The Jury is Still Out on Sustainability Plans

As the notion of “sustainability” takes root in communities, the term is broadly used to encompass many aspects of local and regional planning. Unlike traditional comprehensive planning, where both state laws and decades of precedence offer clear guidelines for formulating and implementing a plan, there is no such guidance for sustainability planning. Consequently, there are no standards for what elements comprise a sustainability plan, and nor is there clear documentation of what makes a plan successful. This paper discusses an analysis of over 50 sustainability plans from around the world, which provides new insight into what makes a plan effective. Although research concluded that plans lack any form of consistency—including topics covered, measurements, indicators, and implementation – categories throughout the plans as well as characteristics of their respective cities began to paint a picture about what works and what doesn’t. Some of these themes that affect the depth and thoroughness of sustainability plans include the longevity of a community’s commitment to sustainability, knowledgebase on key sustainability issues and location-specific factors, and the overall structure of plans. So, is there a formula to produce an effective plan? Is a sustainability plan necessary or can independent efforts with little framework produce the same results? The jury may still be out. But this research has the potential to greatly benefit communities, providing framework to begin or advance sustainability efforts, locally, nationally and globally.