustainable Sites and Natural Landscapes:
Use native plants in landscaped areas and protect natural features of
development sites.
Transit-Oriented Development:
Create mixed-use, higher density communities around public transit
centers.
Water Resource Protection:
Secure the quality and quantity of our streams, lakes, wetlands,
floodplains, and groundwater.
Workforce Housing:
Provide a diversity of multi- and single-family housing opportunities
near employment centers.
