- "Experts often describe sustainability as having three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social"
The practice of designing landscapes that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, through strategies such as energy efficiency, resource conservation, and biodiversity conservation.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A set of 17 global goals established by the United Nations for sustainable development worldwide.
Permaculture: An agricultural system that focuses on the principles of natural ecosystems to optimize sustainability.
Green Infrastructure: A network of natural and semi-natural green spaces designed for environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Biodiversity: The variability among living organisms and the ecological systems they inhabit, including genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.
Energy Efficiency: The process of reducing the energy consumption of buildings, transportation, and other human activities while maintaining or improving productivity and comfort.
Renewable Energy: Energy generated from natural resources, such as sunlight, wind, water, and geothermal heat, which are replenishable over time.
Sustainable Materials: Materials that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable, including natural, synthetic, and recycled materials.
Green Building: Design and construction practices that minimize the environmental impact of buildings and improve occupant health and comfort.
Low-impact Development (LID): A stormwater management strategy that focuses on conservation and use of natural features to protect water quality and reduce runoff.
Sustainable Transportation: Modes of transportation that minimize negative impacts on the environment and society, such as walking, cycling, and public transit.
Life-cycle Assessment (LCA): An analytical tool that evaluates the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a product or system.
Water Conservation: The practice of reducing water use and promoting efficient water management to conserve this scarce resource.
Ecological Footprint: The total impact of human activities on the environment, including land use, water consumption, and carbon emissions.
Climate Change: The global phenomenon of increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events caused by human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels.
Sustainable Urbanism: The planning and design of cities and towns that prioritize sustainability and promote walkable, livable, and healthy communities.
Triple Bottom Line: A framework for evaluating sustainability that considers environmental, social, and economic impacts.
Circular Economy: An economic system that aims to eliminate waste and promote resource efficiency by keeping materials and products in use for as long as possible.
Ecological Sustainability: This involves designing landscapes that promote biodiversity, preserve and restore habitats, incorporate native plant species, reduce carbon emissions, and protect natural resources.
Social Sustainability: This focuses on designing landscapes that promote human health and well-being, foster community engagement, address social justice issues, promote equitable access to green space, and enhance the quality of life for people living in urban environments.
Economic Sustainability: This involves designing landscapes that are economically viable in the long term, supporting local businesses, providing economic opportunities for the community, and reducing maintenance and operational costs of the built environment.
Cultural Sustainability: This focuses on designing landscapes that respect and reflect local culture and traditions, promote cultural heritage and identity, and foster a sense of place among community members.
Spatial Sustainability: This involves designing landscapes that reduce the negative impact of spatial development, minimize the use of fossil fuels, promote sustainable transportation modes, and increase the efficiency of land-use planning.
Aesthetic Sustainability: This focuses on designing landscapes that are aesthetically pleasing, enhance the visual appeal of the built environment, and create a sense of harmony and balance between natural and built elements.
Technical Sustainability: This involves designing landscapes that use sustainable materials, technologies, and methods of construction that reduce environmental impact, improve energy efficiency, and have a low ecological footprint.
Resilient Sustainability: This focuses on designing landscapes that are resilient to environmental hazards such as natural disasters, climate change, and extreme weather events, and promote adaptive management strategies.
Operational Sustainability: This involves designing landscapes that promote efficient and sustainable management practices, reduce water consumption and energy use, and encourage the use of renewable resources.
Healthy Sustainability: This focuses on designing landscapes that promote health and well-being through physical activity, access to healthy food, and reduced exposure to air and water pollution, noise, and other environmental stressors.
- "sustainability often focuses on countering major environmental problems, including climate change, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystem services, land degradation, and air and water pollution"
- "The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels"
- "A related concept is sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing."
- "The economic dimension of sustainability is controversial. Scholars have discussed this under the concept of 'weak and strong sustainability.'"
- "maintaining ecosystem services, reducing food waste, promoting dietary shifts towards plant-based foods, promoting new green technologies, and adopting renewable energy sources"
- "The United Nations agreed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. These set a global agenda for sustainable development, with a deadline of 2030."
- "This means using fewer resources per unit of output even while growing the economy. This reduces the environmental impact of economic growth such as pollution."
- "Existing global organizations such as the UN and WTO are inefficient in enforcing current global regulations."
- "Business groups have tried to integrate ecological concerns with economic activity. Religious leaders have stressed the need for caring for nature and environmental stability. Individuals can also live in a more sustainable way."
- "The concept of sustainability has faced various criticisms."
- "One is that the concept is vague and only a buzzword."
- "Some experts have pointed out that 'no country is delivering what its citizens need without transgressing the biophysical planetary boundaries'."
- "Indicators consider environmental, social and economic domains. The metrics are evolving."
- "Some barriers arise from nature and its complexity. Other barriers are extrinsic to the concept of sustainability, such as the dominant institutional frameworks in countries."
- "there will always be tension between the ideas of 'welfare and prosperity for all' and environmental conservation, so trade-offs are necessary."
- "reducing population growth by cutting fertility rates"
- "Sustainability is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while sustainable development refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it."
- "there will always be tension between the ideas of 'welfare and prosperity for all' and environmental conservation"
- "Some experts say there is no evidence that it is happening at the required scale."