What is a Sustainable Community?

Today national governments, local municipalities, and everyday citizens are aware of the potential long term negative effects of climate change. Many cities throughout Texas have enacted new laws that require real estate properties to become “sustainable.” These sustainable properties are often seen in commercial, industrial, and multifamily developments.

Sustainable Communities are an option for investors who are looking to invest in sustainable real estate, but at a greater level. Sustainable communities must provide social well being, economic security, ecological integrity, and leadership, civic engagements & responsibility opportunities for citizens living within them. In this post we’ll go into more detail on how sustainable communities can provide these opportunities.

Social Well Being

Sustainable communities must provide social well being for all citizens and tenants within the community. Here’s a few of the ways sustainable communities can provide social well being:

Develop a reliable food supply that will optimize the local production
Provide sufficient health services
Advanced Education opportunities
Safe & healthy housing
Preservation of historical landmarks and/or protected wilderness areas nearby
Healthy work environment

Economic Security

Real estate investors, business owners, and everyday citizens desire economic security and stability. For a community to be considered sustainable, it must provide economic security. Here’s a few ways in which it can provide that:

Have a diverse, yet viable, financial economic base
Equal employment opportunities
Maximize employment for all citizens within the community; i.e. have a low unemployment rate
Job training and on-the-job education opportunities so employees can adapt to future needs

Ecological Integrity

A community cannot be considered sustainable if it does not have ecological integrity. The entire point of sustainable real estate development is to protect and preserve our planet. In order for a community to be considered sustainable, it must do the following:

Use renewable resources
Satisfy clean air, water, and food regulations
Promote the protection and enhancement of local ecosystems and biological diversity
Conserve water through rainwater capture and low-flow plumbing
Be energy efficient
Minimize pollution and emissions

Leadership, Civic Engagement, & Responsibility

Every community that thrives over many generations has one thing in common: the citizens within that community are engaged and take responsibility for advancing their community forward. For a community to be considered sustainable, it needs to do the following:

Equal opportunities for all people to allow for their input on the decisions that will affect their lives
Ease of access to publicly available information
Political Stability
A tolerant atmosphere that respects differences of opinion
Have a non-governmental sector

Casey Development, Ltd: Building Sustainable Communities in Texas

Casey Development, Ltd. is committed to the long term growth and stability throughout Central Texas. We help investors find sustainable real estate investment opportunities in Austin, San Antonio, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and more. If you’re interested in learning more about our sustainable real estate investment opportunities, click here to contact us.