What is a sustainable neighbourhood?

Nowadays, there has been much debate around the need for sustainable neighbourhoods. But what is a sustainable neighbourhood exactly? Why are neighbourhoods important and why is sustainability crucial at this scale?

A sustainable neighbourhood is a mixed used area with a feeling of community. It is a place where people want to live and work, now and in the future. Sustainable neighbourhoods meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services to all. (Bristol Accord, 6-7 December 2005).

Sustainable district planning aims to accomplish long-term socially, environmentally and economically feasible communities by focusing on:

Governance
Well managed neighbourhoods with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership.

Transport and Mobility
Well connected communities with good transport services and communication linking residents to their work places and services (health, education, recreation, commercial areas etc). Residents should be able to assure as many of their needs as possible within walking distance from their homes. A street pattern should take the form of a continuous web with paths linking one place to another. Good public transport infrastructure is essential in order to limit car use.

Environment
Providing the opportunity for people to live in an environmental friendly way (low energy consumption or passive buildings, minimised waste generation, recycling, use of natural and environmental friendly materials, minimising water consumption etc) and enjoying clean, safe surroundings.

Economy
A flourishing and lively local economy.

Services
Availability of public, private, community and voluntary services which are accessible to all residents.

Equity
Fair for each resident and for both present and future generations (decent homes at prices people can afford, services reasonably priced for all, public open spaces accessible to all).

Diversity
Create socially cohesive and diverse communities through a mix of social categories (mix of housing types and employment opportunities, shared community activities by all) and mix of generations.

Mixed used
As a crucial difference to existing suburbia areas which are often zoned (keeping separately residential areas from industrial and commercial quarters), a sustainable neighbourhood offers mix of functions (living, working, making use of recreational and commercial areas).

Identity
Active, inclusive and safe with a strong local culture and other shared community activities; provide the sense of community and belonging that many residents seek. Therefore, each neighbourhood needs a clear centre (a place where residents can find shops, social and cultural activities etc).

Citizens and residents participation, cooperation and involvement
Residents need to interact and be involved in the co-creation of their neighbourhood and they need to have a say on the way their community is managed. Neighbourhoods do more than house people; they form a support for wider activities, providing many of the social services that link individuals with each other, giving rise to a sense of community.

The quest for more sustainable communities and neighbourhoods requires that we look at qualities such as these and that we investigate what can be done both in the suburbs and cities to give a boost to different areas. We need to work from the centre outwards, ’layer by layer, starting by reconnecting the innermost neighbourhoods which are only minutes on foot from lively centres’.

TO GO BEYOND

Bristol Accord Conclusions of Ministerial Informal on Sustainable Communities in Europe (6 - 7 December 2005) Download What is a sustainable community? - Communities and Local government The UK Department for Communities and Local Government proposes a definition of sustainable community which integrates the social, economic and environmental components. Download The Egan Review : Skills for Sustainable Communities, Chapter 1 : The common goal: defining and measuring sustainable communities - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2004 The aim of this chapter is to define the expression of sustainable community which could be applied to a city, a town, a collection of towns or individual neighbourhoods. The definition identifies seven key components of a sustainable community: governance, transport and connectivity, services, environmental, economy, housing and the built environment, social and cultural. Download Sustainable communities and neighbourhoods. Theory, policy and practice - Mark K. Smith, 2008 Based on different studies, the author defines the concept of sustainable community in the context of climate change, urbanization, economic growth and globalization. "In this piece we want to explore this background and then look at what might be involved in a sustainable community - and the associated notion of an enduring neighbourhood". See the sutdy on the INFED’s website Changing our mindsets: Inspiration from sustainable districts - Energie-Cités, November 2007 The IMAGINE initiative aims at encouraging the European territories to prepare for their future by making them less vulnerable to energy risks and returning to them the responsibility for their energy consumption and its associated impacts on resources and emissions. Dowload the proceedings 2008 State of the world : Innovations for a Sustainable Economy - The Worldwatch Institute, 2008 Communities are by their nature small and seem more able to resolve environmental problems. This document studies sustainable communities’ experiences in Europe and North America stressing on their benefits in accordance with energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduced, and on the social and economic contributions creating by this communities. Download

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