Building Sustainable Communities: How Possible and Why Do We Need Them - Coursework Example

Sustainable communities are planned structures where people want to stay and work for a long period of time and have intentions to build something for their future. Such structures or places are developed to meet the present as well as future needs of their residents. These communities are responsive to both environment and people by providing them high quality of life. They offer safety and security in addition to being well planned and organized. They provide equal opportunities and services to all those living in such a community. There is sustainable community act 2007 which covers the various aspects of the community development plans and provides the opportunity to propose new plans of decentralization of public services and public spending. The need of this act comes from the underlying goal of providing a minimum better level of structure and place for all people. The system is developed in a way that local bodies and councils can submit their proposal of improvement to a government body LGA and they can evaluate it for further proceedings. In UK there is a general trend of making policies on the basis of participation from the representatives of different groups of people so sustainable community development is an area where this trend can produce fruitful results. The community providing the efficient facilities to the residents can be developed only by making a plan which incorporates the needs of people living in an area or are willing to join it. Towns and cities face increasing pressure to undertake development initiatives and special measures that are sustainable at the same time that more and more services and opportunities are being downloaded to the municipal level (Roseland & Connelly, 2005, p.2). Education, Marketing and well planned housing takes on a unique importance with sustainable communities. The traditional housing development seeks to market itself only as an appealing place to live, with a focus on the individual dwelling and the scope is not very broad. On the other hand in case of sustainable community development the focus id on a well blended mix of neighborhood and traditional environmental factors. Sustainable community can become an appealing selling point only if explained readily and transparency of the planning is made evident (Clark, 2009, p.141). Considering cultural capital implies attention to traditions, customs and values, heritage and place, the arts, diversity and social history. Strengthening these six forms of community capital is the foundation for sustainable community and its proper development. Further it will result in preservation and efficient use of all resources. For example the transportation system is designed for pedestrians, cycling and public transport facilities rather than for only private vehicles is efficient in saving energy a resource for all. Similar is the impact of environment protection (Roseland & Connelly, 2005, p.12). Several sets of guiding principles for community design have been proposed with the most favored one is that which presents the idea of community coexisting with nature in healthy, supportive, diverse and sustainable conditions. In view of the momentum of past development mistakes, most urban designers and developers stressed on the importance of infrastructure decisions—especially the allocation of sewer, water, roads, kids areas and pathways for both the redevelopment and novel constructions (Mazmanian & Kraft, 2009 , p.46). Not all communities are the same in their requirements - different places have different strengths and needs. But sustainable communities have many things in common: decent homes at prices people can afford; clean, safe, green environments; access to jobs excellent services and maintenance, schools, health services, shops, banks, utility provisions and in a condition which could be called as functional community. The sustainable community should have some qualities like it should be active, inclusive and safe, well-run, environmentally sensitive, well-designed and built, well connected, thriving, well served and fair for everyone (Great Britain, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005, p.4). If one goal is to plan for sustainable economic development, an effort should be made to include representatives of all groups living in a specific community with a direct interest in the economic structure of the community. Then another goal is to develop a plan for environment protection (Sargent, 1991, p.32). Housing is a fundamental need of human being as it provides shelter and also gives access to a decent water supply and other services. In many circumstances it also affects the ability to get an adequate food supply and quality food. However, housing issues and housing policy in the UK has low profile from both the point of view of general public and political parties. After world war two the issue of suitable housing was taken seriously again and the area was considered for the specific policy in itself. People felt the need of having professional expertise in the area of housing and community development (Conway, 1999, p.2). The need of sustainable communities also aroused to eliminate the differences in living standards of people in different parts of the state or country. The 1995 White Paper on housing and planning refers to the need to handle the problems and issue of the most deprived estates or areas where people do not get the equal opportunities and services. Another purpose of sustainable communities is to break down the barriers between the old estates and the rest of the community (Nevin & Murie, 1997, p.6). Sustainable communities demand a sustainable standard of living and equal opportunities and services. Economic development provides cities having no room for expansion the chance to rebuilt and recreate their land and environments. In policy planning the residents must be involved while government regulates the overall process. Further the implementation of policies must actively involve people of the community moving towards sustainability (Daniels, 2001, p.119). Sustainable communities try to find out ways of combining policies, programs, and design solutions and strategies that bring about multiple objectives. No longer is it possible or desirable for any planning commission, for instance, to view housing policy in isolation from environmental, transportation or land use policy. Thus by making proper housing policy limited resources can be used effectively which in turn results and first national and then global prosperity (Burby, 1998, p.2). There are