Toward Sustainable Communities: a Resource Book for Municipal and Local Governments
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 380 301 SE 055 984 AUTHOR Roseland, Mark TITLE Toward Sustainable Communities: A Resource Book for Municipal and Local Governments. INSTITUTION National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Ottawa (Ontario). REPORT NO ISBN-1-895643-09-0 PUB DATE 92 NOTE 344p. AVAILABLE FROMNational Round Table on the Environment and the Economy,1 Nicholas St., Ste 1500, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7. PUB TYPE Books (010) Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC14 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS City Government; Community Action; *Community Development; *Community Planning; *Local Government; *City Government; Municipalities; *Sustainable Development IDENTIFIERS Environmental Issues; *Environmental Problems ABSTRACT This book is intended as a resource for elected officials, municipal staff, and citizens who would like to apply the concept of sustainable development in their communities through an ecosystems approach to human settlements management. The subcomponents of human community life and its impact on the environment are explored. Included are tested, practical suggestions, he;pful contacts, and essential references to use in setting community planning and development on a sustainable course. Sixteen chapters include:(1) "The Meaning of Sustainable Development"; (2) "Toward Sustainable Communities"; (3) "Atmospheric Change and Air Quality ";(4) "Transportation Planning and Traffic Management"; (5) "Land Use and Growth Management ";(6) "Energy Conservation and Efficiency"; (7) "Solid and Hazardous Waste Reduction and Recycling"; (8) "Water and Sewage "; (9) "Greening the City;" (10) "Economic Development ";(11) "Community Development ";(12) "Investment and Purchasing ";(13) "Leadership by Example ";(14) "Environmental Administration";(15) "Beyond Municipal and Local Government"; and (16) "Lessons for Policymaking." (LZ) ******************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***************f fci.:A;.A********************************************** A O cn O A A 00 fel AL AIL LA LA "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" 0 Do no C30 U S DEPAISTMENT OF EDUCATION $1, Office of Educshoner Rematch end Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (EMT T document Ms been temoducal es .111mused from the hereon of CogGIOIIIMOR or.o.nating ,I O Minor changes M.* been made 10 11000)V0 remoduchon metes Pants of vnhe of %humans stated tn dos deed. mend do not oetSurrOy erbdrrldiol oRCNII OERI posmon or voIrty 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Toward Sustainable Communities A Resource Book for Municipal and Local Governments I Mark Roseland National Round Table on the Environment acid the Economy Table ronde nationale sur l'environnement et l'economie 3 © Mark Roseland, 1992 All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrightherein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information retrieval systems - without the prior written permission of the publisher. Canadian Catalogue Information in Publication Data Roseland, Mark Toward sustainable communities: a resource book for municipal and local governments (National Round Table series on Sustainable Development) ISBN 1-895643-09-0 1. City planning - Canada. 2. City planning - environmental aspects - Canada 3. City planning. 4. City Planning - Environmental aspects. I. National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy II. Title.III. Series HT169.C3R67 1992 307.17'0971 C92-094941-X Book Design, Typesetting and Graphic Consultants for Series: sla Graphicus Specialists in envirorunerual graphic design Sims Latham Group, 190K Memorial Avenue, Suite 201, Orillia, Ontario, L3V 5X6 Tel: (705) 327-2191 Cover Zebra Photo Design Studio withsla Graphicus This book has been set in New Century Schoolbook, Helvetica andprinted on Environmental Choice papercontaining over 50% recycled content, including 5% post-consumer fibre, using vegetable inks. The cow?,board also has recycled content and is finished with a water-based,wax-free varnish. Printed in Canada. Second Impression. National Round Table on the Environment and theEconomy Table rondo nationals stir I'environnement et l'isconomie 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 1500, Ottawa, Ontario,KIN 7B7 Series General Editor: Daniel Donovan Tel: (613) 992-7189 Fax: (613) 992-7385 ii 4 NATIONAL ROUND TABLE SERIES ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Series General Editor: Daniel Donovan ISustainable Development: A Manager's Handbook 2 The National Waste Reduction Handbook 3 Decision Making Practices for Sustainable Development 4 Preserving Our World 5 On the Road to Brazil: The