The goal of sustainable community development is to build communities with the ability to remain healthy and prosperous over the long term. Living sustainably is not a choice but a series of choices over a lifetime. It not only requires that we make responsible choices but that we ask the right questions. Growth measures the increase in economic activity in the short term, regardless of whether this activity makes things better or worse for people over the long term. Sustainable development leads to improvements in the quality of people's lives from one generation to the next.
Communities can have a healthy economy without growth.
But in some communities, growth is necessary to meet community needs and improve the quality of life for everyone. Too much growth can erode the quality of life and the environment, or improve things for only a select few. Since space and resources are limited, there is a point at which growth no longer contributes to a community's well-being. A sustainable community learns to recognize whether growth is beneficial and, when it is not, to focus on other ways of maintaining a vital economy over the long term. Signs of Trouble Rising poverty and an increasing gap between the rich and poor are examples of current trends that are not sustainable.