Smart and Sustainable Communities Network
http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/rural/arttoc.shtml
As we all are trying to create a vision and a plan of action for the Horizon communities; let’s see if we can partner to adopt sustainable development as a strategy for well-being. More and more cities, villages, neighborhoods and regions are using sustainable development as a guiding principle not only for near-term projects, but also for planning their futures. That’s because sustainable projects:
- Strengthen your local economy;
- Improve and protect the quality of the environment; and
- Enhance the quality of life and the well-being of all of the people in your community.
As your community’s environment, economy and quality of life grow stronger, so does your future. That’s because truly sustainable development produces enduring benefits, not just today, but for our children and their children as well. But sustainable development projects offer real benefits in the short term, too. They create jobs. They lower operating costs for homes, businesses and taxpayers. They reduce pollution control costs. They make your community more attractive as a place to live and do business.
As your communities makes its development decisions—with all of the attendant impacts on transportation patterns, building efficiency, industrial productivity and so on—you affect energy security, as well as the nation’s economic and environmental health.
- Read about other communities that have discovered the benefits of sustainable development;
- Locate technical and financial resources that can help your community plan and carry out sustainable development projects; and
- Access model codes and ordinances other communities have used to implement sustainable development.
America’s strongest communities in the years ahead will be those that consciously adopt sustainable development as the guiding principle of their growth. We hope your community will be one of them.
