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THE COMMON GOAL:DEFINING AND MEASURINGSUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

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Credit: English Regional Development Agencies

DEFINING SUSTAINABLECOMMUNITIES1.1 Sustainable communities do not come

about by chance – they are something wemust work to create. To identify the skillswe need to create them, we must firstunderstand what we mean by the term‘sustainable communities’.

1.2 Considerable work has already been doneto draw up a definition of this term – mostrecently in the Sustainable Communities:Building for the Future Report3 which setout twelve ‘key requirements’, and theSustainable Communities: Dimensions andChallenges Report4 which identified keycomponents of sustainable communities.We have reviewed this work, consultedwith a range of professional and specialistorganisations and other governmentdepartments, and developed the followingcommon definition:

1.3 We have not attempted to defineprescriptively the physical area or size ofpopulation that constitutes a sustainablecommunity. This is a judgement that localauthorities and stakeholders need tomake. In one area, a city may constitutea sustainable community and in another,a town, or collection of towns, or individualneighbourhoods. We also recognise thatfunctioning sustainable communities willfrequently cross-administrative boundaries.

The Egan Review: Skills for Sustainable Communities

COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLECOMMUNITIES1.4 We used our definition to identify seven key

components of a sustainable community andto derive a framework for delivery. DiagramOne summarises our components. Thisconstitutes our ‘common goal’.

1.5 Each component is described in moredetail in Box One. We believe it is essentialthat all components are addressed if we areto plan, deliver and maintain sustainablecommunities – there is no hierarchy.Depending on local circumstances, theremight be a trade-off in the short-term inthe priority given to different components,but in the longer term, all are essential tomake a place sustainable.

Definition of Sustainable Communities:Sustainable communities meet the diverseneeds of existing and future residents, theirchildren and other users, contribute to a highquality of life and provide opportunity andchoice. They achieve this in ways that makeeffective use of natural resources, enhance theenvironment, promote social cohesion andinclusion and strengthen economic prosperity.

3 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (2003), Sustainable Communities: building for the future. 4 Kearns, A. and Turok, I. (2003), Sustainable Communities: Dimensions and Challenges.

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Chapter 1 The Common Goal: Defining and Measuring Sustainable Communities

DIAGRAM ONE: COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

SOCIAL ANDCULTURAL

Vibrant, harmoniousand inclusivecommunities

GOVERNANCEEffective and inclusive

participation,representationand leadership

TRANSPORTAND

CONNECTIVITYGood transport services

and communication linkingpeople to jobs, schools,

health andother services

HOUSING ANDTHE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT A quality built

and naturalenvironment

ECONOMYA flourishingand diverse

local economy

ENVIRONMENTALProviding places

for people to live in anenvironmentally-

friendly way

SERVICES A full range of

appropriate, accessiblepublic, private,community and

voluntary services

SUSTAINABLECOMMUNITIES

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BOX ONE: COMPONENTS AND SUB-COMPONENTS OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

A COMMON SUB-COMPONENT across all components is:● All provision and/or activity to be high quality, well-designed and maintained, safe, accessible,

adaptable, environmentally and cost-effectively provided

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL – Vibrant, harmonious and inclusive communities● A sense of community identity and belonging● Tolerance, respect and engagement with people from different cultures, background and beliefs● Friendly, co-operative and helpful behaviour in neighbourhoods● Opportunities for cultural, leisure, community, sport and other activities● Low levels of crime and anti-social behaviour with visible, effective and community-friendly policing● All people are socially included and have similar life opportunities

GOVERNANCE – Effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership● Strategic, visionary, representative, accountable governance systems that enable inclusive, active

and effective participation by individuals and organisations● Strong, informed and effective leadership and partnerships that lead by example (eg government,

business, community)● Strong, inclusive, community and voluntary sector (eg resident’s associations, neighbourhood watch)● A sense of civic values, responsibility and pride● Continuous improvement through effective delivery, monitoring and feedback at all levels

