Sustainable Community
Development

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

Sustainable Community: Berlin, MD - This is an image of downtown Berlin, Maryland.

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.