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<H1>sustainable communities and  neighbourhoods. theory, policy and 
practice</H1>
<H2>In recent years there has  been much talk of the need for sustainable 
communities. But what is a  sustainable community? Why do neighbourhoods matter 
and why is sustainability  important? What are the implications of debates 
around sustainability for  community policy and practice?</H2>
<H6>contents: <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#introduction">introduction</A> 
· <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#background">the 
background</A> · <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#sustainable_communities">
sustainable communities</A> ·  <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#sprawl">sprawl</A> 
· <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#liveable">livable, 
enduring  neighbourhoods</A> · <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#sustainability">sustainable 
communities – a  policy example</A> · <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#conclusion">conclusion 
- some possibilities for  local action</A> · <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#biblio">
further reading and references</A> · <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/sustainable_communities_and_neighbourhoods.htm#cite">how 
to cite this article</A></H6>
<P><IMG width="600" height="370" alt="The picture 'shadow work' is by Tony Hall and is reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence (Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/anotherphotograph/3389627948/" 
src="sustainable%20communities%20and%20neighbourhoods%20theory,%20policy%20and%20practice_files/shadow_work_tonyhall_cc.jpg"></P>
<P><I>Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present 
 without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 
</I>World Commission on Environment and  Development 1987</P>
<P>Debates around the desirability and possibilities of sustainable communities 
 take place against the background of four linked phenomenon: climate change, 
 urbanization, economic growth and globalization. In short, there has been a 
 fundamental shift in the way that many people relate to, and experience, the 
 world. As a planet we are living beyond our means. We have not been able to 
 create on any scale ways of living in the world that allow people to share 
 properly, and that do not damage the well-being of future generations. In this 
 piece we want to explore this background and then look at what might be 
involved  in a sustainable community - and the associated notion of an enduring  
<A 
href="http://www.infed.org/community/neighbourhoods_and_regeneration.htm">neighbourhood</A>. 
We also look at one particular policy initiative – the English  'Communities 
Plan' and how it measures up in terms of its green credentials.  In the 
conclusion we examine some possibilities for local action.</P>
<H4><A name="background"></A>The background</H4>
<P>To begin it is worth reminding ourselves of the impact of climate change, 
 urbanization, economic growth and globalization.</P>
<P><I>Climate change</I>. As we know, the earth's climate is constantly changing 
 – but in recent years there has been a significant change. The 
Intergovernmental  Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted that global 
temperature will rise  by the end of the century by between 1.4C and 5.8C. Most 
of the warming that has  occurred over the last 50 years is, according to the 
IPCC (2007), attributable  to human activities. The result of this will be a 
further rise in sea levels  (and an increased risk of flooding), problems around 
fresh-water supplies in  many parts of the world, a decrease in agricultural 
productivity in many areas,  and significant health risks. The Stern Review 
(2006) concluded that climate  change presents very serious global risks, and it 
demands an urgent global  response. It will impact disproportionately on poorer 
countries – but even in  richer countries, if nothing is done there will be 
profound economic  consequences. Overall, it could mean the equivalent of around 
a 20% reduction in  consumption per head.</P>
<P><I>Urbanization</I>. In Europe and north America over 80 per cent of the 
 population already live in urban areas. There is also rapid change happening 
 elsewhere in the world. Within a couple of years the urban population of the 
 earth will outnumber the rural (Davis 2007: 1). </P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>	In 1950 there were 86 cities in the world with a population of 
  more than one 	million; today there are 400, and by 2015 there will be at 
  least 550. 	Cities, indeed, have absorbed nearly two-thirds of the global 
  population 	explosion since 1950, and are currently growing by a million 
  babies and 	migrants each week. The world's urban workforce has more than 
  doubled since 	1980, and the present urban population – 3.2 billion – is 
  larger than the 	total population of the world ... [in 1960]. The global 
  countryside 	meanwhile, has reached its maximum population and will begin to 
  shrink after 	2020. As a result cities will account for virtually all future 
  world 	population growth, which is expected to peak at about 10 billion in 
  2050. 	(Davies 2007: 1-2)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>All this has profound implications. The movement has involved a huge growth 
 in the number of people living in slums (over one billion in the South 
according  the United Nations (UN-Habitat 2003). It is also not sustainable 
under current  conditions. As Herbert Girardet (1999: 9) has commented, it is 
unlikely that the  world 'can accommodate an urbanized humanity which routinely 
draws resources  from ever more distant hinterlands, or routinely uses the 
biosphere, the oceans  and the atmosphere as a sink for its wastes'.</P>
<P><I>Economic growth</I>. For a century or more the overwhelming majority of 
 states have placed the highest priority upon economic growth. Political thought 
 has become locked into what J. R. McNeill has described as the 'growth fetish' 
