Strategic Sustainability Assessment
Abstract
Sustainability has become an important issue of broad public concern. The availability of clean air and water, secure and reliable energy resources, open space, and pollution prevention activities are not only essential for improving the livability of our communities, they are also imperative for the successful long-term operations of our military installations. Demographic and lifestyle shifts increase communal demand for land and other limited resources. As these demands grow, they place pressures on infrastructure, resource availability, and the fundamental long-term sustainability of our regions and the installations that they support. Military installations represent an enormous capital investment in infrastructure, land, and personnel. While installations are critical to local and state economies, they also sustain defense, security, and military readiness. Some military installations economic and environmental contributions to the local community are becoming outweighed by their perceived incompatibilities such as noise, dust, shared resource competition, land use, land value, and land availability, all of which arise as the local community expands and available resources become scarce. Eventually the installation's benefit to the community may be surpassed by the community's requirement for resources. The installation can then be perceived as a barrier to continued local growth and development. These potentially "unsustainable" installations face a number of risks, including downsizing, realignment, and even closure.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA479064
Entities
People
- Brian Deal
- Donald Fournier
- Elisabeth Jenicek
- Natalie Myers
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center