ABSTRACT
The origins of the concept of modern ‘sustainable community’ can be traced back to the 19th century. Chapter 2 explains how the notion of modern sustainable communities has developed and evolved from the 19th century to the present day. It defines three overlapping epochs, each representing a different environmental, economic and social management philosophy, from national command-and-control strategies to increased reliance on state and local management and market-based approaches, and finally, to community-based sustainability. These three epochs have been driven by a combination of policy failures, political leadership changes and improvements in human understanding of the interplay between environmental, economic and social goals. After reviewing various alternative definitions, Chapter 2 reveals the essential attributes of sustainable communities, and explains four approaches to SCs, which are the capital theory perspective, the urban design perspective, the ecosystem management perspective and the metropolitan governance perspective. Furthermore, Chapter 2 summarises how the United Nations, the European Union countries and other prominent Global North countries have contributed to the policy formulation and practices on sustainable community development. Finally, it underlines the common sound strategies to develop SCs in the academic literature, as well as policy and practice.
