2.1 Sustainability Resilience and Resistance

Chapter 1: Introduction

  • Course Overview

    • Introduction to Sustainable Community Development in the context of community and regional planning.

    • Discussion of sustainability, resilience, and resistance as core concepts.

    • Distinction between academic terms is acknowledged but not prioritized.

  • Instructor's Approach

    • Emphasis on urgent climate change response over semantic differences between sustainability and resilience.

    • Reference to Barbara Brown Wilson's text emphasizing resilience and its relation to resistance.

  • Understanding Community

    • Definition of community by L'Orsch: A place-based group capable of influencing their common needs within social and political contexts.

    • Human capability for collaboration sets humans apart from other species (e.g., wolf packs).

  • Emotional Dynamics of the Course

    • Awareness of potential morale drop due to discussions on heavy topics.

    • Assurance of addressing solutions and maintain a focus on community capabilities.

Chapter 2: Sustainable Community Development

  • Power Dynamics and Inequity

    • Social change creates power dynamics leading to inequality, which must be addressed for sustainability.

    • Focus on achieving sustainability that is equitable and inclusive for all demographics.

  • Sociological Perspective

    • Instructor presents as a sociologist, stressing the need for sustainable practices that benefit everyone.

    • Unpacking willingness to accept sustainable changes requires understanding of underlying power dynamics.

  • Principles for Sustainable Communities

    • Sustainable development must prioritize community well-being over individual interests.

    • The six foundations of community resilience as outlined by Lurch:

      • People

      • Systems Thinking

      • Adaptability

      • Transformability

      • Sustainability

      • Courage

Chapter 3: A Geopolitical Community

  • Systems Interconnection

    • Importance of recognizing interactions among social, environmental, and economic systems.

    • Need for adaptability to respond to climate change effectively.

    • Emphasis on transforming systems instead of merely patching issues (e.g., shifting from plastic to metal straws as a small change).

  • Accessibility and Sustainability

    • Resilience requires accessibility to resources for all, considering long-lasting effects of change.

Chapter 4: Greater Community Resilience

  • Community-Led Action

    • Responsibility of community members to decide what action to take for resilience.

    • Importance of cultural and situational understanding in supporting community efforts.

  • Equity in Community Practices

    • Addressing structural barriers for equitable outcomes is essential.

    • Existing community assets should guide resilience-building efforts, as stated by Barbara Brown Wilson.

Chapter 5: Building a Selected Community

  • Understanding Community Dynamics

    • Knowledge of community structure and functions is critical for engagement and leadership roles.

    • Recognizing collective interests over individual interests and the importance of prioritizing environmental resources over financial gain.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

  • Exploring Community Projects

    • Students encouraged to consider a community for their projects, with examples of possible inclusions from various scales (cities, neighborhoods, international communities).

    • Flexibility in project scope allows exploration of diverse communities beyond local contexts.