 (quoted by Speth 2005: 137). The result has been a large increase in industrial 
 production and in the consumption of non-renewable resources. This, in turn, 
has  also contributed significantly to global warming. While there are all sorts 
of  debates around the figures, it is clear that with exponential economic 
growth,  the exhaustion of mineral and energy resources becomes a real 
possibility within  a century or so. Furthermore, the benefits of growth have 
not been shared  equally. There is a crisis of inequality with a widening gap 
between rich and  poor in most countries (World Bank 2007).</P>
<P><I>Globalization</I>. <A 
href="http://www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm">Globalization</A> - the 
 spread and connectedness of production, communication and technologies across 
 the world - has been developing for centuries. However, many believe the 
current  situation is of a fundamentally different order to what has gone 
before. The  speed of communication and exchange, the complexity and size of the 
networks  involved, and the sheer volume of trade, interaction and risk give 
what we now  label as 'globalization' a peculiar force. With increased economic 
 interconnection has come deep-seated political changes. Poorer, 'peripheral', 
 countries have become even more dependent on activities in 'central' economies 
 such as the USA where capital and technical expertise tend to be located. There 
 has also been a shift in power away from the nation state and toward, some 
 argue, multinational corporations. We have also witnessed the rise and 
 globalization of the 'brand'. It isn't just that large corporations operate 
 across many different countries - they have also developed and marketed 
products  that could be just as well sold in Peking as in Washington. Brands 
like Coca  Cola, Nike, Sony, and a host of others have become part of the fabric 
of vast  numbers of people's lives. </P>
<P>These linked phenomenon help to explain why sustainability has come onto the 
 political agenda. If nothing else the economic risks of inaction around climate 
 change, as the Stern Review (2006) pointed out, are so huge that even the most 
 sceptical industrialists and financiers are realizing that there is a problem 
to  address. </P>
<H4><A name="sustainable_communities"></A>Sustainable  communities</H4>
<P>'Sustainability' has no single or agreed meaning. 'It takes on meaning within 
 different political ideologies and programmes underpinned by different kinds of 
 knowledge, values and philosophy' (Huckle 1996: 3). A 'weak' view of 
sustainable  development looks to continuing economic growth on terms that 
favour existing  financiers and corporations (while maintaining the support of 
the majority of  voters in countries like the UK). A strong view 'represents a 
revised form of  self-reliant community development which sustains people's 
livelihoods using  appropriate technology' (Huckle 1996: 4). The former would 
fit in with what we  might now describe as the mainstream of politics in many 
northern countries; the  latter represents a greener and more holistic vision. 
It echoes the concerns of  E. F. Schumacher (1973) when he argued for a concern 
with appropriate scale,  wholeness and connectedness. </P>
<P>In a similar fashion discussion of '<A href="http://www.infed.org/community/community.htm">community</A>' 
is fraught with difficulties –  it is, essentially, a social term that can be 
associated with a particular  place, or it can be applied to a network or group 
of people with a shared  interest (see the article on <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/community.htm">community</A>). 
The vast bulk of writing about  sustainable communities is concerned with place. 
What is often meant by  community in these discussions is actually a particular 
area. Here, as we will  see below, it is probably most helpful to think in terms 
of <I><A href="http://www.infed.org/community/neighbourhoods_and_regeneration.htm">neighbourhood</A></I>. 
 By this we mean 'a residential or mixed used area around which people can 
 conveniently walk. Its scale is geared to pedestrian access...' (Barton 2000: 
 5). In many towns and cities neighbourhoods blend into each other – the result 
 of many years of development and change. Where one neighbourhood begins and 
 another ends can be a matter of fierce debate amongst locals. Three other 
things  about neighbourhoods are also worth noting at this point (and here we 
are  following Barton 2000: 5). First, planners will often view neighbourhoods 
 essentially as a setting for a particular function e.g. as a base for home 
life,  employment, retail activities and so on. Second, people will often 
associate  particular experiences, hopes and values to an area. This sense of 
localness and  distinctiveness provides us with a sense of place. Last, a 
neighbourhood might  well provide hook for feelings of community and the setting 
for the sorts of  relationships and networks that we call community. </P>
<P>To help focus our discussion we have taken a provisional definition of a 
 sustainable city from Herbert Girardet. By city he is actually talking about 
all  significant human settlements.</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>	A 'sustainable city' is organized so as to enable all its 
  citizens to meet 	their own needs and to enhance their well-being without 
  damaging the natural 	world or endangering the living conditions of other 
  people, now or in the 	future. (Girardet 1999: 13)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>This definition has a number of things going for it. It places people and 
 their long term needs at the centre. These include:</P>
<UL>
  <LI>
  <P>Good quality air and water, health food and 	good housing.</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>Good quality education, a vibrant culture, 	good health care, satisfying 
  employment or occupations and a sharing of 	wealth.</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>Safety in public places, equal 	opportunities, freedom of expression and 
  catering for the needs of the 	young, the old and the disabled. (<I>op. 
