Implementing sustainable development: Global applications of sustainable development and the community effect

Shorofsky, B (2012) Implementing sustainable development: Global applications of sustainable development and the community effect. Thesis (Ph.d) thesis, Northwestern University.

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    Abstract

    In order to best implement sustainable development universally, it is necessary to identify best practices being implemented throughout the globe. Universal principles for sustainable development can be implemented in a diverse and broad way. This study compares seven sustainable development projects in Ecuador, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom analyzing the success of their implementation strategies, how the organizations establish goals, and how community interactions are managed. These projects were included because of the broad range in goals, their variety of socioeconomic settings, and the varying size of each project allowing for a spectrum of sustainability projects to be analyzed. As a complex topic, sustainable development is characterized through an analysis of the intersection of economic feasibility, environmental management, and social equity. A triple bottom line approach such as this one allows for a variety of sustainable development projects to be viewed comparatively. All results from this spectrum point to the power of community building as the key to building long lasting, effective sustainable development projects. Successful stakeholder engagement and establishing community buy-in for a project were universally necessary for successful sustainable development. Additionally, the scope of a project was important to its eventual impact with some organizations taking a holistic approach to sustainability in their communities while others took a more specific cause driven focus. These two options, however, could be implemented together in a way that would establish a lasting organization that is entrenched in key sustainability issues of a community. In conclusion, a proposed framework for effective sustainable development is presented called Community Oriented Sustainable Development ,COSD, which focuses on: 1 - identifying stakeholders, 2 - setting achievable community goals, 3 - teaching over leading, 4 - cooperative ownership, 5 - utilizing technology while focusing on behavior, and 6 - starting specifically, ending holistically.

    Item Type: Thesis (Thesis (Ph.d))
    Uncontrolled Keywords: Environmental Engineering
    Creators: Shorofsky, B
    Projects: Research -- Forskning
    Date Deposited: 29 Aug 2014 09:00
    Last Modified: 16 Sep 2014 11:23
    URI: http://arkiv.energiinstituttet.dk/id/eprint/305

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