Sustainable Communities by Design
Session: Sustainable Communities by Design
March 30, 10:15 AM
John Wells
Minnesota Environmental Quality Board
Lindberg Ekola
Ekola & Associates, LLC
Brian Ross
Abstract
Bringing people together to plan for the future of their community is, at its
core, a way to reinvigorate democracy and self-governance, core values of a
sustainable society. But, shaping a communitys future in a complex, hurried
and changing world is not easy. Competing forces of local to global sources
pressure decision-makers for rapid, sometimes rash action. Yet, a community
that invests energy and resources into a comprehensive plan, and into connecting
with its citizens in crafting that plan, gives itself a framework for making
those decisions with an agreed upon future in mind. Done right, it is a powerful
prescription for a community choosing its own future rather than letting outside
or narrow home grown forces make those choices on everyones behalf.
Minnesota planning guides, "Under Construction: Tools and Techniques for
Local Planning" and From Policy to Reality: Model Ordinances for
Sustainable Development describe step by step how a community can make
the connections needed with its citizens and across issues and governments
to adopt and implement a plan for a sustainable future. The basic steps
are nothing new, but the sustainability twist, new to most, is to consider all
sides and interconnections of issues, to engage all affected parties (e.g.,
school districts, energy providers and neighboring communities), to think not
so much of balancing tradeoffs but of changing ways of doing business and, finally,
to think long-term about the implications and costs of todays decisions.
Several Minnesota communities have developed plans based upon this framework.
The session discusses the successes and challenges faced in developed and developing
counties (Hennepin and St. Louis) and natural resource-based counties (Todd
and Itasca) and their cities. Speakers offer session participants examples of
how they made connections in plan development and implementation, and how they
were able to avoid potential plan-killing threats.
Sustainable Communities
by Design
Author and Copyright Information
Copyright 2003 by authors
John R. Wells, Sustainable Development Director
Minnesota Environmental Quality Board
658 Cedar Street; St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 297-2377 (ph); (651) 296-3698 (fax)
email: john.wells@state.mn.us
web address: www.mnplan.state.mn.us/SDI/index.html
John Wells is sustainable development director for the Minnesota Environmental
Quality Board. In this capacity, he is responsible for coordinating the Minnesota
Sustainable Development Initiative and overseeing the states water planning
program. Wells has held this post since late 1992. Prior to this, he served
as state water planning director. He received his Master of Science in Public
Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977 and his
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison
in 1972.
Lindberg Ekola
Ekola & Associates, LLC
434 East 7th Street North
Melrose, MN 56352
(320) 256-2112
ekola@charter.net |