ENVIRONMENTAL – Providing places for people to live in an environmentally-friendly way● Efficient use of resources now and in the future in the built environment and service provision

(eg energy efficiency, land, water resources, flood defence, waste minimisation etc)● Living in a way that minimises the negative environmental impact and enhances the positive impact

(eg recycling, walking, cycling)● Protecting and improving natural resources and biodiversity (eg air quality, noise, water quality)● Having due regard for the needs of future generations in current decisions and actions


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HOUSING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT – A quality built and natural environment● Creating a sense of place (eg a place with a positive ‘feeling’ for people, and local distinctiveness)● Well-maintained, local, user-friendly public and green spaces with facilities for everyone including

children and older people● Sufficient range, diversity and affordability of housing within a balanced housing market● A high quality, well-designed built environment of appropriate size, scale, density, design and

layout that complements the distinctive local character of the community● High quality, mixed-use, durable, flexible and adaptable buildings

TRANSPORT AND CONNECTIVITY – Good transport services and communicationlinking people to jobs, schools, health and other services● Transport facilities, including public transport, that help people travel within

and between communities● Facilities to encourage safe local walking and cycling● Accessible and appropriate local parking facilities● Widely available and effective telecommunications and Internet access

ECONOMY – A flourishing and diverse local economy● A wide range of jobs and training opportunities ● Sufficient land and buildings to support economic prosperity and change● Dynamic job and business creation● A strong business community with links into the wider economy

SERVICES – A full range of appropriate, accessible public, private, communityand voluntary services● Well-educated people from well-performing local schools, further and higher education

and training for lifelong learning ● High quality, local health care and social services ● Provision of range of accessible, affordable public, community, voluntary and private services

(eg retail, food, commercial, utilities)● Service providers who think and act long term and beyond their own immediate geographical

and interest boundaries

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BOX TWO: FOCUS GROUPSThe groups were drawn from different areas and housing conditions namely Greenwich, Telford,Poundbury, Dewsbury, Northampton, and East Manchester. Participants came from a range of agesand social classes. They considered the Task Group's definition, the components and sub-componentsof the term ‘Sustainable Communities’, and identified any gaps or unclear terminology.

When participants were asked what they associated most closely with the word ‘community’, theiremphasis was very much on the people element – families, children, friends.

They found the term ‘Sustainable Community’ generally acceptable, although many participantsfelt adding ‘sustainable’ was jargonistic and made little difference to their initial idea of community.The overriding view was that people make up a community and that children are important for the future.

The groups broadly agreed with our seven components. They thought social and cultural cohesion(encompassing safety, stability and social order) to be fundamental, along with trustworthy localgovernment and good local services.

Focus Groups

1.6 We tested how our definition and componentsmatched up with people’s perceptions of whatmakes a sustainable community. MORI ran aseries of six focus groups for us with thepublic. A summary of the results is inBox Two.

1.7 We believe that our definition andcomponents should be used to help createa ‘common language’ about the meaning ofsustainable communities; a language thatcan be used and understood by everyoneinvolved – politicians and the officers thatserve them, professionals, regeneration

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practitioners, developers, voluntary andcommunity groups and the communityitself, so that everyone can contribute todelivery of the common goal.

1.8 We recommend that Government,local authorities and other stakeholders(built-environment professionals, publicservice providers, developers andcommunity organisations) adopt thecommon goal and promote a commonunderstanding of what the term‘sustainable community’ means. Ourdefinition and seven componentsconstitute a model that others may wishto use. It may need to be supplementedto reflect local priorities and the viewsof local people.

OPERATIONALISING THECOMMON GOAL1.9 Our description of the common goal will

need further research to refine it in the lightof experience about what works for existingand future communities. But we believe itcan act as a useful framework to:

● secure more effective joining up of policyagendas at national, regional and local,government, so that these deliver theneeds of the people for safe, clean,prosperous and attractive communities;

● delegate much more performance-relatedresponsibility from national to localgovernment, where this has been

demonstrated to be earned (Chapter Two);● identify essential components in very

significant new developments (ChapterTwo); and

● provide a basis from which skill sets canbe developed (Chapters Three and Four).