  cit.</I>)</P></LI></UL>
<P>This is clearly a greener, and more inclusive approach to sustainability than 
 exists within the current policies of most countries (see below). It looks to 
 the environment <I>and</I> to economics <I>and</I> to social relationships and 
 social justice. As such it is a more hopeful vision – and this, we believe, is 
 vital to education and community development. Without hope, we easily lose 
 direction and the capacity to find it. <A href="http://www.infed.org/biblio/hope.htm">Hope</A>, 
'buffers us against falling into  apathy in the face of tough going' (Halpin 
2003).</P>
<H4><A name="sprawl"></A>Sprawl</H4>
<P>Sprawl – the spreading out of cities and towns over the land surrounding them 
 – has created major problems with regard to sustainability and community. It 
has  involved:</P>
<UL>
  <LI>
  <P>using 'single-use zoning' i.e. separating residential areas from 
  	commercial and industrial areas; </P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>building at a lower density i.e. having far fewer homes and buildings in 	a 
  given space; and</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>commuting – building miles of roads to connect the different zones and 
  	activities; and consuming significant amounts of people's time and resources 
  	so that they move from one place to the next (Duany 2000: 7). </P></LI></UL>
<P>Places 	characterized by sprawl tend to be highly energy-inefficient (Giradet 
	1999: 48). They use significantly more resources than urban living.  In the 
United States, for example, it has been calculated that areas of suburban 
 sprawl use five  times more pipe and wire, five times as much heating and 
cooling energy. They also  use 35 times as much land, and require 15 times as 
much  roads/pavement as compact urban living (Sierra Club undated). 
Unfortunately, it  has been the main pattern of growth in North America and the 
UK. Duany <I>et.  al. </I>have summed up the problem as follows:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>	Unlike the traditional neighbourhood model, 	which evolved 
  organically as a response to human needs, suburban sprawl is 	an idealized 
  artificial system. It is not without a certain beauty: it is 	rational, 
  consistent and comprehensive. Its performance is largely 	predictable. It is 
  an outgrowth of modern problem-solving: a system for 	living. Unfortunately, 
  this system is showing itself to be unsustainable. 	Unlike the traditional 
  neighbourhood, sprawl is not healthy growth; it is 	essentially 
  self-destructive. Even at relatively low population densities, 	sprawl tends 
  not to pay for itself financially and consumes land at an 	alarming rate, 
  while producing insurmountable traffic problems and 	exacerbating social 
  inequity and isolation... As the ring of suburbia grows 	around most of our 
  cities, so grows the void at the centre. (Duany 	 <I>et. al. </I>2000: 
4)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>In 2000 in Britain, just one new home on average was being built on the land 
 that was used for eight homes in 1900 (Rogers and Power 2000: 84). Building at 
a  relatively low density has a major impact on the sort of services that can be 
 offered. Indeed in many areas there are too few people to keep services going. 
