I've been spending a lot of time over the past couple of years examining the planning literature on sustainable development. Sustainable development, as a concept, remains vague. For those interested, take a look at my recent article in the journal Property Management.
I've been spending a lot of time over the past couple of years examining the planning literature on sustainable development. Sustainable development, as a concept, remains vague. For those interested, take a look at my recent article in the journal Property Management.
But, does the practice of sustainable development provides real guidance for how we design communities and live? For example, is slowing down the rate of land development really a move toward sustainability? What's the difference if we run out of land in 300 years versus 500 years? At some point, real sustainability means that land must be recycled efficiently and effectively to accomodate future increases in population. Technology will be critical to achieving this, but its role is not necessarily embraced in the sustainability movement.
A case in point is agriculture and food production. The amount of farmland has been falling for decades. Headlines tend to blame sprawl. But, more farmland has been left fallow because of changes in technology than because urban land places a higher economic value on it. (For an analysis of this trend, see my policy brief here.) Improvements in technology have dramatically increased agricultural productivity, reducing the need for land and people to grow food. In short, the "foot print" for agriculture has become smaller. Technology, as a result, has changed very nature of what can be considered sustainable in food production--we're using less land (and other resources) in the U.S. and generating less demand for these resouces because of increases in productivity.
Unfortunately, the sustainable development literature, particularly that written in the environmental tradition, seems to focus on agricultural and food self-sufficiency as the goal of sustainable development policy. yet, self sufficiency, by its nature, implies a bigger environmental footprint and lower oveall productivity. Pursuing a food policy that focuses primarily on "home grown" food products may actually work against sustainability, both in terms of making the environmental footprint for agriculture larger as well as compromising our ability to sustain larger populations.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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