MEASURING PROGRESS TOWARDSSUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES1.10 In addition to creating a ‘common language’,

we consider that our definition and indicatorswill help provide a benchmark against whichprogress towards greater sustainability canbe measured. The rate of progress revealshow successful we are in assembling theright teams with the right skills to deliverthe communities we deserve.

Indicators

1.11 We have identified a small number ofperformance indicators, representing ourseven components, that could be used to help

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set clear, measurable and public targetsagainst which progress could be regularlytracked. We examined the extensive rangeof over four hundred existing indicatorsdeveloped to meet particular needs by, forexample the Audit Commission, the Officeof the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), theSustainable Development Commission,and the Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

1.12 For each of the seven components, weselected between four and nine indicatorsthat we felt most effectively represented keyaspects. The resulting fifty indicators includea mixture of subjective and objective datainputs. We consider the use of subjectiveindictors to be essential – from the MORIfocus groups and other surveys, we knowthat people want to live in places that areclean, safe and friendly, places that havequality open spaces and that offer jobs andgood education. We concluded that indicatorsreflecting people’s perceptions of where theylive must be part of the process of assessingprogress towards delivery, and the resultsmust inform decisions on action needed toimprove sustainability. Many local authoritiesalready do this but we believe that it shouldbe common practice for all.

1.13 Forty-six of the indicators are thosethat are already recommended for useby local authorities (but are not necessarilycompulsory). These are drawn in the mainfrom the Audit Commission’s Library of Local

Performance indicators5 and from otherexisting datasets. In addition, we recommendfor the first time three other piloted andtested indicators, plus a further indicatorwhich is brand new. The full list is set outin Annex B.

Using the indicators

1.14 We recognise that the seven componentsmay be most relevant at different spatiallevels, and that measurement of thecomponents should recognise this. Forexample, economic data may be mostrelevant at regional or sub-regional level,whereas indicators of cleanliness, safety,and open spaces are likely to be mostrelevant at neighbourhood level (say 3,000 –5,000 homes). For other indicators, such asprovision of local services, data at districtlevel may be most relevant. Local authorities,working with the Audit Commission, need tomake their own judgements about the levelat which particular data sets should becollected and interpreted.

1.15 We believe that the indicators we haveidentified offer a well balanced menu fromwhich local authorities and their partnerscan choose to help them demonstrateprogress in delivering sustainablecommunities. The choice of indicatorswill depend on local circumstances and theneeds and priorities of local people. As suchwe do not believe that the entire set shouldbe mandatory. In particular we do not want


5 Audit Commission, IDeA (2003) Library of Local Performance Indicators

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the indicators to be seen as yet another boxticking exercise, or a set of hurdles to jump.We envisage the indicators being used as ameans of demonstrating to the communitywhat the problems are, what action will betaken to address them and how progress willbe monitored. They should be used tomotivate, to measure the impact of processesand actions, and could in future form thebasis of useful comparisons – particularlyinternational comparisons – on theeffectiveness of action taken to addressspecific problems.

1.16 We recommend that by the end of 2005,local authorities should:

● incorporate in their SustainableCommunity Strategies (Chapter Two)a process through which they and their

partners will select the indicators fromAnnex B that are most relevant to theneeds of their communities;

● identify mechanisms for establishingbaselines and regularly trackingprogress towards achievingsustainability with the longer term aimof tracking all of the indicators; and

● make provision for taking action toaddress poor performance whereit occurs.

Feedback to local people should bean essential part of this process.

1.17 Central government departments need torecognise the importance of these indicatorsand their use at local level alongside theirexisting single service indicators and targets.

MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION 1.18 Diagram Two, Moving in the right direction,

illustrates how progress towards delivering asustainable community may be pursued overtime. Ideally the overall direction of travel isin a straight line towards a clear goal, but inreality the route may vary because of specificblockages and barriers. Progress in onecomponent (for example redesigning a towncentre to attract new retail and businessopportunities) may temporarily have anegative impact on another – such ascreating a strong sense of place – andthis may be reflected in the results of

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DIAGRAM TWO: MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Strong senseof place

Outmoded,traditionaleconomy

Robust, flexible

economy

Poor physicalenvironment

Existingcommunity

Sustainablefuture

Policy & practice direction


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monitoring. Temporary trade-offs, wheresome components have to take a back seatwhile other priorities are addressed, areperfectly acceptable as long as the long-termtrend for each component is in the rightdirection – towards the sustainable future.Decisions about such trade-offs will requiresound judgement, as well as leadership andcommunication skills.

1.19 Moving towards the sustainable communityideal must be the long-term aim for allcommunities, urban and rural, North andSouth. Having said this, there is action wecan take straight away to halt movementaway from our ideal.

1.20 We must stop generating newdevelopment that conflicts with the goal.In particular:

● We want to see a sustainablecommunity development code orbenchmarks established to giveclear information to developers, localauthorities and communities about theenvironmental and quality standards thatsustainable communities should achieve,and how these translate into practicalbuilding standards. Such a code orbenchmarks should be informed byexisting examples of best practice,and make use of tools such as thosedeveloped by the Building Research

Establishment and SEEDA (SouthEast England Development Agency)Sustainability Checklist for Developmentthat place our country at the forefront ofinternational standards.

● We believe such a code or benchmarksshould be in place inside twelve months.We recommend that Government workswith the Sustainable Buildings Task Group6

to develop further this proposal, andshould look at ways of incentivisingprogress, with the longer term aim ofdevelopments meeting carbon emissionsand waste minimisation standardsconsistent with a sustainable one planetlevel within, say eight years.

6 The Sustainable Buildings Task Group is charged with identifying specific, cost-effective, improvements in the quality and environmentalperformance of buildings which industry can deliver in both the short and long term, together with further actions that Government could taketo facilitate faster progress.

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● We consider it essential to improve qualityof place, and recommend that all newproposals for major building developmentsshould meet recognised design qualityguidelines or standards where they exist– for example, the Construction IndustryCouncil’s Design Quality Indicators,7

and BREEAM EcoHomes.8 Again, werecommend that Government works withthe Sustainable Buildings Task Group toidentify preferred guidelines/standardsand any gaps or improvements required,and how these could be addressed as amatter of priority.

● We reject the use of land for singleindustrial, commercial, housing, retailor leisure development without fullconsideration of mixed-use alternatives;and we reject very significantdevelopments not supported by

comprehensive masterplans and design(or urban) codes. The latter should pay fullregard to the physical, environmental,economic and social context of thedevelopment, encapsulated in our sevensustainable community components.

1.21 We recommend that Government workswith the Sustainable Buildings TaskGroup to develop further our proposalfor a sustainable communitiescode/benchmarking, that will give clearinformation about the environmentaland quality standards that sustainablecommunities should achieve, and howthese translate into practical buildingstandards. Government should also lookat ways of incentivising progress, withthe longer term aim of meetingdevelopments that achieve carbonemissions and waste minimisationstandards consistent with a sustainableone planet level within, say eight years.Design standards and guidelines for verysignificant developments should also beaddressed. We want to halt singleuse of land for industrial, commercial,housing, retail and leisure developmentwithout full consideration of mixed-use alternatives.

7 Design Quality Indicators developed by the Construction Industry Council and Imperial College, London.8 Building Research Establishment (2000) BREEAM EcoHomes


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IMPLICATIONS FOR SKILLS1.22 The range of components and sub-

components set out in Box One serves toillustrate the complexity of the sustainablecommunities agenda. To make this workwe need a wide range of skills – from thetechnical such as designing high qualitytownscapes, to the more generic such asstrong, informed leadership. In addition tothese, we need people with the ability tothink and work outside their traditionalcompartments, who can bring togetherdisparate organisations and interests tohelp deliver the common goal. This willrequire new skills and new ways of thinkingand acting from all those involved in delivery.

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