many benefits of developing sustainable communities both for general public, the residents, the nation and the human beings in general. There are social, health, community, economic and environmental benefits in developing opportunities for involvement in cultural activities and other chances where people can develop their skill and abilities (Torkildsen, 2005, p.234). Like Clustered, pedestrian-friendly, transit- oriented communities are a key to reducing automobile dependency and fuel preservation is the ultimate result (Roseland & Connelly, 2005, p.78). A sustainable community is a holistic entity. Like an ecosystem, sustainable development is about interrelationships between various components of a community and its development (Gause & Franko, 2007, p.213). For developing sustainable community development state took two steps: developing a public education system and procedure capable of turning out productive workers who could earn a high wage and thus be able to consume; making low-interest loans available to consumers so they could set up their own earning habits (Weinberg, Pellow, & Schnaiberg, 2000, p.93). In UK an entire suite of planning policy is fully devoted to motivate the development industry response to climate change so that sustainability can be maintained. This process produced the results in form of published vision of government for sustainable communities. These policy statements are based on four elements which are Social cohesion and inclusion Protection and enhancement of environment Prudent use of natural resources Sustainable economic development Economic sustainability is specially emphasized because it is considered to be the baseline for providing a strong infrastructure for employments, national prosperity and development of sustainable communities (Clark, 2009, p.135). For new regionalists the economic and social problems that afflict the regions of the UK are increasingly understood to be the result of internal conflicts and failure in term of developing equal opportunities. For the Blair government this new global economy opens up opportunities in which the UKs distinctive capabilities in skill, knowledge and creativity but these capabilities are now can only be achieved by developing sustainable communities for all parts of the country without discrimination (Raco, 2007, p.157). The methodology used for this research paper is simple secondary research methodology because the topic was of the nature which includes the timeline of a phenomenon i.e. the development of sustainable communities and the need of collecting government vision and steps which are taken in the direction of strengthening this phenomenon. Further it is cheaper and faster. In addition to this the research is benefited from the work of top rank scholars and their opinion about the specific area rather than depending only on the results of one research team. Sample size is enlarged to a large extent as different researchers use different sample sizes and nature. There is another benefit that the results of using this methodology are more compact and to the point because one can easily extract the data which is most needed rather than collecting data which is only useful in setting up the direction of the research. Specifically the topic of the research suggest a secondary methodology to get the information about the development of original idea, its progress and the future perspective of the area and suggestions based on experience and latest requirements which have resulted from globalization and technological innovations. While using and analyzing secondary data for research studies, it is essential that these data are properly edited and organized. As the data have been collected by different agencies and sources, it is not likely that these will be published in a manner as would be required to analyze them in an effective way (Kumar, 2002, p.86). Examples of sustainable communities include the community development plans and their results in United States. In addition to that according to Global Ecovillage Database has shown that there are 400 communities developed on such principles. Such villages are developed in USA, New Zealand and so on. Thus it can be concluded that the sustainable community’s development is more than an idea of improvement but nowadays it has become the need of the hour. Governments and general public are making efforts in this regard but more organized efforts are still needed as the efficient resource management is the only way the world can survive and be able to leave something for their coming generations. Work Cited Burby, R.1998, ‘Cooperating with nature: confronting natural hazards with land use planning for sustainable communities Natural hazards and disasters Friendly Warnings - Reducing Loss and Building Sustainability in a Hazardous World Series’, Joseph Henry Press, pp.2 Clark, W. 2009, ‘Sustainable Communities’, Springer, pp.135-141 Conway, J. 1999, ‘Housing Policy Gildredge social policy series’, Routledge, pp.2 Daniels, M. 2001, ‘Creating sustainable community programs: examples of collaborative public administration’, Greenwood Publishing Group, pp.119 Gause, J.& Franko, R. 2007, ‘Developing sustainable planned communities’, Urban Land Institute, pp.213 Great Britain. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005, ‘Sustainable communities: people, places and prosperity, a five year plan from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Volume 6425 of Cm Series’, The Stationery Office, pp.4 Kumar,A. 2002, ‘Research Methodology in Social Science’, Sarup & Sons,pp.86 Mazmanian, D.& Kraft, M. 2009 , ‘Toward sustainable communities: transition and transformations in environmental policy American and comparative environmental policy’, MIT Press, pp.46 Nevin, B. & Murie, A. 1997, ‘Beyond a halfway housing policy: local strategies and regeneration IPPR monograph’, Institute for Public Policy Research, pp.6 Raco, M. 2007, ‘Building sustainable communities: spatial policy and labour mobility in post-war Britain Urban policy’, The Policy Press, pp.157 Roseland, M.& Connelly, S. 2005, ‘Toward sustainable communities: resources for citizens and their governments Canadian electronic library: Books collection Canadian electronic library: Canadian publishers collection’, New Society Publishers, pp.2-12,78 Sergeant, F. 1991, ‘Rural environmental planning for sustainable communities’, Island Press, pp.32 Torkildsen, G. 2005, ‘Leisure and recreation management’, Rutledge, pp.234 Weinberg, A., Pellow, D. & Schnaiberg, A. 2000, ‘Urban recycling and the search for sustainable community development’, Princeton University Press, pp.93 Read More