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Expanding Prosperity by Becoming an Eco‐Municipality
Author(s) -
SILBERSTEIN JANE
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
business and society review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1467-8594
pISSN - 0045-3609
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8594.2010.00372.x
Subject(s) - prosperity , sustainability , business , local community , economic growth , economic justice , environmental planning , economics , political science , geography , ecology , law , biology , neoclassical economics
Much of rural America has unique qualities that, when guided by the Eco‐Municipality model, can strengthen local community and assist in the movement toward sustainability. The Eco‐Municipality model, originating in Sweden and guided by ecological and social justice values and The Natural Step, is sweeping across the United States and has been adopted by many communities, ranging in size from 300 to 80,000. These communities have better positioned themselves for long‐term, economic, social and environmental well‐being by, for example, retaining sense of place, capitalizing on existing assets, diversifying the local economy, minimizing economic leaks—in part by nurturing local entrepreneurs—making improvements to the local inventory of housing and access to health care, and most importantly, establishing a consistent systems approach to community development.