Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
Making a Difference in Rural Illinois
A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development
Sustainability: The 5 “E’s”
Since the 1980s, the emergence of sustainability as a pattern for thinking and action – typically defined as the three Es: ecology, economy, and equity – has reinforced the need for systemic approaches to rural community development. Sustainable community development puts environment first in development decision making, not as a secondary consideration (cf. Dresner, 2002). Sustainability builds on the conservation movement of the Progressive Era and the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It demands an increased emphasis on environmental education (cf. Edwards 2005) – the fourth “E” that complements ecology, economy, and equity. The fifth “E” of sustainability is ethical (Collins, 2008), based on Aldo Leopold’s (1968) land ethic, which clearly makes the human community responsible for protecting its ecological surroundings: the soil, water, flora, and fauna.
Recommended Resources
- Collins, Timothy. 2008. “Place-based Education, Schools, and Sustainable Communities.” PowerPoint Presentation, National Community Education Association Conference, November 5-8, 2008, Dallas, TX.
- Dresner, Simon. 2002. The Principles of Sustainability. London: Earthscan Publications.
- Edwards, Andres R. 2005. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.
- Leopold, Aldo. 1968. A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There. London: Oxford University Press.