 The English Urban Task Force showed that living at greater densities – along 
the  lines of traditional patterns – can make communities more sustainable and 
 viable. As Rogers and Power (2000: 185) report, 'At below fifty dwellings to 
the  hectare, it is hard to keep shops, buses, doctors, even nurseries and 
schools,  within walking distance of everyone'. Furthermore, the lower the 
density of  building in an area, the less economical it becomes to provide 
public transport  to it. Girardet (1999: 49).</P>
<P>There has been a further casualty of sprawl – social capital and local 
 community life. As <A href="http://www.infed.org/thinkers/putnam.htm">Putnam 
</A>(2000) found, suburban sprawl has fractured the  spatial integrity of 
people’s lives. They travel much further to work, shop and  enjoy leisure 
opportunities. As a result there is less time available (and less  inclination) 
to become involved in local groups and networks. Furthermore, the  relative 
distance between people has further encouraged privatized living –  <A href="http://www.infed.org/association/b-assoc.htm">association</A> 
(which underpins civic life) requires density of contacts in  institutions and 
public spaces (Rogers and Power 2000: 144).</P>
<H4><A name="liveable"></A>Livable, enduring neighbourhoods</H4>
<P>In recent years some of the most interesting developments in terms of 
 thinking about the significance of <A href="http://www.infed.org/community/neighborhoods_and_regeneration.htm">neighbourhood</A> 
for planning and the  environment has been associated with the 'new urbanism' 
movement in the United  States. Based in a thorough-going critique of the 
effects of sprawl, writers  have made the case for 'walkable, human-scaled 
neighbourhoods as the building  blocks of sustainable communities and regions' 
(see particularly Duany <I>et.  al. </I>2000). One of the notions linked  to 
their work has been that of livability – how people perceive the  environmental 
and social quality of an area.</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>	The separate-use zoning codes that shape sprawling exurban areas 
  make it 	impossible to do anything but drive between all important 
  destinations -- 	home, work, school, stores and cultural destinations. Compact 
  urbanism 	brings many of those locations within walking distance and urban 
  densities 	support high-quality transit service, giving people convenient 
  lower-impact 	ways of getting around. Even better, New Urbanism makes these 
  features part 	of environments recognized for their livability, desirability 
  and sense of 	place. It's not about taking away people's right to drive; it's 
  about them 	choosing to use their cars less by taking advantage of compelling 
  urban 	places. (Congress for the New Urbanism 2007)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck in discussing the rise 
 of sprawl look at the US traditional neighbourhood pattern. They suggest six 
 fundamental rules that have been around for centuries – but that provide 'a 
 fully valid framework for the design and redesign of our communities' (2000: 
 14-18). They concern:</P>
<OL>
  <LI>
  <P><I>The centre</I>. Each neighbourhood needs a clear centre – a place 	where 
  we can find shops, commerce, social and cultural activities and 	government 
  offices.</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P><I>The five minute walk</I>. People 	should be able to satisfy the 
  'ordinary needs of life: living, working and 	shopping' within five minutes 
  walk from their homes. </P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P><I>The street network</I>. A street 	pattern should take the form of a 
  continuous web with paths linking one 	place to another. In suburbia things 
  are more spread out, and linear. This 	means that people do not have the same 
  incentive to walk, nor the same 	flexible and choice about routes.</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P><I>Narrow, versatile streets.</I> Where 	there are a larger number of 
  streets (as in a traditional neighbourhood 	pattern) it means that traffic can 
  be shared and streets smaller. 	 </P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P><I>Mixed use</I>. In suburbia areas are 	often zoned – residential areas 
  are kept separate from industrial areas, 	these in turn are separated from 
  commercial areas. In the traditional 	neighbourhood pattern the buildings on a 
  streets are classically used for 	different purposes.</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P><I>Special sites for special buildings</I>. 	Traditional neighbourhoods 
  usually make a special place for civic buildings 	 – libraries, schools, town 
  and city halls, places of worship. </P></LI></OL>
<P>The quest for more sustainable communities – neighbourhoods that will endure 
 and are livable – requires that we look to qualities such as these and to 
 explore what can be done both in the suburbs and cities to reinvigorate areas. 
 In the case of the latter, Rogers and Power (2000: 284) argue for working from 
 the centre outwards, 'layer by layer, starting by reconnecting the innermost 
 neighbourhoods which are only minutes on foot from vibrant centres'. Compact 
 cities work on four axes:</P>
<UL>
  <LI>
  <P>Creating vibrant, dense centres;</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>Revitalizing inner neighbourhoods;</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>Organizing accessible public transport across cities; and</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P>Protecting and enhancing the environment. (<I>op. cit.</I>)</P></LI></UL>
<P>Suburbs can also be regenerated and  reinvigorated. Significantly relatively 
little effort has gone into this. Rogers  and Power (2000: 249) argue that 
suburbs offer many under-used buildings and  patches of land that can be used 
for small additions. 'Renovating, managing,  diversifying and densifying suburbs 
so that they become neighbourhood centres in  their own right and more 
integrated into urban patterns should', they argue, ' be  part of the renewal 
strategy of towns and cities'.</P>
<H4>Sustainable communities – a policy example from England</H4>
<P>In 2003 the English government launched what they described as the 
 'Communities Plan' (<I><SPAN style="text-decoration: none;">Sustainable 
 Communities: Building for the future</SPAN></I>). The plan set out a programme 
 of action for 'delivering sustainable communities in both urban and rural 
 areas'. Like many other New Labour initiatives of the time, the plan was 
 presented in glowing and seemingly ambitious terms. On an initial reading it 
 looks like it takes quite a strong line on sustainability. The plan defined 
 sustainable communities as places where:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>	... people want to live and work, now and in the future. They 
  meet the 	diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to 
  their 	environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe 
  and 	inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity 
