Sustainable Community
Development
- Introduction
- Lesson One - Three Systems of Sustainability
- Lesson Two - Why Plan for Sustainability
- Lesson Three - Sustainable Community Development Plans
- Lesson Four - Maryland Resources
- Lesson Five - A Process for Sustainable Community Development
- Review
- Certificate
Sustainable Community Development
An online class offered by the University of Maryland's Institute for Governmental Service and Research.
Lesson One - Three Systems of Sustainability
The term "community" is defined for this class as "a group of people who have economic, environmental, and social relationships, and who share a local government — either a county or a municipality." "Sustainable" is defined as "adaptive" or " resilient;" and "development" means a progressive process — a process that in this case leads toward resilience. "Sustainable community development" (SCD) is defined as an organized effort to simultaneously:
- promote private and public investments in human, natural, and physical capital that strengthen the local economy;
- cooperate with external communities and governments that are engaged in similar development efforts;
- protect and improve the ecosystems upon which the community depends; and
- encourage public engagement among all residents of the community, as well as timely and just solutions to community conflicts.