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Sustainable development is a strategy by which communities
seek economic development approaches that also benefit the
local environment and quality of life. It has become an important
guide to many communities that have discovered that traditional
approaches to planning and development are creating, rather
than solving, social and environmental problems. Where traditional
approaches can lead to congestion, sprawl, pollution and resource
over-consumption, sustainable development offers real, lasting
solutions that will strengthen our future.
Sustainable development provides a framework under which
communities can use resources efficiently, create efficient
infrastructures, protect and enhance quality of life, and
create new businesses to strengthen their economies. It can
help us create healthy communities that can sustain our generation,
as well as those that follow ours.
Sustainable development is not a new concept. Rather, it
is the latest expression of a long-standing ethic involving
people's relationships with the environment and the current
generation's responsibilities to future generations. For a
community to be truly sustainable, it must adopt a threesome
approach that considers economic, environmental and cultural
resources. Communities must consider these needs in the short
term as well as the long term.
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