Our vision for the future is of a region that embraces common values of solidarity, equality and mutual respect between people, countries and generations. It is a region characterised by sustainable development, including economic vitality, justice, social cohesion, environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources so as to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Unece - Vision).
Ottawa's 20-20 Vision, Agenda 21, Bruntland are all important milestones in surfacing the debate on "sustainability". Socio-economic sustainable development has become a widely accepted goal but what does it really mean? How can it be achieved? Who is responsible?
Sustainability has in the past been deeply rooted in the built environment but is, in all truth, inherently holistic, reaching across environmental, social and economic domains. Although in my opinion industry and the government in principle both acknowledge the need to develop a more sustainable approach in their operations, to my understanding it is proving to be a slower process to be achieved in practice. The way I see it, the emphasis has to shift towards the responsibilisation of neighbourhoods with enforcement becoming more "citizen-focused and citizen-friendly".
The central features of sustainable communities should include: a flourishing economic base, an agenda constructed on long-term commitment that is not dominated by dependent forms of development, engaged social operators, a healthy voluntary sector, accountability, good quality governance, a solid social capital and the creation of a sense of place and space.
On the other hand, the characteristics of an unsustainable community would comprise a vulnerable, insecure, short-term and divisive agenda, long-term passive and dependent citizens, non-effective political communities, lack of community engagement, low levels of voluntary activity, closed, unaccountable systems of governance and citizens hooked on parochialism.
Lately, the focus of public policy seems to be shifting away from direct government intervention towards a new vision constructed around the creation, identification and mobilisation of active communities and citizens who are able to take greater responsibility for addressing their own socio-economic well-being and quality of life issues. This new approach stands for an extension of communitarian ideas whereby communities represent the essential building-blocks of social harmony and progress.
The new logic is that "more developed communities and communities with more capacity are safer and healthier places to live in". The opposite is also true in that dependent communities are, by definition, unable to take responsibility for themselves or the environment around them and often contribute to their own socio-economic woes. This new emphasis on community-focused citizenship has profound implications for the form and character of local governance and the planning process. It potentially establishes new relationships between state agencies and communities.
One of the defining principles of sustainability is that democratic systems of governance should become more open and accountable, with powers and responsibilities devolved to the lowest possible level to ensure greater connectivity between citizens and state. Sustainability is both an honourable goal for carefully-defined purposes and a camouflaged trap for the well-intentioned unwary. Few, these days, would contest the fact that sustainability is something desirable in environmental terms and that it represents a substantial victory for the environmental cause. As a concept and a slogan, it has a principled pedigree. In the environmental movement, by and large, it has succeeded in its fight to have the standard of sustainability generally accepted by all. In practice severe conflicts of interest still beset efforts to establish specific standards.
Changes within the present system may be targeted at problems of environmental degradation, climate change and global warming. But good planning presumably calls for the endorsement of a fundamental value: social justice. This value needs to be enmeshed within fundamental institutional reform, strategic policy, analytical capacity, political congruence and alignment, integrated decision-making, ecosystem management, political will and most definitely leadership in the community engagement agenda. This is the time to be counted!