THE PURPOSE AND UTILITY OF SUSTAINABILITY PLANS

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Date

2018

Authors

Forsi, Aiden

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon

Abstract

Triple bottom line sustainability is an increasingly important goal for cities across the country. Bringing environmental conservation, social equity, and economic stability on to even footing in the policy playing field is being recognized as a good way to create healthy, just, and happy communities. Cities are developing different ways to address sustainability, including developing sustainability plans. While creating sustainability plans may seem like a straightforward way to achieve sustainability goals, there has been no academic research to show that these plans are supporting broad triple bottom line policies, or that they are in alignment with other important city documents like comprehensive plans. This report addresses those two questions, using the Sustaining Places: Best Practices for Comprehensive Plans standards developed as part of the American Planning Association’s Sustaining Places Initiative, and finds that sustainability plans have a narrow focus on environmental policies, and align with comprehensive plans only where there is a nexus between the those environmental policies and the land use policies in the comprehensive plan. This report also provides recommendations to cities thinking of developing sustainability plans or looking to better align them with their comprehensive plans.

Description

46 pages

Keywords

sustainability plan, comprehensive plan, plan alignment, sustainable development

Citation