PRINCIPLE SIX
Maintain and, if possible, enhance economic vitality
 A viable local economy is essential to
sustainability. This includes job opportunities, sufficient tax base
and revenue to support government and the provision of infrastructure
and services, and a suitable business climate. A sustainable economy
is also diversified, so that it is not easily disrupted by internal
or external events or disasters, and such an economy does not simply
shift the costs of maintaining its good health onto other regions or
onto the oceans or atmosphere. Nor is a sustainable local economy
reliant on unlimited population growth, high consumption, or
nonrenewable resources.
PRINCIPLES
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6.1 |
Landowners have the right to use
resources responsibly
Land owners have the right to exploit their own resources
pursuant to their own environmental and developmental
policies, federal, state and local laws, and the
responsibility to ensure that activities within their
jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the
environment of other areas beyond their limits of
jurisdiction. |
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6.2 |
Sustainable economic growth is essential
Cooperation to promote a supportive and open economic system
that would lead to economic growth and sustainable
development to better address the problems of environmental
degradation is essential. Trade policy measures for
environmental purposes should not constitute a means of
arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised
restriction on trade.. Environmental measures addressing
transboundary or global environmental problems should, as far
as possible, be based on an international consensus. |
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6.3 |
Government, business, education, and the
community should work together to create a vibrant local
economy
Government, business, education, and the community should
work together to create a vibrant local economy, through a
long-term investment strategy that encourages local
enterprise, serves the needs of local residents, workers, and
businesses, promotes stable employment and revenues by
building on local competitive advantages, protects the
natural environment, increases social equity and is capable
of succeeding in the global marketplace. |
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6.4 |
Communities and regions need a vision and
strategy for sustained economic development
Communities and regions need a vision and strategy for
economic development. Visioning, planning and implementation
efforts should continually involve all sectors, including the
voluntary civic sector and those traditionally left out of
the public planning process. |
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6.5 |
Efforts should be taken that give first
priority to support existing enterprises and local
entrepreneurship as the best source of business expansion and
local job growth
Because each community's most valuable assets are the ones
they already have, and existing businesses are already
contributing to their home communities, economic development
efforts should give first priority to supporting existing
enterprises as the best source of business expansion and
local job growth. Luring businesses away from neighboring
communities is a zero-sum game that doesn't create new wealth
in the regional economy. Community economic development
should focus instead on promoting local entrepreneurship to
build locally based industries and businesses that can
succeed among national and international competitors. |
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6.6 |
Communities and regions should identify
specific gaps and niches their economies can fill
Communities and regions should identify specific gaps and
niches their economies can fill, and promote a diversified
range of specialized industry clusters drawing on local
advantages to serve local and international markets. |
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6.7 |
Publicly supported economic development programs,
investments, and subsidies should be evaluated on their
long-term benefits and impacts on the whole community, not on
short-term job or revenue increases
Publicly supported economic development programs,
investments, and subsidies should be evaluated on their
long-term benefits and impacts on the whole community, not on
short-term job or revenue increases. Public investments and
subsidies should be equitable and targeted, support
environmental and social goals, and prioritize infrastructure
and supportive services that promote the vitality of all
local enterprises, instead of individual firms. |
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6.8 |
Enterprises have a responsibility to act
as civic partners, contributing to the communities and
regions where they operate
Enterprises should work as civic partners, contributing to
the communities and regions where they operate, protecting
the natural environment, and providing workers with good pay,
benefits, opportunities for upward mobility, and a healthful
work environment. |
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6.9 |
New development should take place in
existing urban and suburban areas before using more
agricultural land or open space
To minimize economic, social, and environmental costs and
efficiently use resources and infrastructure, new development
should take place in existing urban, suburban, and rural
areas before using more agricultural land or open space.
Local and regional plans and policies should contain these
physical and economic development planning principles to
focus development activities in desired existing areas. |
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6.10 |
Livable Communities that promote walking,
bicycling, and transit access should be available for
employment, education, recreation, entertainment, shopping,
and services
To protect the natural environment and increase quality of
life, neighborhoods, communities and regions should have
compact, multi-dimensional land use patterns that ensure a
mix of uses, minimize the impact of cars, and promote
walking, bicycling, and transit access to employment,
education, recreation, entertainment, shopping, and services.
Economic development and transportation investments should
reinforce these land use patterns, and the ability to move
people and goods by non-automobile alternatives wherever
possible. |
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6.11 |
Communities should have an appropriately
scaled and economically healthy center focus
Communities should have an appropriately scaled and
economically healthy center focus. At the community level, a
wide range of commercial, residential, cultural, civic, and
recreational uses should be located in the town center or
downtown. At the neighborhood level, neighborhood centers
should contain local businesses that serve the daily needs of
nearby residents. At the regional level, regional facilities
should be located in urban centers that are accessible by
transit throughout the metropolitan area. |
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6.12 |
Communities should encourage decisions
that lead to a distinctive identity
Having a distinctive identity will help communities create a
quality of life that is attractive for business retention and
future residents and private investment. Community economic
development efforts should help to create and preserve each
community's sense of uniqueness, attractiveness, history, and
cultural and social diversity, and include public gathering
places and a strong local sense of place. |
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6.13 |
Communities and the private sector should
cooperate to create regional structures
Since industries, transportation, land uses, natural
resources, and other key elements of a healthy economy are
regional in scope, communities and the private sector should
cooperate to create regional structures that promote a
coherent metropolitan whole that respects local character and
identity. |
Principles of Sustainability
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| VII
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