Land UseSustainable Development

Environmental Justice

Community Theory

• Toennies

• Durkenheim

• Weber

• Marx

Atlanta 1970

• 1.39 million people

• 1,727 square miles

• Encompasses five counties

Southern Rural Development Center, 2000

Atlanta 1997

• 3.69 million people• 6,126 square miles• Encompasses 20 counties

Southern Rural Development Center, 2000

Population Density

• 805 people per square mile in 1970• 592 people per square mile in 1997• Population increased by 254 percent• Population density declined by 26.5

percent

Southern Rural Development Center, 2000

What are the impacts on the rural community?

How is the (sub)urban community affected?

What are the changes in the rural land use?

How is the land used in the urban area?

The Great Change

• Division of labor

• Diversity of interests

• Increasing vertical ties

• Impersonal bureaucracies

Warren, 1978

The Great Change

• Transfer of function

• Trend toward urbanization an suburbanization

• Changing values

Warren, 1978

Whose community does it affect?

How does it affect the environment?

Consequences

• Farm land loss

• Constraints on farming

• Environmental impact

• Infrastructure and tax impacts

• Property rights, individual choice, and controlling growth

Southern Rural Development Center, 2000

Concepts Associated with Sustainability

• Sustainable Communities

• Environmental Justice

Maughan, 1995

Sustainable Community

• “Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.”

Maughan, 1995

Environmental Integrity

• Living within ecological limits

• Protecting natural resources

• Responsible consumption patterns: re-use, recycling

• Measurable carrying capacity: water quality, air quality, etc.

Maughan, 1995

Economic Security

• Local and region economic viability

• Opportunities for employment

• Economic security

• Reduce the gap between the rich and the poor

• Decisions made with several generations in mind Maughan, 1995

Quality of Life

• Health

• Education

• Transportation

• Housing Maughan, 1995

Democratic Participation

• Power from within the community

• Democracy • Accountability• All stakeholders involved

Maughan, 1995

Who owns the environment?

Environmental Justice

• Demands that public policy be based on mutual respect and justice for all peoples, free from any discrimination or bias.

Maughan, 1995

Environmental Justice

• Mandates the right to ethical, balanced, and responsible uses of land and renewable resources in the interest of a sustainable planet for human beings and other living things.

Maughan, 1995

Environmental Justice

• Demands the right to participate as equal partners at every level of decision-making including needs assessment, planning, implementation, enforcement, and evaluation.

Maughan, 1995

How can sustainable development be achieved?

Methods to Achieve Sustainable Development

• Zoning

• Selling limits

• Open space zoning

• Purchase of development rights

• Community visioning process

Southern Rural Development Center, 2000