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This report provides an introduction to sustainable community activities and ways in which supporters of pollution prevention can take advantage of such efforts. A "sustainable community" effort consists of a long-term integrated and systems approach to developing and achieving a healthy community by addressing economic, environmental and social issues. Fostering a strong sense of community and building partnerships among key stakeholders are also important elements of such efforts. This report discusses how hundreds of communities across the United States are taking "sustainable community" approaches to deal with their most pressing problems. Such approaches have been applied to issues as varied as urban sprawl, inner-city and brownfield redevelopment, new economic development, a strong local economy, environmental justice, ecosystem management, agriculture, biodiversity, green buildings, energy conservation, watershed management, and pollution prevention. This report explains such activities by examining the process of developing a sustainable community initiative, describing sources of support, and presenting detailed community examples. Then, it explores the relationship between sustainable community activities and pollution prevention. The author includes an extensive annotated bibliography giving points of contact with phone numbers, web page addresses, and published documents about sustainable community activities throughout the United States.

Some off-the-grid communities are little more than subdivisions beyond the reach of any power company, where homeowners fend for themselves. Some off-the-grid communities take the intentional community approach, a gathering of like-minded residents living in a cooperative manner (and if you think that sounds like a commune, well, you’d be right).

Emerald Earth This intentional community on 189 acres Mendocino County near Boonville, Calif., was founded in 1989. The dozen or so people living here share a common house with a main kitchen, eating and meeting areas and shower. There is also a bathhouse/greenhouse with a sauna, showers and garden greenhouse. There are four small cabins heated by passive solar and wood stoves. Solar panels and a gas generator provide electricity. Use of composting outhouses means there is no need for a septic system.

Today's societal pressures, such as the economic crisis, global climate change, access to adequate water supplies, safe food, national security, and continuing degradation of the environment require new and innovative strategies in order to achieve improvement in communities. And solving local problems requires consideration, understanding, and working within the bigger picture to lessen potential unintended consequences from actions. We employ tested, cutting-edge, and emerging tools to facilitate community planning and action strategies that allow stakeholders to take charge of their own destiny and become effective change agents in their community work to achieve sustainability. And when conflicts occur we can effectively resolve disagreements to the advantage of all involved. Let us help you think about, design, and act on comprehensive strategies to seek community sustainability.

The mission of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities is to create strong, sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and helping to build a clean energy economy. In order to better connect housing to jobs, the office will work to coordinate federal housing and transportation investments with local land use decisions in order to reduce transportation costs for families, improve housing affordability, save energy, and increase access to housing and employment opportunities. By ensuring that housing is located near job centers and affordable, accessible transportation, we will nurture healthier, more inclusive communities which provide opportunities for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to live, work, and learn together.

The Sustainable Communities Act allows councils, after taking advice from local people, to present proposals for government action that will help local communities to be more sustainable and offer better quality of life. The Act aims to provide a channel to propose changes to improve the economic, social or environmental well-being of an area, including participation in civic or political activity. It is aimed at givng people the power to change the environment they live in. Local councils are invited to make proposals to central government as to how it can help them promote the sustainability of local communities. To do this, councils need to talk to local people to find out what would help them.

Citizens and government officials must work together to find a variety of new approaches and ways of doing business that support community goals. This section presents approaches and techniques that different communities have employed to make constructive use of local government policies and services to promote community sustainability.

There is no universally acceptable definition of sustainable community development in large measure because each development site has its own characteristics that result in unique opportunities and constraints. For example, a 2,000 hectare greenfield site situated beside a lake clearly presents different opportunities than a 300 acre brownfield redevelopment in the industrial port land area of city. Likewise, an eco-village located fifty miles from an urban centre offers different opportunities for sustainable development than a major condominium development in the core of a city.

The background To begin it is worth reminding ourselves of the impact of climate change, urbanization, economic growth and globalization. Climate change. As we know, the earth's climate is constantly changing – but in recent years there has been a significant change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted that global temperature will rise by the end of the century by between 1.4C and 5.8C. Most of the warming that has occurred over the last 50 years is, according to the IPCC (2007), attributable to human activities. The result of this will be a further rise in sea levels (and an increased risk of flooding), problems around fresh-water supplies in many parts of the world, a decrease in agricultural productivity in many areas, and significant health risks. The Stern Review (2006) concluded that climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response. It will impact disproportionately on poorer countries – but even in richer countries, if nothing is done there will be profound economic consequences. Overall, it could mean the equivalent of around a 20% reduction in consumption per head.

it seems like environmental sustainability discussions are becoming much more prevalent in local communities. Citizen committees and paid coordinators are now commonplace in cities and towns.  Many of you are even becoming interested in climate change, an issue that pretty recently would have been considered something that national governments must solve.

<div>ImageSlideShow requires Javascript</div> Preservation of the natural environment is essential for maintaining community sustainability. This section presents various approaches and techniques used successfully in different communities to protect and restore their natural resources.