A policy for a sustainably city must recognize the interests of all stakeholders, but above all represent the interests of the residents. These interests may or may not coincide with those of other stakeholders, such as businesses and especially building developers, but a good policy will help to align these interests and encourage both constructive relationships between the various agents, and also provide incentives for socially and environmentally positive behavior, such as creating affordable housing and minimizing the consumption of non-renewable resources.
Elements[edit | edit source]
- Encourage sensitive medium and high density housing development, balanced by usable open space.
- Sustainable transport is key to good urban planning - planning enables greener and healthier transport choices, and a better living environment can be created when a sustainable transport policy is implemented.
- See Sustainable cities for more ideas (which can be integrated here in a policy format).
Cautions[edit | edit source]
At all stages in development of the policy and its implementation, care must be taken with:
- NIMBYism
- Lobbying power of large businesses, and a stronger voice due to their ability to hire lawyers and spokespersons. For this reason, channels for handling disagreements about developments should enable all stakeholders to have an effective voice.