PSC strives to make communities more sustainable, and we thought you should know what we mean when we talk about sustainable communities.
What Sustainable Development Means to Us
Energy-efficient buildings are important, but they are not enough to make a community sustainable. PSC is dedicated to changing land use policies and practices that encourage sprawl and dependence on private vehicles. PSC focuses on the sustainability of entire communities, looking beyond individual structures. We define sustainability as encompassing social and economic development issues, in addition to resource usage, efficient use of existing infrastructure, and environmental impact. PSC encourages the adoption of policies that promote high-density, infill, and locationally efficient development that integrates housing affordable to all, places of education, and employment opportunities, encourages the use of public transit and preserves green space.
From Washington, D.C. to Sacramento, California, government policy is changing to
encourage locationally and environmentally efficient land use and the integration of housing and transit. Private developers are catching on to the wisdom and marketability of sustainable models for their developments. City planners are figuring out how to change old, outmoded practices. And activities and advocates are fighting with new urgency to revitalize older urban centers and promote public transit and biking in our faceless, shapeless “sprawlburbs.”
What You Can do To Make Your Community More Sustainable
1. Get involved: development of our communities doesn't happen overnight (although sometimes it seems that way), it is the result of local and regional planning efforts that set zoning laws, environmental laws, affordable housing requirements, road design, etc. Attend a local planning meeting (visit your community's city planning department website for the next public meeting) and you will learn a lot about what is in store for the future of your area and be able to play a role in that future.
2. Small things matter: small changes in your lifestyle make a big impact -- support your local stores, eat food produced in your
area or join a community garden, bike to work a couple days out of the month, improve the energy efficiency of your home by installing high efficiency lights and purchasing renewable energy from your utility company. Not everyone can do it all, some people live in areas where they need to drive to work (again get involved in planning and this might not be the case in the future) but there are steps that everyone can take. According to the EPA, leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year. For more ideas visit the EPA website.
3. Support organizations fighting for sustainability: PSC is just one of the organizations fighting for sustainable community development. You can support our efforts by becoming a member or making a donation.
