TABLE OF CONTENTS There are many definitions of sustainability and sustainable development. What is sustainable for one group may not be as sustainable for another. The most accepted worldwide definition of sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Commission, 1987). However, in an effort to address some of the sustainability ideals and goals in the United States, a subset of sustainability referred to as sustainable construction and its subcomponent called green building are emerging. They offer a look at sustainability in terms of a smaller scope, such as typical building or construction in an area of the developed world, and in the shorter term, perhaps the life of a building.
Sustainable construction is any construction, while green building focuses on vertical construction. There is also a movement developing to address horizontal construction (transportation and utility corridors). The horizontal construction program related to roads in the United States is usually referred to as green highways, although there are also publications that refer to some of the designs as sustainable streets. The Green Highway Partnership is an organization which has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) among its partners. This partnership began in the Washington, D.C., area and is expanding nationally. Another initiative relating mainly to the outdoors and horizontal construction is the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI), which is...
