SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Re-Imagining the Goleta Valley: Blueprint for a Sustainable Future Featured Speaker Paul Zykofsky, AICP Director, Land Use and Transportation Programs
See Paul Zykofsky Presentation Paul Zykofsky, AICP, has been director of land use and transportation programs at the Local Government Commission and has managed its Center for Livable Communities since 1995. Workshop 2 Walkable neighborhoods & design charrette: TSP provided a collaborative effort to study the ideas and proposals of various groups and work toward a vision for the residents and businesses of Goleta Valley so that planning and policy decisions can be made to ensure a sustainable future. read more… Newsletter #2 Sustainable development encompasses established principles of good planning and advocates a proactive approach to future development. The basic concept of sustainability is meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development can be further defined as promoting the “three E’s:” environment, economy, and equity. For example, a decision or action aimed at promoting economic development should not result in decreased environmental quality or social inequity. Ensuring that a given decision or action promotes all three E’s is often referred to as the triple bottom line.
What does sustainable development look like on the ground?
In a community that is developing sustainably, the neighborhood is the basic building block of urban design and is characterized by walkability, mixed-use development, and mixed-income housing. Walkability is a function of compactness and density. Attention to streetscape and public spaces is a key design element in creating desirable places to live. Such neighborhoods, also known as neo-traditional or new urbanist development, are more likely to support efficient transit systems. The character and function of each neighborhood is then placed properly within its regional setting. This approach to planning, from the neighborhood to the regional level, is often referred to as smart growth.
Sustainable development goals and policies include the following:
1. Decrease urban sprawl.
- Promote compact, walkable, mixed-use development.
- Promote infill development.
- Restore urban and town centers.
- Limit non-contiguous (leapfrog) development.
- Promote transit-oriented development.
2 Protect open space and working landscapes.
- Conserve prime agricultural lands.
- Conserve lands of scenic and recreational value. Use open space to define
urban communities.
3 Protect environmentally sensitive lands.
- Conserve natural habitat lands.
- Preserve habitat connectivity. Minimize impact to watershed functions, including
water quality and natural floodways. Avoid natural hazards.
4 Create strong local and regional economies.
- Encourage jobs/housing balance.
- Provide adequate housing for all income levels. Encourage the expansion
of telecommunications infrastructure. Provide a fair and predictable land
use planning process.
5 Promote energy and resource efficiency.
- Support energy- and resource-efficient industries. Promote
waste reduction programs, such as recycling.
From: California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Oct., 2003. General Plan Guidelines
The Principles of Livable Communities (South
Coast Livable Communities, 2002)
Livable communities reflect the convergence of social, environmental, and economic health. The principles of livable communities are interrelated. Taken together, they serve as a guide and catalyst rather than a rigid set of rules. · Transportation and Land-use Planning Transportation and land-use planning are integrated. Development is organized in the form of walkable transit-oriented communities so that a range of transportation options is available for all activities of daily living. · Rural and Urban Environments The interdependence of the region’s rural and urban areas is reinforced in public policy and planning. Recreational and passive open space is mixed into the region’s centers, neighborhoods, and districts. · Public Services and Civic Opportunities Vital public
places are distributed throughout the community. Public services and civic opportunities
are decentralized in convenient locations near the people they are intended to serve. · Housing A range of housing opportunities and choices are provided for people at all income levels, ages, and abilities with special emphasis on low income and workforce housing. · Natural Resources Essential resources are conserved and used sustainably. The natural environment is enhanced and protected. · Community Economic opportunity, social equity, environmental justice, and inclusive participatory public processes are provided to ensure
a healthy diverse community.
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Blueprint Planning in California: Forging Consensus on
Metropolitan Growth and Development
Elisa Barbour and Michael Teitz
For California, blueprint efforts now under way constitute an unprecedented and important set of innovations in urban and metropolitan governance. http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/op/OP_606EBOP.pdf
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http://wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au/publications/e_public/Case%20Studies_Asia/suscit/suscit.htm
http://www.sbcag.org/PDFs/publications/FinalReport081604-complete.pdf
http://www.sbbike.org/docs/SCLCT.pdf
Checkout Smart Communities Network www.sustainable.doe.gov/
This website offers information and services on how a commuity
can adopt sustainable development as a strategy for well being. On this website
you’ll be able to:
- Read about other communities that have discovered the benefits
of sustainable development - Locate technical and financila resources that can help our community
to plan and carry out sustainable development projects, and - Access model ordinances and codes that other communities have
used to implement sustainable development.