While quality of life and sustainability are not necessarily inclusive, they
do not have to be exclusive. Celebration, Florida and other neo-traditional
communities are not "sustainable" simply because they provide an attractive
quality of life. Residences within walking distances of stores and schools may
be nostalgic, but from a sustainability point of view, they are intended to
reduce suburban sprawl and decrease the need to pave more land surface for roadways
and parking lots to get a growing population to and from their destinations.
Residences over shops and Brownstone-type townhouses require less surface area
than one-story homes on large lots, again limiting environmental impact. Using
protected, "undevelopable" areas and storm water processing areas as community
focal points or passive recreation elements reserves the less sensitive land
for homes, shops, and access corridors. Instead of subdividing a ranch into
one-acre lots, clustering fifty homes on fifteen acres and using the remaining
thirty-five acres as a horse farm can preserve a desired aesthetic while reducing
human impact on the land. The key is to seek new ways to give societal significance
to conserving the environment. Once a site has been chosen to build upon, following the LEED requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council or using the checklist from the Florida Green Building Coalition can assist the property owner in practicing sustainable development. Landscape Architects are educated to understand site layout issues, including what is recently being marketed as sustainable or "green" design process. After the site is developed, the owner can contact their local Cooperative Extension Service office for a copy of the "Best Management Practices for Protection of Water Resources in Florida." And as most of us know, recycling reduces the land required to store garbage and the fossil fuels burned to transport the trash (although recycling does have costs).