User:Hannahazimi/sandbox

Sandbox for Hannah Azimi:

Article: Land-Use Planning (Area)

Purpose: to add this under the "environmental sustainability header" to discuss why land-use planning needs to worry about the climate crisis! My citations did not translate to this sandbox from my other one, but I have everything cited there.

Land-Use Planning and Environmental Sustainability
In an increasingly urbanized world, there are simultaneously rising levels of environmental degradation when it comes to energy usage and green/energy efficient neighborhoods. In the 20th century, there was a global push to develop large cities quickly to accommodate the people who were migrating from rural areas to cities that had job availability. Because of this focus on "limitless growth", the environment was disregarded and damaged by numerous urban development projects. In order to strive for environmentally viable cities and landscapes, the issue of the climate crisis needs to be addressed in a way that would not compromise the way of life that many people are used to, while also preserving the ecological landscape required to sustain life on Earth. A sustainable urban development must be able to protect and enhance the environment, such as reducing waste and limiting pollution, while also meeting social needs and promoting economic success, such as protecting universal access to necessities and encouraging access to facilities/goods/services in ways that do not require the use of a car.

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities, created by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department Of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 was intended to encourage sustainable land-use planning. In recent years, EPA has started to encourage sustainable urban planning, kickstarting this partnership which would ensure that federal housing projects, transportation, and other neighborhood infrastructure would assist neighborhoods in being able to live closer to jobs, and reducing pollution since there would be less of a commute time. Over the past decade, this federal partnership has funded 1,066 projects in each of the 50 States, as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The total amount of grant money funding these projects has reached approximately $4.6 billion. Some of the projects that the partnership sponsors are the Housing and Urban Development's “Sustainable Communities Regional Planning” and “Community Challenge Grant Programs”. These programs have made important strides in sustainable urban planning, with about 40 percent of U.S. citizens now having access to communities who were awarded these grants. Both of these programs make up $240 million in Federal investment towards local land-use planning efforts.

Some aspects of land-use planning that keep environmental sustainability in mind include:



^ Jump up to: a b ^ Check date values in: |date= (help)

Article: Environmental Planning (Sector)

New Section: Regarding Environmental Justice (w/in environmental planning) within the "Elements" header:

Environmental Justice
In conjunction with environmental planning is the subject of "environmental justice": the equitable inclusion and treatment of all human beings in the universal development of environmental regulations, as well as the exaction of such regulations. This subject is entirely inclusive of all humans in a community, state, and/or continent regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic class, ir any other distinguishing aspects of people. It is important to know that environmental justice issues are fought typically within communities to establish better living conditions that are sustainable and improve the ecological environment as well as the neighborhood quality. The Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that the leaders who are involved in the urban planning of a community must take into consideration who lives in these neighborhoods. The EPA has declared that it is essential that the beneficiaries of these neighborhoods should play an active role in the reshaping of their stomping ground. The general agreement on statements such as this sparked many conversations about the need for equitable and sustainable housing/transportation, which are core characteristics of environmental justice. This part of the battle against the climate crisis is intended to help uplift many underrepresented communities facing environmental issues. With the Environmental Protection Agency issuing a public declaration about the importance of environmental justice, many governments have now emphasized the need to assist in giving these underrepresented communities the social agency to be able to combat imminent environmental problems that threaten their health or way of life.

^ Jump up to: a b ^ United States. Environmental Protection Agency, issuing body. Environmental justice: key resources for building a community of practice for local use planning. OCLC 921478812.