Over the last three decades, both the public and policymakers have become increasingly concerned over the negative consequences of human activities. During the 1980s, the concept of sustainable development emerged as a popular solution to the thorny problem of meeting the material needs of the present population, while simultaneously maintaining the integrity of the environment. Rather than pitting economic growth against environmental protection, proponents of sustainability have shifted the terms of debate by focusing on "...development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987:43). The vagueness of this definition arguably contributes to its growing popularity with international development agencies, government policy makers, academics and environmental activists. As Lele (1991) and Korten (1992) observe, sustainability has become a standard component of development rhetoric. Even when economic growth is the primary goal of a development project, at least a passing nod is given to the issue of environmental sustainability (Korten, 1992). This new legitimacy has prompted scholars to broaden the range of issues to which sustainability can be applied. A potentially important development along these lines has been the emerging literature surrounding the concept of the sustainable community and its logical partner, sustainable community development (Van der Ryn and Calthorpe, 1986; Kemmis, 1990; Fowler, 1991; Rees and Roseland, 1991; Hill, 1992; Bray, 1993; Perks and Van Vliet, 1993, Chamberland, 1994; Gibbs, 1994).

  In this paper we synthesize this diverse body of research, begin to delineate the central features of a definition of the sustainable community, and assess the obstacles and opportunities that need to be considered as we think about how to develop sustainable communities. Before turning to these tasks, however, it is necessary to discuss sustainable development in more detail, because it is a concept over which serious disagreements exist. Moreover, any definition of "the sustainable community" depends on the definition of sustainable development chosen.