  	and good services for all.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="margin-right: 0pt; margin-left: 0pt;">	It asserted that for 
  communities to be sustainable, they must offer:</BLOCKQUOTE>
<UL>
  <LI>
  <P style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">decent homes at prices people can 
  afford</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">good public transport</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">schools</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">hospitals</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">shops</P></LI>
  <LI>
  <P style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">a clean, safe environment.</P></LI></UL>
<P>The report also argued that people need open public space where 'they can 
 relax and interact and the ability to have a say on the way their neighbourhood 
 is run'. (Department of Communities and Local Government undated)</P>
<P>This understanding leads, it was suggested, to a focus on eight 
components:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Governance</I> - Well run communities with effective and 
  inclusive 	participation, representation and leadership.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Transport and Connectivity</I> - Well connected communities 
  with good 	transport services and communications linking people to jobs, 
  health and 	other services.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Services</I> - Public, private and community and voluntary 
  services that 	are accessible to all.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Environmental</I> - Providing places for people to live in an 
  	environmentally friendly way.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Equity</I> - Fair for everyone in our diverse world and for 
  both today's 	and tomorrow's communities.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Economy</I> - A thriving and vibrant local economy.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Housing and the Built Environment</I> - High quality 
buildings.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><I>Social and Culture</I> - Active, inclusive and safe with a 
  strong local 	culture and other shared community activities. (Academy for 
  Sustainable 	Communities undated)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>As ever, though, with policy pronouncements of this kind, the devil is in the 
 detail. How are these aspirations interpreted, what has found its way into 
 concrete initiatives, what targets have been set, and what resources allocated? 
 To explore this we want to look at aspects of two of the above components: 
 housing and the built environment, and shared community activity.</P>
<P><B>Housing and the built environment. </B>The problem facing any government 
 is that it has to deal with what past policies and actions (and inactions) have 
 bequeathed them. In the case of housing and the build environment it is a 
legacy  that will take an extra-ordinary political and financial commitment to 
effect  the sort of changes that are needed. The 'building for the future' 
element of  the Communities plan has been reflected in an increased allocation 
of resources  for social housing, and housing has become a stronger focus for 
policy with the  recognition that there is the potential of chronic under-supply 
especially in  south east England. However, as Hanley (2007) and others have 
noted, this  increase does not adequately address the problem. The relative 
neglect of  building social housing continues. Housing associations have not had 
the  capacity, nor been given the resources, to build housing at the rate 
required. Local authorities have  simply not been allowed to build on any scale 
(although  there has been some relaxation in this area). There has been a 
significant  increase in the private rented sector but it has been largely 
targeted at single  and smaller households – especially those in their twenties 
and thirties. </P>
<P>Where it comes to questions of sustainability and livability, the shortfall 
 in political will and resources is wider. Within cities there have been 
 significant increases in the density of housing required and planned, a growth 
 in the use of brownfield sites, and some movement in terms of encouraging mixed 
 use. However, in London the increase in density achieved in recent developments 
 is problematic. First, it has been reflected in an overwhelming focus on 
 building one and two bedroom apartments and a failure to provide  more 
family-friendly accommodation. It thus continues the problem of  over-crowding 
in the capital. Secondly, the density of building, and the  relative height of 
developments looks like recreating many of the problems that  came with 
inner-city council estates during the 1960s. Little or no attention  has been 
given in practical terms to thinking about neighbourhood centres.</P>
<P><B>Shared community activity/social capital</B>. Some  commitments have been 
made – in the broadest terms – to exploring how local  communities might be 
better 'empowered' (DCLG 2006; 2007). There is talk of  investing in some local 
'anchor' organizations; money has flowed into  initiatives like New Deal for 
Communities (although that is coming to an end);  and the earlier encouragement 
of tenant management organizations (TMOs) has had  some benefits in terms of 
stimulating local organizing and networks.  However, when we look at the full 
picture – in particular the way in which  central and local government seeks to 
define needs and then to contract  community and voluntary groups to fulfil the 
state's objectives we can see how much  further they need to travel. Very little 
money flows into authentic community  development activities i.e. where local 
people are encouraged to engage with  each other and the issues that face them, 
and then to organize. Central  government has still to come to terms with the 
cultivation of  <A href="http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm">social 
capital</A>.  Here the issue is that resources are needed but the more 
governments interfere –  the more likely they are to destroy the networks and 
relationships that are  needed to be developed and sustained (see the discussion 
of  <A href="http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm">social 
capital</A>). </P>
<H4><A name="conclusion"></A>Conclusion</H4>
<P>The notion of sustainable communities – and the associated ideas of livable 
 neighbourhoods – has led to some interesting explorations and provides us with 
a  number of pointers when thinking about the neighbourhoods and  communities of 
which we are a part, and that we have to engage with. While significant 
 elements of the discussion are linked to major policy questions, there is much 
 here for local community organizations and groups to think about – and to act 
 upon. </P>
<P>First, there is the task of learning and educating about the extent to which 
 our environment affects and generates our quality of life (Duany <EM>et. 
