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Steps Toward Community Sustainablity
Energizing Sustainable Cities: The Power of Planning and Design
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Steps Toward Community Sustainability
Steps Communities Can Take Today to Move Toward a More Sustainable Future
In its "Model for Sustainable Urban Design", [PDF/3MB] the NECSC joins the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International City/County Management Association and many other organizations in promoting resource-smart community development among all U.S. communities. The 21 recommended steps below consolidate best practices promoted by these organizations and practiced by the nation’s most sustainable communities:
Design, Planning and Management
- Engage regional stakeholders in envisioning a sustainable future
- Incorporate sustainable design principles into comprehensive and general plans
- Establish short-, mid- and long-term sustainability goals, objectives and evaluation criteria for development decision-making
- Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost-effective
- Create economic incentives to encourage sustainable development
Energy
- Develop a sustainable energy strategy with corresponding plans, policies and programs for implementation
- Deploy sustainable energy technologies such as cogeneration, distributed generation and renewables, and practice efficient energy management
- Develop local sources of recoverable energy including municipal landfills, wastewater treatment and solid waste processing facilities
- Adopt energy-efficient building standards
Land Use and Transportation
- Promote mixed-use developments at densities that support regional transit
- Create walkable neighborhoods with a strong sense of place
- Encourage use of alternative fuels, fleets and transit infrastructure
- Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities
- Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, habitat and critical environmental areas
- Integrate open space throughout the urban landscape
Housing and Environmental Systems
- Encourage compact building design
- Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
- Provide incentives for higher-density housing along transit corridors
- Reward sustainable best management practices by the building design and construction industries
- Reclaim and reuse, where possible, all urban “waste” waters
- Encourage use of products designed to be recycled for multiple uses