Sustainable Development and Community Sustainability

Securing the Future for Local Communities

Introduction

Residential and commercial developments have previously been placed wherever land was available. Few considerations were given to the wildlife and natural geological features that were displaced or destroyed by these human developments. However, recently, city planners have figured out that the sustainability of their communities depends on the restoration of natural hazard barriers and the implementation of responsible development planning for communities in high risk or environmentally sensitive zones.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is a mitigation process that focuses on reducing a development's risk of hazard exposure by taking pro-active steps to secure buildings, restore natural hazard barriers, by implementing building and zoning restrictions that keep human structures out of high risk hazard zones like flood plains and areas that are prone to wildfires, and that also establish environmental protection strategies. While some communities have taken steps to design and implement sustainable development strategies, many communities face planning and implementation obstacles caused by negative global attitudes towards environmentally responsible human development planning. (Leiserowitz, 2005). These cultures are not inherently against smart building and city expansion planning, per se, but many communities believe that these strategies are costly and impractical for areas with growing populations and stagnated economies.