The Process
Strathcona County's sustainable planning process is guided by the four principles of the Natural Step. These principles are:
Move towards, and ultimately achieve, solutions and activities that preserve, enhance and regenerate nature and life-sustaining ecosystems.
To do this we can:
- Retain green spaces and develop within the green spaces in ways that will reduce the human footprint
- Integrate green infrastructure into development
- Create well-defined edges to natural areas such as the High Priority Environmental ManagementAreas in the Beaver Hills Moraine
Move towards, and ultimately achieve, solutions and activities that free us from our dependence on substances that are extracted from the earth’s crust and accumulate in nature.
To do this we can:
- Create compact, mixed-use neighbourhoods
- Encourage pedestrian and bicycle-oriented development
- Build developments that are heated and powered by renewable energy
- Expand the use of public transit
- Utilize alternative fuels to power our vehicles
Move towards, and ultimately achieve, cradle-to-cradle solutions and activities in design, manufacturing and consumption such that substances produced by society do not accumulate in nature.
To do this we can:
- Build healthier buildings using non-toxic materials
- Use alternative landscaping practices that reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides
- Utilize waste as a resource or biomass fuel source
- Encourage eco-industrial development
Move towards, and ultimately achieve, social solutions and activities that allow every person to meet basic human needs and achieve their potential in life, now and in the future.
To do this we can:
- Build more diverse forms of housing
- Develop affordable housing for a diversity of resudents
- Grow food locally as well as introducing and expanding locally based food production
- Design buildings and amenities to promote social and inter-generational interaction
- Celebrate cultural heritage
Out of these four principles flow twelve themes for developing and evaluating our sustainability initiatives: Land, Materials, Well-Being, Transport, Waste, Equity, Water, Food, Economy, Culture, Carbon and Natural Habitat.
In planning for sustainable communities, Strathcona County follows the Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood (SuN) LIVING Process. This SuN LIVING Process outlined bellow, follows five steps that guide a planning project from conception to implementation. For more information on this process, we invite you to visit the SuN LIVING website.
Last updated: Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Page ID: 4780