Earth Summit 6 Toward Sustainable Communities 7 Trade, Environment and Competitiveness Aussi disponible en francais Canada A Resource Book for Local Government NRTEE MEMBERS Dr. George Connell, Chair National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy R.C. (Reg) Basken President, Energy and Chemical Workers Union The Honourable Carole Carson Minister of Environment, Government of Saskatchewan The Honourable Jean Charest Minister of Environment, Coolr- .ment of Canada The :nourable J. Glen Cummings Minister of Environment, Cove: ;merit of Manitoba Pat Delbridge President, Pat Del bridge Associates Inc. The Honourable Jake Epp Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, Government of Canada Josefina Gonzalez Research Scientist, Forintek Canada Corp. Diane Griffin Executive Director, Island Nature Trust Dr. Leslie Harris Memorial University, Newfoundland Tony Hodge School of Planning, McGill University Susan Holtz Senior Researcher, Ecology Action Centre John E. Houghton Chairman and C.E.O., Quebec and Ontario Paper Company Ltd. David L. Johnston Principal and Vice-Chancellor, McGill University Pierre Marc Johnson Direcleur de Recherche, Centre de medecine, d'ethique et de droit de l'Universite McGill Geraldine A. Kenney-Wallace President and Vice-Chancellor, McMaster University Margaret G. Kerr Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety, Northern Telecom Lester Lafond President, Lafond Enterprises Ltd. Jack M. MacLeod President and C.E.O., Shell Canada Ltd. Jim MacNeill Senior Fellow, Sustainable Development Program, Institute for Research on Public. Policy. The Honourable Donald Mazankowski Minister of Finance, Government of Canada David Morton Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Alcan Aluminium Dr. Bob Page Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary Leone Pippard President and Executive Director, Canadian Ecology Advocates Barry D. Stuart Judge of the Territorial Couit The Honourable Michael Wilson Minister of Industry, Science and Technology, Government of Canada Ex ?.cutive Director: Ron Doering Toward Sustainable Communities The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy is pleased to present this book as a further contribution to the greater understanding of the concepts of Sustainable Development and Sustainable Communities. The views expressed in its pages are those of its author and do not necessarily represent those of the NRTEE or its Members. 7 vi 6 A Resource Book for Local Government Foreword For generations, environmentalists in North America have fought to protect "nature," but have been ambivalent in the struggle to create healthy, equitable, and economically sustainable communities for the human family. Toward Sustainable Communities confronts this major contradiction and shortcoming of the North American environmentalist tradition with practical, hopeful guidance. The intellectual roots of the North American environmental movement in Anglo-Romantic traditions of the 19th century have inspired many battles to protect a pure and wild nature, but they have,4iled to guide humankind on a course that is sustainabl0While we have tended to nature's ecosystems, wehale permittedour cities and towns to become engines of resource extraction and exploitation, waste generation and release, so much so that even the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere is no longer spared from their effects. During the period that environmentalism became a force in North American public life, our cities and ccinrnunities have sprawled without consideration for resource efficiency. Infrastructure has been constructed housing, roadways and sewage systems, for instance -- which encourages disregardful resource consumption. Water sources have been taxed or polluted.Built environments have been designed which alter micro- climates and promote photochemical smog formation. Environmental services, such as public transit systems, have been left without public support.. Our settlements have not only become less and less habitable for humans vii Toward Sustainable Communities and most other species. They now stand as the geographic point sources of most regional and global environmental problems, and threaten even the most distant wild areas saved by environmental advocates. Over the most recent decades, a new humanistic tradition in the environmental movement has developed, which focuses attention directly upon the state, form, and management of human communities.It includes the Habitat movement, the Healthy Cities movement, and the more recent "sustainable communities" and eco-cities movements. These movements share the perspective that the most direct and effective means to protect the environment is to redevelop, retrofit, and redesign our own communities in other words, to make them sustainable