FEM 3335 Sustainable Communities

1. FEM 3335Sustainable Communities Assoc Prof Dr Sharifah Norazizan Syed Abd Rashid, APPM Department of Social & Development Science Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia sharifah@putra.upm.edu.my

2. Content • Communities, Sustainability & Sustainable Communities • Concepts, Definitions and principles • Characteristics of Sustainable Communities and Community Sustainability • The 3 E: Economy, Equity, Ecology • New Social Forms of Communities • Virtual Communities • Gated Communities

3. DefinitionThe Community (‘The Public’)

4. Definitions of community • A group of people living in a particular local area. • A group of people having ethnic, cultural or religious characteristics in common. • A group of nations having common interests. • Profession: the body of people in an occupation, e.g. Medical community. • Community is a set of people with some shared element. • The substance of the shared element varies widely, from a situation to interests to lives and values. The term is widely used to evoke a sense of collectivity.

5. Community is a “group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society” or a “body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests” Definitions (contd)

6. In Planning.....community is A social network of interacting individuals, usually concentrated into a defined territory Ref : (Johnston et al (eds.) (2000) The Dictionary of Human Geography, Blackwell Publishing, Malden)

7. Communities & Planning In planning or creating sustainable communities …. “Not only must planners understand the characteristics and qualities of differentindividuals and communities; they also have a responsibility to respond to their varying needs, hopes and aspirations.” Susan Thompson (2007) Planning for Diverse Communities in Thompson S (ed.) Planning Australia: An Overview of Urban and Regional Planning , Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, pp.199-223

8. Principles of Sustainability (i) • The concept of sustainability is based on the premise that people and their communities are made up of social, economic, and environmental systems that are in constant interaction and that must be kept in harmony or balance if the community is to continue to function to the benefit of its inhabitants— now and in the future. • A healthy, balanced society (or nation, or community, depending on the strength of one’s magnifying glass) is one that can endure into the future, providing a decent way of life for all its members—it is a sustainable society. • Sustainability is an ideal toward which to strive and against which to weigh proposed actions, plans, expenditures, and decisions. It is a way of looking at a community or a society or a planet in the broadest possible context, in both time and space.

9. Principles of Sustainability (ii) • Although it adopts a broad perspective, in practice the pursuit of sustainability is fundamentally a local endeavor because every community has different social, economic, and environmental needs and concerns. And in each community the quality, quantity, importance, and balance of those concerns is unique (and constantly changing). For that reason—and because the best mitigation efforts also tend to be locally based—we tend to speak of sustainability mostly in terms of local actions and decisions. • There are six principles of sustainability that can help a community ensure that its social, economic, and environmental systems are well integrated and will endure. A community or society that wants to pursue sustainability will try to:

10. Maintain and, if possible, enhance, its residents’ quality of life. Quality of life—or “livability”—differs from community to community. It has many components: income, education, health care, housing, employment, legal rights on the one hand; exposure to crime, pollution, disease, disaster, and other risks on the other. One town may be proud of its safe streets, high quality schools, and rural atmosphere, while another thinks that job opportunities and its historical heritage are what make it an attractive place to live. Each locality must define and plan for the quality of life it wants and believes it can achieve, for now and for future generations.

11. 2. Enhance local economic vitality. A viable local economy is essential to sustainability. This includes job opportunities, sufficient tax base and revenue to support government and the provision of infrastructure and services, and a suitable business climate. A sustainable economy is also diversified. 3. Promote social and intergenerational equity. A sustainable community’s resources and opportunities are available to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, cultural background, religion, or other characteristics. Further, a sustainable community does not deplete its resources, destroy natural systems, or pass along unnecessary hazards to its great-great-grandchildren.

12. 4. Maintain and, if possible, enhance, the quality of the environment. A sustainable community sees itself as existing within a physical environment and natural ecosystem and tries to find ways to co-exist with that environment. It does its part by avoiding unnecessary degradation of the air, oceans, fresh water, and other natural systems. It tries to replace detrimental practices with those that allow ecosystems to continuously renew themselves. 5. Incorporate disaster resilience and mitigation into its decisions and actions. A community is resilient in the face of inevitable natural disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and drought if it takes steps to ensure that such events cause as little damage as possible, that productivity is only minimally interrupted, and that quality of life remains at (or quickly returns to) high levels.

