:''"Eco-municipality" has a specific meaning. For a more general discussion of the sustainability of cities, see

Sustainable city A sustainable city, eco-city, or green city is a city designed with consideration for the Sustainability, social, economic, and environmental impact (commonly referred to as the triple bottom line), as well as a resilient habitat for existing po ...

.'' An eco-municipality or eco-town is a

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

area that has adopted

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

values in its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

. The development of eco-municipalities stems from changing systems in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, where more than seventy municipal governments have accepted varying principles of

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

in their operations as well as community-wide decision-making processes. The purpose of these policies is to increase the overall sustainability of the community. Large scale

social movements A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of ...

can influence both community choices and the built environment. Eco-municipalities may be one such movement. Eco-municipalities take a

systems A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is exp ...

approach, based on sustainability principles. The eco-municipality movement is participatory, involving community members in a bottom-up approach. The distinction between an eco-municipality and other

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

projects (such as

green building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...

and

alternative energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

) is the focus on community involvement and social transformation in a public agency, as well as the use of a

holistic Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...

approach. An eco-municipality is one that recognizes that issues of sustainability are key to all decisions made by government.

History

In 1983 the

Övertorneå Övertorneå (; ) is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Övertorneå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,917 inhabitants in 2010. It is located at the shore of the Torne (Finnish and Swedish river), Torne River, oppos ...

community of Sweden first adopted an Eco-municipality framework, followed by a formal organization in 1995 (SEKOM).

Framework

In becoming an eco-municipality, cities or towns typically adopt a resolution, based on the Natural Step framework (or Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD)), which sets the following objectives: * Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels. * Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals. * Reduce encroachment upon nature. * Better meet human needs fairly and efficiently.

Municipalities adopting framework

Communities in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and Africa ranging in size from villages of 300 to cities of 700,000 have become eco-municipalities. In Sweden, over one hundred municipalities have officially become eco-municipalities. They have formed
national association of eco-municipalities
to assist one another and work to influence national policy. Whistler, BC, was awarded first place in a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

-endorsed international competition for sustainable communities. Its long-term sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, is based on the Natural Step framework. In

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, there is a growing eco-municipality movement which began in the Chequamegon Bay region. As of November 2007, twelve local communities had formally adopted eco-municipality resolutions. The resolutions state the community's intention to become an eco-municipality, endorsing the Natural Step sustainability principles and framework as a guide.1,000 Friends of Wisconsin
Eco-municipalities: A Model for Sustainable Communities in Wisconsin
Retrieved on: February 10, 2008. In Sweden, more than 70 cities and towns—25 percent of all municipalities in the country—have adopted a common set of "Sustainability Principles" and implemented these systematically throughout their municipal operations. There are now twelve eco-municipalities in the United States and the

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

has adopted sustainability objectives based on the same principles.James, S. (2003)
"Eco-municipalities: Sweden and the United States: A Systems Approach to Creating Communities"
Retrieved on: 16 March 2009.

Notes

References

* James, S. and T. Lahti (2004). ''The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices.'' Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers.

External links

National Association of Swedish Eco-municipalities
Website of SEKOM
Sustainable Sweden Association
Website * TNS case study on North American Eco-municipality Network

Consulting firm working in the field. * {{usurped,

} Eco Municipalities links

page on Eco-Municipalities

policy guide on sustainability.
Sustain Dane
Website on Dane (US)
Sustainable Lawrence
Website on Lawrence (Canada)
Piscataqua Sustainability
Website on Piscataqua (Canada) Sustainable design Sustainable communities Environmental planning Landscape architecture Urban studies and planning terminology Environmental design Simple living 1980s neologisms Community building

History

Framework

Municipalities adopting framework

See also

Notes

References

External links