Financing and Implementing Sustainable Development: A Local Planning Approach
Eric Lindquist, Texas A&M University, October 1999, 146 pp. (472840-00011-1)
There is a significant amount of research on the concepts of “sustainability” and “sustainable development,” yet few studies focus on how to move communities toward sustainability, encourage developers to use the principles of sustainability in construction or how to get cities to integrate these principles into their regulatory framework. The major objective of this report is the development of an inventory, or “primer,” of innovative methods for the development, finance and implementation of sustainable developments. Through the use of case studies, the identification of specific methods, techniques, and policies, and scenario-building, this primer will provide direction for interested participants in the process of sustainability. This report includes a discussion of the complex and ambiguous concepts of “sustainability,” “sustainable development,” and “sustainable transportation” in order to develop a basic understanding and framework for the report. Many barriers exist which confront planners, decision makers, and advocates when attempting to move a community along the path to sustainability, including cultural and behavioral, professional norms, economic development practices, and traditional planning practices. This report also presents several case studies which illustrate how communities, regions, and countries are approaching the problems associated with unsustainable transportation practices. These cases are supplemented by inventories of solutions to these barriers which are derived from further examinations of the research on and application of sustainability at the local level. Four categories of solutions are outlined: policy solutions, legislative solutions, planning solutions, and financial solutions. The findings from this study are then aggregated into a framework for the development of a scenario for sustainable transportation. This scenario consists of a modification model for transforming the traditional comprehensive planning process into one which integrates sustainability and objectives of sustainable development. This scenario presents a cyclical process for sustainable development from finance through implementation. The final section of the report focuses on the difficulty in integrating sustainability, as a concept, and sustainable development into professional practices and paradigms. For sustainable transportation to “work” it must become ingrained in our practice as planners and engineers. This report is an attempt to move in this direction.
Keywords: Sustainable Development, Sustainability, Sustainable Transportation, Planning, Transportation Finance
ENTIRE REPORT (Adobe Acrobat File – 509KBytes)