al.</EM> 2000: 240). Many people have some sense of this - but there is clearly 
work to  be done around helping those around us to appreciate the ecological 
problems we face, and  what changes we can all make in the way we live our lives 
and to our local  environment that might help us all to be happier and 
healthier. </P>
<P>Second, there are a range of small-scale projects and initiatives that we can 
 organize around at the local level. This can range from organizing more events 
 and activities that bring people together (and thus generate some of the 
feeling  and contact that is needed if people are to work together to change 
things) to  initiatives such encouraging less car-use on the school-run and 
improving the  physical environment of estates and neighbourhoods - perhaps 
through clean-up  events. Many local groups have taken a further step and got 
into developing  local services, facilitating business start-ups and so on. The 
importance of  this sort of activity cannot be underestimated. As James Gustave 
Speth has  shown, initiatives around the global environmental crisis bases upon 
a  philosophy of 'Just do it'&nbsp;- not waiting upon governments and 
organizations to  take action - have brought significant gains. What Speth calls 
'<A href="http://www.infed.org/community/jazz.htm">Jazz</A>'  - unscripted, 
voluntary initiatives that are decentralized and improvisational –  can be a 
great antidote to the sort of stultifying, bureaucratic government we  have got 
used to in many western countries. Such action cannot replace  government 
intervention - but it can often get to the places where the state  cannot; and 
by actively involving people can also be far more effective.  Unfortunately, 
much policy for poor communities, and those deemed marginalized  or 
disadvantaged:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>… tends to be driven by a deficit model that focuses on the 
  deficiencies of 	individuals and communities, rather than building upon the 
  individual, 	associational, and institutional assets and networks that already 
  exist. (Sirianni 	and Friedland 2001: 11)</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>In the end such deficit models fail. They cannot do what is necessary to 
 effect lasting change. They do not engage with people in a meaningful way. 
 Unfortunately, as McKnight (1995: 106) has commented, ‘As the power of 
profession  and service system ascend, the legitimacy, authority, and capacity 
of citizens  and community descend. The citizen retreats. The client advances’ 
(quoted by Sirianni and Friedland 2001). </P>
<P>Last, and certainly not least, local groups can become involved in 
 campaigning and organizing to alter local and national policy. Sometimes this 
is  thrust upon us - for example when our neighbourhood becomes the focus of a 
 regeneration initiative. At other times, we may want to take the initiative - 
 campaigning, for example, for more of mix in terms of housing, or looking to 
 improve public transport or seeking to establish a proper centre for a 
 neighbourhood.</P>
<P>Sustainable neighbourhoods need to be a central concern of community 
 development. As we have seen neighbourhoods still matter in many people's daily 
 lives - especially in the lives of families. We need to look to the design of 
the  environment, the quality of the housing and public buildings we inhabit, 
the  services we need, and - crucially - the networks and groups we belong to in 
our  neighbourhood. </P>
<H4><A name="biblio"></A>Further reading and references</H4>
<P>Duany, A., Plater-Zyberk, E. and Speck, J. (2000) <I>Suburban Nation: The 
 Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream.</I> New York: North Point 
 Press. An influential, committed and highly readle exploration of the problem 
of  suburban sprawl.</P>
<P>Girardet, Herbert (1999) <I>Creating Sustainable Cities</I>.  Dartington: 
Green Books. Good, short introduction to some of the key issues  written by a 
committed environmentalist.</P>
<P>Hanley, Lynsey (2007) <I>Estates. An intimate history</I>. London: Granta 
 Books. A very readable and insightful exploration from first-hand experience of 
 living on council estates.</P>
<P>Power, Anne (2007) <I>City Survivors. Bringing up children in disadvantaged 
 neighbourhoods</I>. Bristol: The Policy Press.  Based on a major study of 
people's experiences over a number of years this book  brings out the 
significance of neighbourhood and the problems that people face  in increasingly 
polarized areas.</P>
<P>Rogers, Richard and Power, Anne (2000) <I>Cities for a small country</I>. 
