The Communities and Local Government Department define a sustainable communitie as "places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all" (link)
The Egan Wheel shows the areas that a sustainable community should include. These are things such as good transport services, environmental provisions, economic opportunities and more.
I live in the Super Output Area of Milton Keynes 010B and I am going to see how this area compares with the Egan Wheel of Sustainable Communities.
Governance - Notice is given to residents when a building project is intended. For example in the park by my house a flood-lit astroturf pitch has been built. We were sent letters of this, and opposed it because of the light pollution, as did many people in our street but they still went ahead with it. They said it would be beneficial for the community but really it is only used for teenagers to get drunk in and to play with mopeds in. In this respect the SOA is unsustainable because residents cannot be heard.
On another note though the road by our house was lowered to 40 from 60 a few years ago after years of crashes. This has been enforced a little with police speed cameras turning up about 3 times. People still speed though and one person died on the road in September 2008. This is not sustainable.
Transport and Connectivity - Being in Milton Keynes it is fairly easy to get around because of the grid system. The SOA is situated on the V4 (Watling Street) which links very well with the town centre by car. There are also buses that are supposed to be every 10 minutes which go to town and to Wolverton as well as places such as the hospital. In reality though they do not come every 10 minutes as I know only too well from experience. In the next town along from Stony Stratford is Wolverton where there is a train station. To make my SOA more sustainable I think better transport links with the station and with the town centre could be made.
Services - The amount of services available in Stony Stratford is very good. The High Street has many pubs, restaurants (take-aways and eat-in), travel agents, estate agents, chemists, butchers, hotels, a small supermarket and independent shops. There are also schools, a park, and a health centre. In this respect my SOA is very sustainable.
Environmental - Over 50% of the SOA is green space (link. In recent years recycling bins have been placed which has reduced the amount of litter and reduced the amount of waste going to landfill. There is also a nature reserve in the SOA which provides clean open spaces for everyone to enjoy - however, the A5 runs through it and the Stony Stratford ring road is next to it. Trees have been planted to block most of the noise which has worked. In Environmental terms my SOA is also fairly sustainable.
Equity - According to the 2001 census 7.2% of people in my SOA were not born in the UK. (link) Compared to England's average of 9.2% it is only a little below. This data is 9 years out of date however and I think that there may now be more people living here that were not born in the UK. Still, my SOA has a significant amount of people born outside of the UK. I think that they have all of the same opportunities as everyone else living here. The shops enmploy these people and their children attend the local schools, there is no discrimination.
There is also an Adult Education Centre in Stony Stratford which allows adults to improve their education - giving them equal opportunities. This is a sustainable SOA in terms of equity.
Economy - as I have mentioned before Stony Stratford has a thiriving economic hub that is the High Street and surrounding area. This provides many jobs and opportunities for everyone. For the size town it is it has more than enough economic oppoutunities, making it very sustainable. It is also close to the Centre:MK with even more opportunities. Stony Stratford has many independent shops also, showing that it is possible to start up a new business here and be successful.
Houseing - My SOA has an array of bungalows, flats, terraces, semi-detached houses and detached houses. (link. This means that there is something for everyone to afford. There are also lots of open spaces for people to enjoy as I have mentioned before. This is a sustainable area in terms of housing.
Social and Cultural - Stony Stratford has a good community feel. There are always markets and fetes organised by parish councils and schools. This gives everyone a sense of place. Stony is also quite a safe place. There is a police station near by in Wolverton and there are often police officers patrolling.
Overall I think my SOA is fairly sustainable in that there are a lot of open spaces, generally there is a good community feel, there are lots of economic and recreational opportunities for everyone and it is a generally safe area. Some things can be done to improve this but it is definitely more good than bad.
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