13. 6. Use a consensus-building, participatory process when making decisions. Participatory processes are vital to community sustainability. Such a process engages all the people who have a stake in the outcome of the decision being contemplated. It encourages the identification of concerns and issues, promotes the wide generation of ideas for dealing with those concerns, and helps those involved find a way to reach agreement about solutions. It results in the production and dissemination of important, relevant information, fosters a sense of community, produces ideas that may not have been considered otherwise, and engenders a sense of ownership on the part of the community for the final decision.

14. Balance and integration among the three components of a community ie social, economy and the environment. Meeting the needs of the present and future generations. Sustainable Communities have similar principles with Sustainable Development

15. Sustainability & Sustainable Communities • Sustainability requires managing all households, individual, community, national, and global -- in ways that ensure that our economy and society can continue to exist without destroying the natural environment on which we all depend. • Sustainable communities acknowledge that there are limits to the natural, social and built systems upon which we depend. Key questions asked in a sustainable community include: 'Are we using this resource faster than it can be renewed' and 'Are we enhancing the social and human capital upon which our community depends?

16. What are sustainable communities? • The simplest definition is: A sustainable society is one that can persist over generations, one that is farseeing enough, flexible enough, and wise enough not to undermine either its physical or its social systems of support. DonellaMeadows, Co-Author, Beyond the Limits • The sustainability of a community is largely determined by the web of resources providing its food, fiber, water, and energy needs and by the ability of natural systems to process its wastes. A community is unsustainable if it consumes resources faster than they can be renewed, produces more wastes than natural systems can process or relies upon distant sources for its basic needs. “http://www.oly-wa.us/SustainSouthSound/

17. What are sustainable communities? (ii) • Many definitions of a sustainable community have been put forward, but they all revolve around the interconnectedness of society, economy and environment. According to Maureen Hart, a sustainable community is one in which . . . the economic, social and environmental systems that make up the community provide a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all community residents, present and future. Sustainable communities acknowledge that there are limits to the natural, social and built systems upon which we depend.

18. A view of community as three separate, unrelated parts: an economic part, a social part and an environmental part. Traditional quality of life indicators tend to measure these 3 parts separately. A view of community as three concentric circles: the economy exists within society, and both the economy and society exist within the environment. Sustainability indicators attempt to measure the extent to which these boundaries are respected. A View of The Community

19. As the figure illustrates, the economy exists entirely within society, because all parts of the human economy require interaction among people. However, society is much more than just the economy. • Society, in turn, exists entirely within the environment. Our basic requirements -- air, food and water -- come from the environment, as do the energy and raw materials for housing, transportation and the products we depend on. • Finally, the environment surrounds society. At an earlier point in human history, the environment largely determined the shape of society. Today the opposite is true: human activity is reshaping the environment at an ever-increasing rate. The parts of the environment unaffected by human activity are getting smaller all the time. However, because people need food, water and air to survive, society can never be larger than the environment.

20. In addition to social, economic, and environmental health, sustainable communities are about the participation of all elements of society in decision-making processes. Local governments can help their communities to become more sustainable, but they cannot do it without a mandate from, and the participation of the local community. • Sustainability must be community-led and consensus-based because the central issue is will, not expertise; only a community-based process can overcome the political, bureaucratic and psychological barriers to change. But citizen-led processes must be complemented by top-down government support because it is still only governments that have the regulatory powers to secure the transition to sustainable development.

21. Sustainability and the 3 Es • We are convinced that sustainability can only be successful if there is a clear balance between the three Es: Ecology, Economy, Equity. • The sustainability process integrates: Economic vitality; Social equity; and environmental quality goals.  • "Sustainable community development is the ability to make development choices which respect the relationship between the three "E's"-economy, ecology, and equity: http://www.maced.org

22. Economy, Ecology and Equity The 3 Es • Economy - Economic activity should serve the common good, be self-renewing, build local assets and self-reliance, and emphasizes quality and profits stay within the community rather than quantity and growth. • Ecology - Humans are part of nature, nature has limits, and communities are responsible for protecting and building natural assets. • Equity - The opportunity for full participation in all activities, benefits, and decision-making of a society.

