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Sustainable Communities by Design
Session: Sustainable Communities by Design March 30, 10:15 AM John Wells Lindberg Ekola 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 community’s 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 everyone’s 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 today’s 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 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 state’s 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 |