Components of a Sustainable Community
(taken from the Egan Review of Skills for Sustainable Communities, ODPM 2004)
A Sustainable Community is defined as
‘A place where people want to work and live, now and in the future’
. Sustainable Communities embody the principles of sustainable development. They balance and integrate the social, economic and environmental components of their community, meet the needs of existing and future generations and respect the needs of other communities in the wider region or internationally to make their community sustainable.
Sustainable communities are diverse and reflect their local circumstances. There is no standard template to fit them all but they should be:
- Active, inclusive and safe – fair, tolerant and cohesive with a strong local culture and other shared community activities
- Well run – with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership
- Environmentally sensitive – providing places for people to live that are considerate of the environment
- Well designed and built – featuring a quality built and natural environment
- Well connected – with good transport services and communication linking people to jobs, schools, health and other services
- Thriving – with a flourishing and diverse local economy
- Well served – with public, private, community and voluntary services that are appropriate to people’s needs and accessible to all
- Fair for everyone – including those in other communities, now and in the future.