 London: Faber and Faber. Excellent overview of the problems of cities – and 
 discussion of the sort of radical solutions required.</P>
<P>Speth, James Gustave (2005) <I>Red  Sky at Morning. America and the crisis of 
the global environment</I>,  New Haven: Yale University Press. [Part of the book 
- resources for citizens -  can be downloaded on pdf. See, also the article on 
Speth in the encyclopaedia].  A great summary of the ecological crisis facing us 
and what might be involved in  the transition to sustainability.</P>
<H5>References</H5>
<P>Barton, Huw (2000) <I>Sustainable Communities. The potential for 
 eco-neighbourhoods.</I> London: Earthscan</P>
<P>Bookman, A, (2004) <I>Starting in our own backyards.  How working families 
can build community and survive the new economy</I>, New  York: Routledge.</P>
<P>Congress for the New Urbanism (2007) 'How Urbanism  Slows Global Warming', 
<I>CNU. </I>[<A 
href="http://www.cnu.org/node/946">http://www.cnu.org/node/946</A>.  Accessed 
January 9, 2008].</P>
<P>Department for Communities and Local Government  (2006) <I>Strong and 
prosperous communities. The Local Government White Paper</I>.  London: HMSO</P>
<P>Department for Communities and Local Government (2007) <I>An Action Plan for 
Community Empowerment: Building on Success</I>. London:  Department for 
Communities and Local Government.</P>
<P>Dorling, Daniel and Woodward, R.(1996) ‘Social  polarisation 1971-1991: a 
micro-geographical analysis of Britain’, <I>Progress  in Planning </I>45.</P>
<P>Dorling, Daniel <I>et. al. </I> (2007) <I>Poverty, wealth and place in 
 Britain, 1968 to 2005</I>. Bristol: The Policy  Press/Joseph Rowntree 
Foundation. [<A href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2019-poverty-wealth-place.pdf">http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2019-poverty-wealth-place.pdf</A>. 
 Accessed January 31, 2008].</P>
<P>Duany, A., Plater-Zyberk, E. and Speck, J. (2000) <I>Suburban Nation: The 
 Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream.</I> New York: North Point 
 Press.</P>
<P>Girardet, H. (1999) <I>Creating Sustainable Cities</I>.  Dartington: Green 
Books. </P>
<P>Girardet, Herbert (2004) <I>Cities, People, Planet, Liveable cities for a 
 sustainable world</I>. Chichester: Wiley Academic.</P>
<P>Halpin, D. (2003) 'Hope, utopianism and educational renewal', the 
 encyclopaedia of informal education, <A href="http://www.infed.org/biblio/hope.htm">www.infed.org/biblio/hope.htm</A>. 
 [Accessed January 8, 2008].</P>
<P>Hanley, Lynsey (2007) <I>Estates. An intimate history</I>. London: Granta 
 Books.</P>
<P>Hills, John (2007) Ends and Means: The future roles of social housing in 
 England. London: LSE/Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. [<A href="http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport34.pdf">http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport34.pdf</A>. 
 Accessed January 31, 2008].</P>
<P>Huckle, John (1996) 'Realizing sustainability in changing times' in John 
 Huckle and Stephen Sterling (eds.) <I>Education for Sustainability</I>. 
 London: Earthscan. </P>
<P>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) <I>Fourth Assessment 
Report</I>.  Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.</P>
<P>Jacobs, Jane (1965) <I>The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The 
 failure of town planning</I>. Harmondsworth:  Penguin. (First published by 
Random House 1961)</P>
<P>Longworth, Norman (2006) <I>Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning 
 Communities. Lifelong learning and local government.</I> London: Routledge.</P>
<P>Low, Judith (2003) <I>Behind the Gates. Life, security and he pursuit of 
 happiness in fortress America</I>. New York:  Routledge.</P>
<P>Lupton, R. (2003) <I>Poverty Street. Causes and consequences of neighbourhood 
 decline</I>. Bristol: The Policy Press.</P>
<P style="width: 599px;">McKnight, J. (1995) <EM>The Careless Society</EM>. New 
 York: Basic Books.</P>
<P>Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2003) <I>Sustainable communities. 
 Building for the future. </I>London: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. [<A 
href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/146289">http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/146289</A>. 
