Part 1 establishes the rationale for why, where, and how we pursue sustainability. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an overview of why and how global and local contexts are unsustainable in environmental, economic, and social terms and introduce the meaning of sustainability that we use. Locally, we must recognize the importance of growth planning and development patterns when it comes to buildings, transportation, and infrastructure. Chapter 3 explains the public policy process and how it plays out through collaborative governance across sectors. Common policy types are introduced as a foundation for the many sustainability tools described in Part 2. Chapter 4 explains how local governments plan and how they can better pursue sustainable community development (SCD). Chapter 5 introduces the Community Capital Compass, which expands previous community capital frameworks to include eight forms (natural, built, organizational, political, financial, cultural, human, and relational). The Compass has been added as an organizing metaphor to emphasize the importance of knowing where you are in dynamic relation to all eight forms of capital (destinations) as you orient action toward any particular community development objective (true North). This imagery supports approaches to holistic analysis and assessments of whether synergies or tradeoffs are being generated (attention to all eight directions). It also supports the development of causal models and maps that spiral communities up or down in the pursuit of sustainability. Lastly, it provides a “gauge” of sorts for book navigation, showing how each sustainability
Chapter 1. The Global Context for Sustainability
Why Care About Sustainability?
Earth’s Carrying Capacity
The Path to Unsustainability
Unsustainable Environmental Systems
Unsustainable Agricultural Production
Unsustainable Natural Resource Extraction
Unsustainable Energy Sources
Unsustainable Economic Systems
Distribution and Consumption
Capital-Labor Relationship
Unsustainable Social Systems
The Path to Sustainability
Strong or Weak Sustainability?
Chapter 2. Sustainable Community Development
Sustainability at the Local Level
Growth Philosophies
Pro-Growth
Anti-Growth and Degrowth
Smart Growth
The Importance of Patterns
Images of Urban Sprawl
The Dynamics of Sprawl
Economic Costs of Sprawl
Environmental Costs of Sprawl
Social Costs of Sprawl
Sustainable Community Development
Images of Sustainable Community Development
Chapter 3. Policymaking for Sustainable Community Development
From Government to Governance
Making and Implementing Public Policy
The Policy Process
Agenda Setting
Formulation
Choice and Legitimation
Implementation
Evaluation, Change, or Termination
Policy Tools
Distributive Policy (Expenditure)
Redistributive Policy (Taxation and Welfare)
Regulatory Policy (Incentives and Disincentives)
Constituent Policy (Administrative Support)
Voluntary Initiatives and Charity
Looking Ahead
Chapter 4. Planning for Sustainable Community Development
What is Planning?
Who Plans?
Where to Plan?
What to Plan
The Comprehensive Plan
The Planning Process
Planning for Sustainable Community Development
Sustainable Environmental Development
Sustainable Economic Development
Sustainable Social Development
Stand-Alone Sustainability Plans
Chapter 5. The Community Capital Compass
Community Capital Frameworks
Eight Forms of Community Capital
Patterns of Interaction
Theories of Community Development
A Comprehensive Model
The Community Capital Compass
The Community Capital Compass as Wayfinding Tool