Community Connections News Release

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY QUIZ

by Terry L. Besser Assistant Professor and Extension Sociologist,
Iowa State University Extension to Communities

A sustainable community is one with a high quality of life for residents, economic vitality and a healthy environment. Using this definition, the Northwest Policy Center at the University of Washington took on the challenge of identifying the concrete signs of sustainability or non-sustainability. The signs, organized here as a checklist, can be used by residents to find areas of community strength and areas within their community that need improvement.

There is insufficient space here to reproduce the whole checklist. What follows are key items from each of the categories with a short explanation of each category. Check those that apply to your community. The unchecked boxes should be viewed as areas that pose an opportunity for community improvement.

Commitment
Residents of sustainable communities are attached to their neighborhoods, to the scenic, historical and spiritual values embodied by the community.

Commitment to place encourages people to work together to solve problems.

• There are celebrations, festivals, fairs and community projects that build a sense of commitment to community and its landscape.
• Forums exist where diverse members of the community can come together to develop a common vision, solve conflicts and advance mutual goals.
• Living wage jobs are available for members of the community within a reasonable distance from home.
• Education and training is available locally that provides residents with skills they need to gain, keep, or create living wage jobs.
• Adequate affordable housing is available for all residents, including the more economically vulnerable members.
• Residents, including businesses and landowners, are committed to the well-being of the community, its residents and the environment that sustains them.

• Residents purchase goods and services within the community whenever possible.
• Local businesses are innovative, keeping pace with changing market demands and technologies, ensuring their continued vitality.
• Businesses "add value" locally to renewable natural resources to increase the local economic benefits from sustainable harvest levels. The natural systems (lakes, prairies, farmlands, woodlands) that enrich the community are ecologically healthy.

• There is sufficient diversity in the local economy to help it weather downturns in individual businesses or economic sectors.
• Natural resource management practices maintain and promote native biological diversity, helping to maintain economic and ecological productivity over the long-term.
• The community contains broad-based, skilled leadership.
• There is adequate infrastructure to support public health.
• Adequate social support networks (both formal and informal) are in place to help people during times of need.

• Water quality and quantity are adequate to meet the needs of the community.
• The air is clean.
• Energy conservation is practiced.
• Solid waste is recycled, reused or reduced.
• Productive natural resources, environmentally sensitive lands and critical wildlife habitats are protected.
• The welfare of future generations is considered in decisions and policies.

Contacts: Terry L. Besser, ISU Extension Sociology, (515) 294-6508
Del Marks, ISU Extension Communication Systems, (515) 294-9807