Center for a Sustainable Coast

Planning guidebooks now available online
DCA's Office of Planning and Quality Growth has recently posted the first three of a series of new planning guidebooks to support local planning in Georgia. They include:

1. "Why Do We Plan?" provides an overview of planning, what it is, its benefits, and why we do it. This part explains the importance of a "plan to plan," or development of a work program to decide what will be included in the local planning process and who will do the work.

2. The "Planning for Community Involvement" guidebook is focused on putting people into the planning process, including who should be involved, how much involvement is needed and making meetings successful and effective. Tools and techniques for community participation are also examined.

3. "Discovering and Planning Your Community Character" describes character areas and provides tools and techniques for identifying character areas and discusses the processes for visioning in your community. This guidebook is a "how-to" on discovering the character in your community and is a companion guide to the State Planning Recommendations, particularly the sections on "Recommended Character Areas," "Recommended Plan Implementation Measures," and "Character Area Implementation Chart."

We are grateful for the services of Gail Easley, a planning consultant from Florida, and her Georgia partner, Glen Coyne, in writing these excellent guidebooks. They are intended to help local officials and citizens understand the planning process as well as the local planning requirements in Georgia, but will be useful to anyone interested in or involved in the local planning process.

Please see the guidebooks and other planning resources on the Planning Assistance page of the DCA Website. 7.14.05

The World Summit on Sustainable Development - Press Release 8.28.02

http://dieoff.org/page110.htm
"Revisiting Carrying Capacity: Area-Based Indicators of Sustainability"
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom suggests that because of technology and trade, human carrying capacity is infinitely expandable and therefore virtually irrelevant to demography and development planning. By contrast, this article argues that ecological carrying capacity remains the fundamental basis for demographic accounting. A fundamental question for ecological economics is whether remaining stocks of natural capital are adequate to sustain the anticipated load of the human economy into the next century. Since mainstream (neoclassical) models are blind to ecological structure and function, they cannot even properly address this question. The present article therefore assesses the capital stocks, physical flows, and corresponding ecosystems areas required to support the economy using "ecological footprint" analysis. This approach shows that most so-called "advanced" countries are running massive unaccounted ecological deficits with the rest of the planet. Since not all countries can be net importers of carrying capacity, the material standards of the wealthy cannot be extended sustainably to even the present world population using prevailing technology. In this light, sustainability may well depend on such measures as greater emphasis on equity in international relationships, significant adjustments to prevailing terms of trade, increasing regional self-reliance, and policies to stimulate a massive increase in the material and energy efficiency of economic activity.

www.georgiaqualitygrowth.org
Georgia Quality Growth Partnership (GQGP) is a collaboration among diverse public and private entities that seeks to provide local governments and citizens with the tools and knowledge to transform the way we define, create, and sustain high quality Georgia communities. The primary purpose of the GQGP is to facilitate local government implementation of quality growth approaches by: Disseminating objective information. Developing tools for implemention. Sharing of best practices learned from other places, times, and cultures. Promoting acceptance of quality growth by the general public and community leaders.

www.smartgrowthamerica.com
Smart Growth America is a nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow; one that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and makes communities more livable.

www.neighborhoodcoalition.org

The National Neighborhood Coalition (NNC) Serves as the national voice for neighborhoods by providing a crucial link to Washington for neighborhood and community based organizations.
Fosters communications and collaboration among local, regional and national organizations working to build healthy and sustainable communities.
Promotes public policies that strengthen the role of community and neighborhood-based nonprofits as problem solvers and community builders.

www.georgianature.org
The Georgia Nature-Based Tourism Association is a statewide non-profit organization. The association provides a voice to educate public and private decision-makers about the need to integrate economic development with resource conservation and other issues of interest to association members and promotes its shared vision of the state of Georgia as a nature-based tourism destination.

www.formyworld.com
useful information on pollution, wildlife, gardening, nature and more . . .