The foundation of a sustainable community revolves around eight major pillars: economy, health, nature, built environment, energy, community, social equity, and transportation.
ECONOMY – A strong economy is the foundation upon which sustainability programs are built. Providing jobs, wages and housing needed to support a growing population is crucial to sustaining a healthy and resilient society.
HEALTH – Sustainable societies require robust healthcare programs to meet their goals. For a healthcare program to be successful, it must be affordable, accessible, staffed with sufficient personnel and cover as complete a variety of healthcare problems as possible.
NATURE – Nature is what makes life on Earth possible, and its conservation through concerted efforts by all societal actors will help ensure and maintain a sustainable quality of living for subsequent generations. Las Vegas, because of its desert location, must be particularly mindful of how its water supply is used and conserved.
BUILT ENVIRONMENT – Many of the environmental challenges faced by society today are self-inflicted. Industrial emissions of materials such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide have caused some of the greatest environmental challenges we face today. To ensure healthy living, it is important to preserve air quality and help reduce the region’s global footprint.
ENERGY – Developing a sustainable society involves growing an economy while consuming as little non-renewable energy as possible. In order for sustainable energy practices to truly take hold and become widely adopted, cooperation from all elements of society is needed. An example of such cooperation includes the incentivizing of adopting renewables by government on behalf of local businesses and residents.
COMMUNITY – A major component to a successful economy is its community. In Southern Nevada, residents have access to a wide variety of cultural and educational opportunities, while also experiencing a relatively low cost of living.
SOCIAL EQUITY – An essential part of a sustainable economy is ensuring equal opportunity and providing adequate resources for families in need. Southern Nevada has historically stood out for its generosity with numerous charities, organizations and programs that help families in need.
TRANSPORTATION – As a growing metro area, Las Vegas residents often need to drive or take the bus to reach their destinations. These distances mean greater amounts of fossil fuel emissions, and consequently greater pollution and environmental degradation. All societal participants, including government, individuals and the private sector, have worked to help address this problem, either through the adoption of reduced-emission vehicles, the investment in infrastructure, or the development of incentive programs to change transportation habits.