 Accessed January 7, 2008].</P>
<P>Power, Anne (2007a) <I>City Survivors. Bringing up children in disadvantaged 
 neighbourhoods</I>. Bristol: The Policy Press.</P>
<P>Power, Anne and Willmot, Helen (2007b) <I>Social Capital within the 
 Neighbourhood</I>. London: Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion. [<A 
href="http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport38.pdf">http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/CASEreport38.pdf</A>. 
 Accessed January 11, 2008]</P>
<P>Reader, John (2005) <I>Cities</I>. London: Vintage.</P>
<P>Rogers, Richard and Power, Anne (2000) <I>Cities for a small country</I>. 
 London: Faber and Faber.</P>
<P>Schumacher, E. F. (173) <I>Small is Beautiful. A study of economics as if 
 people mattered</I>. London: Abacus.</P>
<P>Sierra Club (undated) 'The cost of sprawl'. <A href="http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community/costs.asp">http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community/costs.asp</A>. 
 Accessed February 1, 2008].</P>
<P>Siranni, C. and Friedland, L. (2001) <I>Civic  Innovation in America. 
Community empowerment, public policy and the movement for  civic renewal</I>, 
Berkeley: University of California Press.</P>
<P>Speth, James Gustave (2005) <I>Red Sky at Morning.  America and the crisis of 
the global environment.</I> New Haven: Yale University  Press. </P>
<P class="style100">Stern, Nicholas (2006) <I>The Economics of Climate  Change. 
[The Stern Review]</I>. Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press. [Downloadable 
from: <A href="http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm">
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/</A></P>
<P><A href="http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm">
sternreview_index.cfm</A>.  Accessed January 8, 2008]</P>
<P>Taylor, C. (2007) <I>Return to Akenfield. Portrait of  an English village in 
the 21st century</I>, London: Granta.</P>
<P>Tett, Lyn (2006) <I>Community Education, Lifelong Learning and Social 
 Inclusion</I> 2e. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press.</P>
<P>Tonnies, Ferdinand (edited by Jose Harris and translated by Margaret Hollis) 
 (2001) <I>Community and Civil Society</I>, Cambridge: Cambridge University 
Press</P>
<P>Venkatesh, S. A. (2006) <I>Off the books. The  underground economy of the 
urban poor</I>. Harvard University Press.</P>
<P>United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (2003) <I>The 
 Challenge of Slums. Global report on human settlements 2003</I>.  Nairobi: 
UN-Habitat. [<A 
href="http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getPage.asp?page=downloads">http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getPage.asp?page=downloads</A>.
 Accessed: January 8, 2008].</P>
<P>World Bank ( 2007) <I>World Development Indicators</I>. Washington D.C.: The 
 World Bank.</P>
<P>World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) <I>Our Common Future. 
 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development </I> (The 
Brundtland Report). New York:  Oxford University Press. [<A href="http://www.anped.org/media/brundtland-pdf.pdf">http://www.anped.org/media/brundtland-pdf.pdf</A>. 
 Accessed January 7, 2008]</P>
<H4>Links </H4>
<P>The English Department of Communities and Local Government – <A href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/sustainablecommunities/sustainablecommunities/">download</A> 
the regional and main action plans.</P>
<P><A href="http://www.ascskills.org.uk/pages/sustainable-communities">Academy 
 for Sustainable Communities</A> – main site (supported by the English 
 government) with video interviews around what makes a sustainable 
community.</P>
<P><A href="http://www.cnu.org/">Congress for the New Urbanism</A>: provides 
 background to the movement and various resources. Try <A href="http://www.cnu.org/Intro_to_new_urbanism">'learn 
about new urbanism'.</A></P>
<P><EM>On infed.org</EM>: </P>
<P><A href="http://www.infed.org/community/jazz.htm">james gustave  speth, green 
jazz, social jazz and community development</A></P>
<P><A 
href="http://www.infed.org/community/neighborhoods_and_regeneration.htm">neighborhoods 
and regeneration:  theory, policy and practice</A></P>
<P><A name="cite"></A><STRONG>Acknowledgement</STRONG>: The picture 'shadow 
 work' is by Tony Hall and is reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence 
 (Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic) - 
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/anotherphotograph/3389627948/</P>
<P><B>How to cite this article</B>:  Smith, Mark K. (2008) 'Sustainable 
communities and neighbourhoods. Theory,  policy and practice', <I>the 
 encyclopaedia of informal education</I>.  [<A href="http://www.infed.org/communities/sustainable_communities.htm">www.infed.org/communities/sustainable_communities.htm</A>].</P>
<P class="style100">© Mark K.  Smith 2006, 2008</P>
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