Defining, Initiating, and Reviewing Sustainability and Resilience Planning

Abstract

The first chapter of the book is aimed at answering the underlying assumptions and inquiries about sustainability and resilience, and corresponding sustainability and resilience planning, the differences and similarities between the two, and how the topics reshape local governments and communities. In this chapter, exact terms and definition related to sustainability, the history of sustainability and Triple Bottom Line (TBL), Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL), and greenhouse gas emissions, carbon footprint, climate resilience and preparedness, and sustainability planning are provided. Updated definitions of sustainability and resilience with an all-encompassing review of contemporary sustainability and resilience literature are included. Also, a selective review of successful sustainability plans in various local governments across select communities in the United States is incorporated. An analytical assessment of the definitions of the Triple Bottom Line and the Quadruple Bottom Line and the historical evolution of sustainability are offered.