23. A Sustainable Community… • Maintains carrying capacities (natural resources, cultural values, human and social capital, economy and built capital) • Considers future generations • Retains diversity (creativity, skills), equity • Balanced development - recognizes interconnections of everything • Considers wider interdependencies • Community-owned, participatory

24. Active, inclusive and safe. Well organized and managed – quality participation and good leadership Sensitive to the environment Well designed environment Good physical connections Justice to all Important Components of Sustainable Communities

25. Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy • The following twelve principles, proposed by the Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy, encompass the social, economic, environmental and decision-making aspects of sustainable communities :

26. A sustainable community is one which: • Recognizes that growth occurs within some limits and is ultimately limited by the carrying capacity of the environment • Values cultural diversity • Has respect for other life forms and supports biodiversity • Has shared values amongst the members of the community (promoted through sustainability education) • Employs ecological decision-making (e.g., integration of environmental criteria into all municipal government, business and personal decision-making processes)

27. Makes decisions and plans in a balanced, open and flexible manner that includes the perspectives from the social, health, economic and environmental sectors of the community • Makes best use of local efforts and resources (nurtures solutions at the local level) • Uses renewable and reliable sources of energy • Minimizes harm to the natural environment • Fosters activities which use materials in continuous cycles.And, as a result, a sustainable community: • Does not compromise the sustainability of other communities (a geographic perspective) • Does not compromise the sustainability of future generations by its activities (a temporal perspective).

28. New social forms of Communities • Gated and Guarded Communities • Virtual Communities Content: • Why the need for these new social forms of communities? • The advantages and disadvantages of these new communities? • Are these communities sustainable? • What the future holds for these new communities?

29. Gated CommunitiesA History The gating of a residential area is not a new phenomenon. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, kings and other royalty provided gated enclaves for their families and loyal followers during times of siege and pestilence. "Fortified with towers, moats, and drawbridges, they stood as formidable reminders of class distinctions. In the late nineteenth century, St. Louis developed a large network of private gated streets for its beer barons, most of which still exist today. Since the real estate boom in the late 1980's, this rapidly growing phenomenon of gating off communities has become more prevalent in today's society.

30. Main Attractions of Gated and Guarded Community • The main attractions of gated community is security, lifestyle and the protection of property values. There are also clear development guidelines for individual style homes which helps to keep house designs at an acceptable standard without too much homogeneity. • One very important feature of a gated community is that the building standards are more flexible and as such enables more efficient land utilization. For example removing the necessity for walled boundaries and fences.

31. Gated Communities in the US Gated communities are residential areas with restricted access designed to privatize normally public spaces. These new residential areas occur in both new suburban developments and older inner city areas for the purposes of security and segregation. "Terrified by crime and worried about property values, Americans are flocking to gated enclaves in what experts call a fundamental reorganization of community life"(Dillon, 1994, p. 2). The developers of gated communities brilliantly market their projects as safer, friendlier, and more economically stable then traditional urban or even suburban neighborhoods.

32. Across the nation, Americans are "forting up" in alarming numbers - retreating from their neighbors by barricading themselves behind locked gates, walls, and barriers. • More than eight million Americans live in gated communities today, taking refuge from the problems of urbanization. But as people create these secure, homogeneous enclaves, what does this trend mean for the future of citizenship and the concept of community in America? By walling themselves in, are people cutting themselves off from the mixed, open society that is the essence of a social and political democracy?

33. Gated Community in Malaysia • A gated community in Malaysia is generally focused on the need for a safer community with secured and guarded surroundings. In our residential development sector we see advertisements almost daily, exhorting the virtues of gated and guarded housing schemes or gated community as they are commonly called as a new privatized way of life. • Property developers today are reinvesting themselves in response to needs of an increasingly affluent population, keeping pace with the rapid changes in trends and consumer preferences in order to thrive. What has happened is that property developers have managed to creating a safe community through the provisions of security and exclusivity as part of a community’s lifestyle.

34. In the Malaysian context, a gated community may refer to a cluster of houses or buildings that are surrounded by a wall or fence on a perimeter with entry or access of houses or buildings controlled by certain measures of restrictions such as guards, boom gates or barriers which normally includes 24 hour security, guard patrols, central monitoring systems and closed circuit televisions (CCTV) cameras. • Nevertheless there are certain gated and guarded communities in Malaysia offering more than security. Guarded communities such as Kajang Country Heights, Sierramas, Tropicana and The Mines are examples of contemporary housing schemes boasting common facilities such of golf courses, club houses and recreation areas. The emphasis in these guarded community are the combination of security, privacy and the affluent lifestyle of its residents.

35. Although some housing schemes are not categorised as gated and guarded schemes, residents have nevertheless taken steps to restrict access of the general by setting up guard posts with the hope of preventing and reducing crime in the area. Usually some form of physical barrier surrounds the boundaries to the housing estate where residents employ private security to provide security services. This often involves an attempt to restrict or regulate public spaces privately by erection of barriers on public needs, guardhouses, etc.

36. Better quality “public” services, such as garbage removal and park maintenance can be expected as these jobs are privatized, leaving local authorities to concentrate on the provision of other aspects. • Gated communities are perceived as the answer or deterrent to crime, which is becoming more challenging to manage day by day. As part of a lifestyle, gated communities also provide the “niceness” of enjoying privacy and peace of mind, and perhaps homogeneity of the population within the community.

