Sustainable communities are being created all over the U.S. This is to maximize the potential of each individual in a community while also preserving the environment. There is a framework in the President’s Commission on Sustainable Development in 1997. By following this framework and modernizing it, you can create a sustainability campaign that’s effective for your community next year.
The framework talks about four valuable foundations of a sustainable community: leadership, ecological integrity, economic security, and social well-being. By integrating at least one of these things into your sustainability campaign next year, you’re already taking that first step into a sustainable community. So let’s discuss the principles of each foundation and how you can apply them to your community.
Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility
Leadership, civil engagement, and social responsibility are all about making your community rely less on corporate and government machinations to run the community. It’s all about building a political ecosystem that works well in your community and electing the right people to lead it.
Every community has its own set of political ideologies, and all ideologies must be heard. But it’s also important to maintain and stick with the country’s status quo because this foundation also requires a community to be politically stable. This is why elections for a board of directors are essential and should be done every year or at least every two years.
Having leaders that represent the ideals and needs of the community to the general public can help the community gain support. It can also steer the community in the right direction. However, a community must never interfere with another community’s sustainability, specifically regarding its political ideologies. This ruins the idea of a self-sustaining community.
Ecological Integrity
As we all know, we’ve come to a crucial point when the effects of climate change can no longer be irreversible in a matter of years. This makes the ecological integrity of your community even more vital.
Ecological integrity is all about giving access to the essential needs of all community members (e.g., water, produce) in an environmentally friendly way. This means no exploitation of natural resources, to the point that it can no longer recover. Instead, it’s all about creating an ecological balance in your community that benefits both mother nature and its inhabitants.
The trees in your community outskirts are a vital resource. Hence, they should be kept in good condition. A good tree service once every three months should maintain the trees in the outskirts of your community. This should be a part of your ecological foundation as a sustainable community because, without these trees, your community will not thrive nor combat the effects of climate change.
Another option is to give your community access to the installation of solar panels. This will drastically decrease the carbon footprint of your community, hence achieving the goals of ecological integrity.
Economic Security
Next up is economic security, and it’s all about decreasing the unemployment rate in your community while increasing work-life conditions.
Every community member should have equal access to jobs in both the government and corporate sectors. This also means giving community members the chance to start their own businesses efficiently. A self-sustaining community creates ample job opportunities for its members without needing them to look for a job a couple of miles away.
Career conventions and business-building are both essential programs of economic security. Conventions can help the younger ones find their ideal jobs. Efficient business-building can help create jobs in your community. Promote local businesses and bring in more people from other communities as consumers. This will certainly help you build economic security in your community.
Social Well-being
Lastly, as a sustainable community, we want to ensure that our members have sufficient access to both physical and mental healthcare institutions. They should also have the necessary resources so that they can use these services.
Programs that can help with these are outreach drives for people who are part of the low-economic status in your community. You can also ask the government for programs that can help those who can’t afford healthcare.
Another aspect of social well-being is that artists in the community should be given a chance to express their art meaningful. This means no vandalism. Building an art gallery should be sufficient enough for this goal.
A sustainable community is a healthy one. If your community hasn’t built upon any of these foundations yet, it’s time to start. Choose one, and consider your community’s budget, and start a sustainability campaign next year. That should be enough to start your way into becoming a sustainable community.