The
Community Sustainability Assessment (CSA) was developed
to assist communities in evaluating their accomplishments
and charting directions toward ever increasing sustainability.
Like the Three Legged Stool concept, overall sustainability
of a community (the seat) is upheld when each of
the three legs is strong and balanced. In the CSA
the three legs, each as important as the other, are
the Environmental (ecological), Social and Economic
aspects of community.
The
Community Sustainability Assessment is a comprehensive
checklist that anyone can complete to get a basic idea
of how sustainable their community is. This assessment
tool is patterned after the Global
Ecovillage Network model. It is an effective score
card for promoting an understanding and measuring of
sustainability in communities, and is applicable to
any community. While it requires good knowledge of
the life-styles, practices and features of the community,
it does not require research, calculation, and detailed
quantification. Review
a sample of the CSA scorecard by going to this
link.
The
CSA is a subjective tool. To get the most out of this
exercise, community members may meet as a group and
work through the CSA together. This offers a meaningful
review of the community's accomplishments and areas
for improvement. Low scoring items may be selected
for community focus and action to improve sustainability,
providing direction for the community's future. It
is expected that communities’ actively planning
and pursuing sustainability will score high; however,
there is always room for improvement - from a high
to a perfect score.
Contact
us to get your community involved
in taking the CSA Score Card.
The
CSA was designed to be universal and as useful as possible
to a wide variety of communities. Overall, scores should
offer an informative picture of the community's sustainability
and provide an enhanced awareness for what sustainable
community development is about. The kinds of issues
of community life that are covered by the CSA are illustrated
by the examples listed below.
Ecological
Checklist
Sense of Place - community location & scale; restoration & preservation
of nature
Food Availability, Production & Distribution
Water - sources, quality & use patterns
Waste Water & Water Pollution Management
Open Spaces – parks, habitat preservation, backyard ecology
Low Impact Development
Conservation-Based Development
Social
Checklist
Openness, Trust & Safety; Communal Space
Communication - the flow of ideas & information
Networking Outreach & Services - resource exchange internal/external
Social Sustainability - diversity & tolerance; decision-making; conflict
resolution
Education
Health Care
Economic
Checklist
Sustainable Economics - healthy local economy
Sustainable Businesses – application of green approaches to business
Physical Infrastructure, Buildings & Transportation - materials, methods,
designs
Consumption Patterns & Solid Waste Management
Energy Sources & Uses
Spiritual
Checklist
Cultural Sustainability
Arts & Leisure
Spiritual Sustainability
Community Glue
Community Resilience
A New Holographic, Circulatory World View
Peace & Global Consciousness
Contact
us to discuss further how you might get your
community involved in taking the CSA Score Card.
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