37. Legality of Gated and Guarded Communities • It is unlawful to privately attempt to restrict or regulate public spaces without the approval of the relevant authority. Any attempt to close, barricade or restrict the access of a public road, drain or space, there may be a contravention of Sections 46(1) of Street Drainage and Building Act 1974, Section 80 of the Road Transport Act 1987 and Section(s) 62 and 136 of the National Land Code 1965. In addition, provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 may also be violated where guard houses are built in the public land or road shoulders. • There is no problem with private security patrolling public roads in a housing scheme under the employment of the residents’ associations. Nevertheless, the local authority and the police should be consulted first. It has to be noted that erecting structures to restrict access to public roads or guardhouses is another matter and would violate the law unless the relevant authority gives its approval to do so.

38. In recognition of a growing problem of security, various local authorities and state governments have issued guidelines for guarded communities. These guidelines do allow erection of guard houses and the employment of private security based on the consent by the residents in the area affected. • For example, in Selangor, the Housing and Property Board and the local authorities allow guard houses to be built based on certain guidelines amongst which include:-· Applications made through the Resident Association (RA) only;· Consent by 85% of the residents;· Agreement must be made between RA and local authority;· Guard house without a barrier are allowed and the location should not obstruct traffic (situated at road shoulder only);

39. A written consent from Local Authority and Land Administrator (LA) for the construction of guard house on reserved road/vacant land must first be obtained;· Appointed security guards must be registered with Ministry of Home Affairs or with other relevant agencies; • The authorities do sometimes “turn a blind eye” to allow some form of limited barriers so long as it is backed by an overwhelming support of the local residents and it does not deny access nor unduly obstruct traffic.

40. Virtual Communities:The Concept BASIC IDEA • Virtual community = Real community, meeting in a Virtual place • Can be quite low-tech • Email list, bulletin board, newsgroup (asynch) • Chat room or MOO/MUD (synchronous) • Substitute for fading of traditional community space • Pubs, town hall, market square, etc.

41. What is a Virtual Community? • A virtual community is a community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings over the Internet or other collaborative networks. • A possible inventor of this term and one of its first proponents was Howard Rheingold, who created one of the first major Internet communities, called "The Well." • In his book, The Virtual Community , Rheingold defines virtual communities as social aggregations that emerge from the Internet when enough people carry on public discussions long enough and with sufficient human feeling to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace.

42. According to Rheingold “A virtual community as they exist today is a group of people who may or may not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks. In cyberspace, we chat and argue, engage in intellectual intercourse, perform acts of commerce, exchange knowledge, share emotional support, make plans, brainstorm, gossip, feud, fall in love, find friends and lose them, play games and metagames, flirt, create a little high art and a lot of idle talk. We do everything people do when people get together, but we do it with words on computer screens, leaving our bodies behind.” From the reading “A Slice of Life in my Virtual Community”

43. Defined Virtual Community as: “...any groups of people who may never meet one another face to face, but who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin board and networks.” Rheingold (1999)

44. “..online or virtual community is the gathering of people, in an online “space” where they come, communicate, connect and get to know each other better over time”. Kawamura (1999) “..virtual community is a place in which people meet to share ideas, thoughts, feelings and opinions about particular issues that they have in common.” Boethcher (2002)

45. Claimed Advantages & Disadvantages of Virtual Communities Advantages Lack of prejudice on physical attributes • Members of a virtual community is irrespective of age, race, gender, handicap, etc. Easy to meet people by interests • Rather than by where they live/work • Bring into contact with more people • Rheingold claims experts are readily available especially in expert networks Disadvantages • Not everybody can be a member of a community. For some communities, criteria for selection are imposed. • Segregated by interests

46. Are Online Communities Worse? • Rheingold claimed that online communities provide the chance to seek out people with same interests, ideas. But will that lead to more segregation? • E.g. right or left wing political communities • Never exposed to opposing viewpoints • It is said that the segregation will create new kinds of cyber-ghetto. • On line communities are not permanent but is temporary in nature.

47. Orientations of E Community

48. 2 types 1) Establish Relationships Its objective is to create relationships between members based on personal interests eg: “SeniorNet” (www.seniornet.org) Establish: 1986 Objective: To bring together adults 50+ by means of computer and internet Commitment: Demographic similarity Meeting: Both virtual and real Special features: Defines limitations as 50 years is the minimun age of member. Social Orientation