Sustainable Land Development Today - March 2008 - (Page 44) PROJECT LEADERSHIP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have mere decades remaining before greenhouse gases—a product of unsustainable policies, practices, and purchasing behavior during the last 100 years—launch a domino effect that would destroy our coastal cities and decimate our economy. One way Audubon International has been working towards meeting this goal is through its Eco-Design & Development Initiative—launched to leverage innovation and best management practices to create models for the proper siting, design, construction, and management of new developments. From experience and research to-date, central to moving the dial of eco-design and development, are three relatively simple goals: I Facilitating Best Practices - Assist in creating model developments that protect the environment, and also meet desired economic and social outcomes, by emphasizing eco-design, construction, and sustainable resource management. I Driving Change - Document and publicize the environmental, economic, and social outcomes of model sustainable developments to inspire change in others. I Offering New Solutions - Identify existing policy barriers (e.g., governmental, economic) that hinder the establishment of more sustainable new developments, as well as alternatives to overcome these barriers. To help chart this new path, it will take a collective voice from universities, associations, environmental groups, professional associations, and the private sector. Audubon International is developing an advisory council to provide advice, feedback, and opportunities for partnerships to avoid duplicating existing efforts. With a collective voice, especially the loud and strong voice of readers of Sustainable Land Development Today, many of the current policy and marketbased barriers could be identified and overcome. With a collective voice, a whole new set of incentives—ones that reward and create demand for the right type of sustainable development—could be created. The biggest chasm of change occurs between plan and action. While the words and intent of developers, builders, and all those involved in development are providing the hope for change, in the end, action is needed. Pure, uncompromising, and collective action is needed to make eco-design and development commonplace. That will mean changing people’s attitudes, examining common policies that create unintended barriers, facilitating the mass uptake of best planning and management practices by professionals, and finding ways for the market to reward those developers and developments that take the lead. The land development sector in general, should feel proud of the progress made to date. Yet, there is much left to do before we move from blip to tip. SLDT About the author: Kevin A. Fletcher, Ph.D., is executive director of Audubon International. Circle 162 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard 44 March 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard
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