Grand Thoughts — Core Concepts

Kinder Haus Toys in Clarendon

exemplifies "Keep it Local"

Economic sustainability is a popular buzzword nowadays, but understanding what sustainability really means is something of a challenge. What is a sustainable community? Is it a city that embraces recycling, renewable energy and other green technologies? Or is it a community that is resilient and home to a diverse economic base?

Arlington Economic Development has been grappling with these questions for some time as they design new approaches to promoting sustainability in Arlington County. As part of this work, they’ve produced a short white paper, "Grand Thoughts: Economic Sustainability in Arlington, Virginia," that examines various facets of the economic sustainability discussion.

The paper does a good job of capturing the complexity of the economic sustainability concept. It’s not just about the environment; economic sustainability is really about three primary components: innovation, resiliency and competitiveness. Within these broad categories, there are numerous factors that make a community "economically sustainable." These are presented in twenty "Grand Thoughts" that include concepts such as:

• Dynamic Diversity: Welcome the constant flow of diverse people and ideas as a competitive strength.
  
• Keep It Local: Value local businesses which generate more economic activity and are vested in and reflective of the community.
  
• Have a There, There: Be a place where people want to be, a place worth caring about and a place that can’t be mistaken for anywhere else.
  
• The Jetsons’ 9-5: Prepare for future forms of collaborative workspace.

These are just four of the twenty Grand Thoughts in the paper prepared by Arlington Economic Development staff Cynthia Richmond, Deputy Director and Jennie Gordon, Special Projects Manager. They will stimulate your thinking, and hopefully, studies like this one will help trigger a deeper discussion about what it means to be a sustainable community.