What do we mean by quality of life and sustainable development?
There are many ways to define this; we have chosen these two to start:
“Quality of life is our collective hope for a society in which we are supposed to have more – not just things, but more community, more peace, the best educated people, the healthiest children and the cleanest environment.”
“A life of quality is a life of opportunity, the opportunity for steady productive employment and financial independence; the opportunity to own a home and retire in security; the opportunity to enjoy a clean, healthy environment; the opportunity to take our future in our own hands and shape it to our will.”
Sustainability is related to the quality of life in a community – it is about whether the economic, social and environmental systems that make up the community are providing a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all the community residents, present and future.
Sustainability, therefore, is about more than just quality of life. It is about understanding the connections between, and achieving a balance among, the social, economic and environmental pieces of a community.