Sustainability: First Principles
The Earth Charter: values and principles for a sustainable future
- The Charter
- Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
- Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.
- Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.
- Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.
Principles for Sustainable Living from "UNEP, IUCN & WWF: Caring for the Earth"
A list of core principles, criteria and directions towards creating sustainable societies from an individual/local level (link from The Sustainable Living Project)
Local Agenda 21 Program
A good guide to the various elements of Local Agenda 21 including factsheets, national awards and model frameworks (Department of Environment & Heritage)
Sustainability and the Urban Water System
- The walking, transit and auto city urban forms and water management
- Water and the sustainable future city
- New urban water technologies and management systems
- Why is local scale best for sustainability?
- Signs of sustainable water systems
ESD Information Guide for NSW Local Councils
A discussion of ESD principles and the processes that could be used to develop local policies and programs (Local Government and Shires Association)
Community Design principles
A great website that provides some guiding principles for designing elements of a new community including bike and pedestrian design, physical activity, streets and open spaces (Local Government Commission)
Odysen - Renewable Energy Portal
Fantastic portal for renewable energy and sustainability. Contains information on types of renewable energy, different fuels, pricing, environmental effects of existing energy sources and other key areas of energy policy. You can also navigate by region to pick up the latest information from Australia and then compare it with other countries in the region and around the world (Odysen.com)
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Strategic Land Use Planning
Australia
Sustainability guidelines for Urban Release Areas (pdf)
This document was prepared for Penrith City Council and includes advice for developers on approaching sustainability issues from the masterplan (Institute for Sustainable Futures)
Sustainable Development Guidelines (for land use planning in NSW)(DIPNR)
BASIX: the NSW Government's Building Sustainability Index
United States
Land Use Links (Maine State Planning Office, USA)
An extensive directory that includes many links on innovative urban form.
Land Use Planning Tools (Smart Communities Network, USA)
"Sustainable land use planning generally requires the analysis of a vast array of data. {On this site] are innovative methods, computer software applications, and resources for interpreting land use data and evaluating planning alternatives."
Smart Growth (US EPA)
"Smart Growth promotes practices that can lessen the environmental impacts of development including: compact development, reduced impervious surfaces and improved water detention, safeguarding of environmentally sensitive areas, mixing of land uses (e.g., residential, office, and retail), transit accessibility, and support for pedestrian and bicycle activity and other micro-scale urban design features."
Sprawl & Smart Growth Resources (Maine State Planning Office, USA)
We suggest taking time to explore your gut feel about what is and is not sustainable, and about where local urban development and catchment management programs should head in practice ...
This is a practical application of 'listening to ourselves' - allowing our tacit, implicit, knowledge ... our 'feel' for what is going on to inform what we do ... As Polanyi, Gendlin and others have underlined, we each know more than it is easy to say. For more on how to 'use gut feel skillfully', see Listening to ourselves.
What is likely to be sustainable? How will social, economic and ecological dynamics play out? Can we design for flexibility and resilience, rather than design for a preferred outcome? |
Environmental and socioeconomic systems analysis |
Water sensitive urban design is one very practical way to improve the sustainability of urban development. |
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Who wins and who loses currently? Should development be more equitable? |
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Generally speaking, we don't develop land in ways that sustain the ecosystems on which we depend. Have you contemplated how to negotiate an alternative approach? |
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Have you contemplated sourcing additional funds so you can take a more innovative approach? |
