SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A GUIDE TO COMMUNITY LAND USE POLICY

This paper develops a working definition of sustainable development to serve as a guide for land use policy. The authors trace the historical roots of sustainable development and show how the concept has evolved based on three perspectives: ecological sustainability; economic sustainability; and social sustainability. Next, they explore the internal conflicts and areas of agreement about what sustainable development is and is not. They then show how the concept implies a set of principles that can be applied to land use policy. They argue that the concept reflects in an elegant way the real trade-offs that must be made, highlighting the values at stake rather than obscuring them.