View source for Eco-municipality

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

An '''eco-municipality''' or '''eco-town''' is a [[local government]] area that has adopted [[ecological]] and [[social justice]] values in its [[charter]]. The development of eco-municipalities stems from changing systems in [[Sweden]], where more than seventy municipal governments have accepted varying principles of [[sustainability]] in their operations as well as community-wide decision-making processes.<ref>Miranda Spencer (September 22, 2005) [http://sustainablebusiness.com/features/feature_template.cfm?ID=1269 Building Sustainable Cities: Scandinavia's "Eco-Municipalities" Show the Way] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713100337/http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/features/feature_template.cfm?ID=1269 |date=2007-07-13 }}.sustainablebusiness.com. Retrieved on: November 5, 2007.</ref> The purpose of these policies is to increase the overall sustainability of the community.

Large scale [[social movements]] can influence both community choices and the built environment. Eco-municipalities may be one such movement.<ref>LaColla, T. [http://www.theplanningcommission.org/newsletter/year/issues2007/summer-2007/it2019s-easy-to-be-green-eco-municipalities-here-to-stay.html "It's Easy to be Green! Eco-Municipalities: Here to Stay"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225133509/http://www.theplanningcommission.org/newsletter/year/issues2007/summer-2007/it2019s-easy-to-be-green-eco-municipalities-here-to-stay.html|date=25 February 2012}}. theplanningcommission.org. Retrieved on: 16 March 2009.</ref> Eco-municipalities take a [[systems]] 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]] projects (such as [[green building]] and [[alternative energy]]) is the focus on community involvement and social transformation in a public agency, as well as the use of a [[holistic]] [[systems thinking|systems]] approach. An eco-municipality is one that recognizes that issues of sustainability are key to all decisions made by government. <ref>Torbjorn Lahti and Sarah James (May 17, 2005) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080807163009/http://www.wisconsinplanners.org/Ecomunicipalities/EcoMunicipalitySynopsis.pdf The Eco-municipality Model for Sustainable Community Change: A systems approach to creating sustainable communities]}}. Retrieved on: November 5, 2007</ref>

==History==
In 1983 the [[Övertorneå]] 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|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.<ref>Alliance for Sustainability [http://www.afs.nonprofitoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B2E02B44E-ED9D-4C45-B7C7-A670267AE29A%7D&DE=%7B037A8207-109E-46C0-B083-E96FD3882316%7D Ashland, WI and Duluth, MN become Sustainable Cities] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903103742/http://www.afs.nonprofitoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B2E02B44E-ED9D-4C45-B7C7-A670267AE29A%7D&DE=%7B037A8207-109E-46C0-B083-E96FD3882316%7D |date=2011-09-03 }}. Retrieved on: February 10, 2008.</ref>

==Municipalities adopting framework==
Communities in [[North America]], [[Europe]] 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 a [http://www.sekom.se 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]]-endorsed international competition for sustainable communities. Its long-term sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, is based on the Natural Step framework.<ref>Sustain Dane [http://www.sustaindane.org/Pages/ecomunicipality_where.htm Eco-municipalities: Where Are They?]. Retrieved on: February 10, 2008.</ref>

In [[Wisconsin]], 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.<ref>1,000 Friends of Wisconsin. [http://www.1kfriends.org/Eco-Municipalities.htm Eco-municipalities: A Model for Sustainable Communities in Wisconsin]. Retrieved on: February 10, 2008.</ref>

In Sweden, more than 70 cities and towns—25 percent of all municipalities in the country—have adopted a common set of [[The Natural Step#System conditions of sustainability|"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]] has adopted sustainability objectives based on the same principles.<ref name="James">James, S. (2003). [http://www.knowledgetemplates.com/sja/ecomunic.htm "Eco-municipalities: Sweden and the United States: A Systems Approach to Creating Communities"]. Retrieved on: 16 March 2009.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ecovillage]]
* [[Eco-towns]]
* [[Green municipalism]]
* [[Sustainable city]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==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. {{ISBN|0-86571-491-6}}

==External links==
* [http://www.sekom.nu/ National Association of Swedish Eco-municipalities] Website of SEKOM
* [http://www.sustainablesweden.org Sustainable Sweden Association] Website
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131212115121/http://www.naturalstep.org/en/north-american-eco-muni-network The Natural Step Case study]}} TNS case study on North American Eco-municipality Network
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521144329/http://www.sjamesassociates.com/ecomunic.htm Sarah James Associates] Consulting firm working in the field.
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071105230728/http://www.wisconsinplanners.org/Ecomunicipalities/index.htm Wisconsin Chapter of the American Planning Association]}} Eco Municipalities links
* [http://www.1kfriends.org/Eco-Municipalities.htm 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin] page on Eco-Municipalities
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013121433/http://planning.org/policyguides/sustainability.htm The American Association of Planners] policy guide on sustainability.
* [http://www.sustaindane.org Sustain Dane] Website on Dane (US)
* [http://www.sustainablelawrence.org Sustainable Lawrence] Website on Lawrence (Canada)
* [http://www.thepsi.net Piscataqua Sustainability] Website on Piscataqua (Canada)


[[Category:Sustainable design]]
[[Category:Sustainable communities]]
[[Category:Environmental planning]]
[[Category:Landscape architecture]]
[[Category:Urban studies and planning terminology]]
[[Category:Environmental design]]
[[Category:Simple living]]
[[Category:1980s neologisms]]
[[Category:Community building]]