Sustainability

As the A9 and other PEAS communities grow and change rapidly, the many people who love such communities often become concerned that they risk losing their characters, that something special that makes a community not just distinctive, but often-times beloved.

In the face of such concerns, there is often a great deal of talk about sustainability. Unfortunately, sustainability and related terms are ones which many embrace but few can define clearly.

The most commonly-accepted definition of sustainability - or, in this case, sustainable development - comes from the 1987 report issued by the United Nations's Brundtland Commission: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The problem with this definition (and many others) lies in its vagueness: Whatever precision the authors intended, "sustainability" and its ilk are often so broadly-defined as to be rendered meaningless. When this is combined with the term's clear gut-level appeal, the result can be "greenwashing" and other abuses. To address this problem, many efforts have been tried to make "sustainability" a more rigorous term; the success such efforts have had tend to focus on using resources more efficiently.

The Charture Institute's interest in sustainability pre-dates the organization's founding, and has evolved to reflect the desire of the residents of PEAS communities to "sustain" their communities' character and other essential qualities. The problem with combining concepts such as "sustainability" and "character" is that, arguably, each lies in the eyes of the beholder. Yet each addresses a very deep-seated desire upon the part of PEAS residents to hang on to the qualities which make their community special, someplace different than the faceless suburbs so many left behind. How, then, to add rigor?

In Charture's view, if something can't be defined, it can't be measured; if it can't be measured, it can't be evaluated; if it can't be evaluated, then it can't be improved upon. To that end, when helping communities think through issues such as character - issues traditionally not covered by the concept of sustainability - Charture takes two steps. First, it recognizes that a community is more than just its economy or environment or government; it is a large amalgam that includes all of these things as well as education, human services, recreation, religion, and a host of other areas of interest. Second, if a community hopes to sustain its essential qualities in any of these areas, it can only do as well as it can identify these qualities in a way that lends itself to measurement.

Hence, in Charture's view, sustainability is a process related to identifying a community's essential qualities (i.e. those it wants to sustain for future generations), defining them in a way which can be measured, and then launching on a process of actively and regularly measuring and evaluating progress toward sustaining those qualities.


Home About Us Our Work Our Publications Our Presentations Donate Contact	Sustainability As the A9 and other PEAS communities grow and change rapidly, the many people who love such communities often become concerned that they risk losing their characters, that something special that makes a community not just distinctive, but often-times beloved. In the face of such concerns, there is often a great deal of talk about sustainability. Unfortunately, sustainability and related terms are ones which many embrace but few can define clearly. The most commonly-accepted definition of sustainability - or, in this case, sustainable development - comes from the 1987 report issued by the United Nations's Brundtland Commission: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The problem with this definition (and many others) lies in its vagueness: Whatever precision the authors intended, "sustainability" and its ilk are often so broadly-defined as to be rendered meaningless. When this is combined with the term's clear gut-level appeal, the result can be "greenwashing" and other abuses. To address this problem, many efforts have been tried to make "sustainability" a more rigorous term; the success such efforts have had tend to focus on using resources more efficiently. The Charture Institute's interest in sustainability pre-dates the organization's founding, and has evolved to reflect the desire of the residents of PEAS communities to "sustain" their communities' character and other essential qualities. The problem with combining concepts such as "sustainability" and "character" is that, arguably, each lies in the eyes of the beholder. Yet each addresses a very deep-seated desire upon the part of PEAS residents to hang on to the qualities which make their community special, someplace different than the faceless suburbs so many left behind. How, then, to add rigor? In Charture's view, if something can't be defined, it can't be measured; if it can't be measured, it can't be evaluated; if it can't be evaluated, then it can't be improved upon. To that end, when helping communities think through issues such as character - issues traditionally not covered by the concept of sustainability - Charture takes two steps. First, it recognizes that a community is more than just its economy or environment or government; it is a large amalgam that includes all of these things as well as education, human services, recreation, religion, and a host of other areas of interest. Second, if a community hopes to sustain its essential qualities in any of these areas, it can only do as well as it can identify these qualities in a way that lends itself to measurement. Hence, in Charture's view, sustainability is a process related to identifying a community's essential qualities (i.e. those it wants to sustain for future generations), defining them in a way which can be measured, and then launching on a process of actively and regularly measuring and evaluating progress toward sustaining those qualities.
	For more information, please contact: Charture Institute P.O. Box 4672 • 485 Arapahoe Lane • Jackson, Wyoming 83001 (307) 733-8687 • js@charture.org