Voluntary Standards and Approaches for Sustainable Communities

Abstract

This chapter will explore the ways in which voluntary standards for sustainability can shape urban and community development. It is argued that a flexible approach to identifying, implementing and amending standards for sustainable cities and communities will optimise both democratic participation and social learning while recognising that technological, bureaucratic and other interventions, although important, are by no means sufficient for ensuring liveable and ecologically sensitive communities to grow. Two specific guidance schemes exemplify this contention: first, the guidance for community sustainable development (BS8904) recently published by the British Standards Institute; and second, the stages, ‘ingredients’ and principles that have emerged from within the Transition Movement in the UK and elsewhere. Moving on, Sect. 25.2 outlines the demographic, social, political as well as environment context of urban growth and development in the first half of this century. Section 25.3 will interrogate the concept of risk and resilience as it is applied and developed in sustainable community development making key reference to the debates on risk and vulnerability and the ways in which the community based Transition Movement practically engage with them. Section 25.4 examines the relationship between sustainable community and liveability, particularly as this pertains to health. Section 25.5 shows how the design, moral ownership and commitment to voluntary standards may secure a sense of obligation sometimes understood as being an informal social contract. Section 25.6 examines the ideas, suggestions and prescriptions of BS8904. Finally, Section 25.7 offers some tentative conclusions and recommendations the main one being, the necessity for standards to be a stimulus for continuing social learning and creativity in practice avoiding the restrictions and limitations imposed of a managerialist culture that sees a standard as a box that must be ticked.