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Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is a strategy by which communities seek economic development approaches that also benefit the local environment and quality of life. It has become an important guide to many communities that have discovered that traditional approaches to planning and development are creating, rather than solving, social and environmental problems. Where traditional approaches can lead to congestion, sprawl, pollution and resource over-consumption, sustainable development offers real, lasting solutions that will strengthen our future.
Sustainable development provides a framework under which communities can use resources efficiently, create efficient infrastructures, protect and enhance quality of life, and create new businesses to strengthen their economies. It can help us create healthy communities that can sustain our generation, as well as those that follow ours.
Sustainable development is not a new concept. Rather, it is the latest expression of a long-standing ethic involving people's relationships with the environment and the current generation's responsibilities to future generations. For a community to be truly sustainable, it must adopt a threesome approach that considers economic, environmental and cultural resources. Communities must consider these needs in the short term as well as the long term.
