Sustainable development

Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs.

Sustainability refers to the ability of a society to continue functioning into indefinite future without being forced into decline through elimination of key resources.

Sustainable development is a strategy by which communities seek economic development approaches that also benefit the local environment and quality of life. Where traditional approaches can lead to consumption of resources, sustainable development offers real, lasting solutions that will strengthen our future.

It provides a framework under which communities can use resources efficiently, create efficient infra structure, protect and enhance quality of life. It help us to create healthy communities that can sustain our generation as well as those who follow ours. It involves people relationships with the environment and the current generation responsibilities to future generations.

For a community to be truly sustainable, it must adopt three approach that considers:

economic resources.
environment resources.
cultural resources.

Sustainability is the emerging doctrine that economic growth and development must take place and be maintained over time, within the limits set by the ecology.

The word sustainable has roots in the Latin, meaning to hold up or to support from below. A community must be supported from below, by its inhabitants, present and future.

Focus and scale of sustainability

Focus and scale of sustainability efforts depend on local conditions including resources, individual actions, and the unique features of the community. Sustainable communities approach has been applied to the issues such as:

urban sprawl
inner city development
economic development growth
ecosystem management
agriculture
biodiversity
green buildings
energy conservation
water shed management
pollution control

Many of these issues cannot easily be addressed by traditional approaches within our society.

Definition of Urban Sprawl

The spreading of urban developments such as houses and shopping centers on undeveloped land near a city that formerly had a few people living in it.

Reference:

Developing the environment, problems and management by C J barrow
UN world commission on environment and development
Robert Gilman, president of context institute.
William D Ruckelshaus, “Toward a sustainable world”