Planners Book Club — April 2008

Toward Sustainable Communities

Toward Sustainable Communities was the April 2008 selection of Planners Book Club.

What has worked in U.S. environmental policy since the 1970s? What hasn't? Toward Sustainable Communities examines policies that support sustainability and key issues such as pollution, transportation, and regional ecosystem management.

Here are some questions to get your discussion started.

In his forward, Jeb Brugmann mentions that a key feature of creating sustainable communities is to master market forces and bend them toward sustainability through "alliances and partnerships, new models of organization, and new frameworks for understanding how our communities fit into a globally networked society and ecosystem." Discuss three approaches from the book that redefine the effects of market forces.

Chapter 1 discusses elements of community capital that include natural capital; physical, economical, and human capital; and social and cultural capital. How are each of these elements manifest in your community? What tradeoffs might be necessary between elements in order to do development differently as described on page 12?

What does it mean to import sustainability as described in Chapter 2?

Page 117 defines "access-to-exchange-disadvantaged." This term includes those who cannot drive or who choose not to drive. How many people fit these criteria in your community? What methods or programs could be used to enable this portion of the population to live a mobile lifestyle? How could these adjustments affect the sustainability of your community?

According to Chapter 10, what changes to land use and urban form might help cities and towns better manage public service and infrastructure provision? How could mixed-use zoning, dual tax systems, and new urbanism help or hinder communities as they manage public services and infrastructure?

Which of the municipal initiatives to promote affordable housing on page 156 does your community have in place? Which ones could be improved or added to create a more robust affordable housing strategy?

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