Some municipalities require impact assessments for proposed projects, but they often are inadequate or focus primarily on economic considerations. An integrated and comprehensive sustainability impact assessment is essential to understanding the range of inter-related impacts a project will have on climate change, community, health, environment, and economy.
This summer, a group of 5 students developed a process for this type of assessment and did a preliminary Sustainability Impact Assessment on the Da Vinci Science City proposed for Easton. Team members included Olivia Barz (Lehigh ’19), Ryan Dougherty (Lafayette ’19), Harris Eisenhardt (SUNY–ESF ’19), Ashley Kushner (Lafayette ’19), Brandy Moser (Boston University ‘21)
The students presented the results to leaders at the Da Vinci Center and the City of Easton. Both were well received and generated a lot of discussion.
See the Sustainability Impact Assessment page for more information and to download a copy of the full report.
Now municipalities need to require this type of assessment as part of their planning approval process.
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