Planning for Sustainable Communities: Evaluating Place-Making Approaches

Abstract

People's survival and their quality of life, are irrefutable dependent on the natural environment in which they reside. To ensure that people's quality of life be maintained in any specific area, it is therefore imperative to find a sustainable equilibrium between the social and economic needs of people and the capacity of the natural resources in their environment. The composition of communities is, however, complex and diverse. The multiplicity of culture, gender and age in any particular community, give rise to needs that is unique regarding to that community as well as the impact thereof on the natural environment. For this reason, it will require an ingenious planning approach be followed, whereby the unique needs of people in an specific area as well as the protection of the natural environment simultaneously be addressed. Characteristics of a sustainable community are typically, a healthier, safer, greener, economically independent community which is well managed. Furthermore it has lower transportation costs and less traffic, is more economic in terms of housing and market demands, shows decreased costs of infrastructure and also has low level of air pollution. Place-making, through layout and design, is an integrative planning approach in creating sustainable communities. Place-making is fundamentally a strategy aimed at creating one or more places in an area which, serve as focal points for economic and social activities of people in the community. Such places will contribute to the quality of life in a community and will also encourage more people to visit the area.

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