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Task 2: Frame Project Commitment
Craft mission statement
Input from the project commitment workshop provides the basis for a project mission statement crafted by the core team. It is the first step in articulating the commitment to sustainable neighbourhood development. The purpose of the mission statement to be crafted is to drive the development team commitment forward by setting the bar and describing the primary purpose and goal for moving along this path. It serves as a touchstone for all those involved and can form the basis for a memorandum of understanding among key stakeholders that will be established in Task 4.
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Framing Tools | Project Mission Statement |
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Additional Support | NCI Charrette Handbook: 1.1.2 Project Mission and Products |
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EHUV Case Study |
Mission Statement "Christenson Developments and its key stakeholders will lead market-oriented land development towards collaborative, replicable models and processes that balance economic viability, environmental health, social equity and cultural vitality. Emerald Hills Urban Village will be a viable, inclusive neighbourhood that demonstrates the feasibility and desirability of adopting sustainable planning, design and implementation practices." |
Develop sustainable neighbourhood principles
The Natural Step organization describes four system conditions for maintaining essential ecological processes and socio-economic dynamics. These conditions must be respected if a sustainable future is to be achieved. The conditions state that in a sustainable society:
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nature is not subjected to a buildup of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust;
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nature is not subjected to a buildup of synthetic substances produced by society;
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nature is not subjected to degradation of its diversity, productivity and capacity for renewal; and
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society is not subjected to conditions that undermine its capacity to meet basic needs.
These system conditions provide the basis for establishing sustainable neighbourhood principles to guide the transition to a sustainable future. The core team crafts a set of sustainable neighbourhood principles that are reviewed by the sustainability consultant. Like the system conditions, these principles are broad enough to apply to any sustainable neighbourhood project, yet rigourous enough to ascertain that development is moving towards achieving genuine wealth and a one planet footprint. Committing to these principles ensures that sustainability parameters are respected and represented throughout the development process and in its outputs and outcomes.
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Framing Tools | Sustainable Neighbourhood Principles |
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EHUV Case Study | 4 Principles for Guiding Sustainable Development and 12 Themes for Evaluating Sustainable Development |
Generate sustainable neighbourhood themes
Sustainable neighbourhood themes flow out of the sustainable neighbourhood principles and are intended to provide an organizational framework for defining and evaluating any sustainable neighbourhood to which the project sponsor may commit. For a particular project, each theme is then systematically unbundled into project-specific issue areas, goals, indicators, targets, strategies and actions. The core team generates this standard set of themes with assistance from the sustainability consultant.
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Framing Tools | Sustainable Neighbourhood Themes |
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EHUV Case Study | 4 Principles for Guiding Sustainable Development and 12 Themes for Evaluating Sustainable Development |
