How Suburban Communities Can Embrace Sustainability
Suburbans lack opportunities to become more sustainable. Most urban and cities are more sustainable than suburbs because these places offer residents more scope to apply sustainable practices. However, any place can become green, even suburbs with limited opportunities.
By bringing some changes, promoting sustainable practices in the community, and taking the right initiative, suburbs become greener with minimal effort. Below we’ve suggested five strategies to help you establish sustainable living practices in suburban communities for a greater and greener future. Let’s get started!
- Promote Eco-friendly Transports
Public transports aren’t widely available in most suburbs. So, encouraging the public to use alternative methods such as walking, biking, and electric cars is advisable to support eco-friendly transport because conventional cars use non-renewable fuel and fuel emission damages the ozone layer, which eventually affects our atmosphere drastically.
To further reduce the number of vehicles on the road, suburban communities can encourage carpooling and ridesharing initiatives and lower car fuel usage. If ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft aren’t available in specific suburbs, community members and leaders could take the initiative to promote ride-sharing and create demand.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are a promising solution to reduce carbon emissions from transportation. Increased use of electric vehicles (EVs) is also a significant investment towards sustainability. However, to make its use more common in the suburbs, leaders must support the development of electric vehicle infrastructure.
- Build Sustainable Infrastructure
By partnering up with local government, you can build projects that help develop sustainable infrastructure. It’s also possible to work with community members and begin sustainable initiatives to promote it. Schools can design green living programs. Community members can arrange recycling drives, tree planting, and other green initiative programs to promote sustainable living.
You can also collaborate with locals to arrange workshops, seminars, and awareness campaigns on sustainable living. Recognition awards such as crystal awards and medals greatly incentivize community members to embrace a greener lifestyle.
- Minimize Energy Usage
Transitioning to renewable energy sources is a fundamental aspect of sustainable living. There are many ways you can minimize electricity usage in the suburbs. It’s essential as producing energy results from non-renewable fuel consumption.
Local communities can adopt more renewable energy like rooftop solar panels and wind turners to reduce the pressure on the energy grid. Embracing sustainable energy use reduces energy waste, like sealing the attic and upgrading house insulation. Using a programmable thermostat in homes also stops energy waste, minimizing electricity use when you’re not home.
- Educate On Waste Disposal
To minimize waste and promote recycling, suburban communities should implement comprehensive recycling programs and educate residents about proper waste disposal to help build a greener future for the suburban community. Promoting efficient water usage through education and awareness campaigns is crucial to prevent wasting natural resources.
Instead of increasing waste, people must form habits of composting, recycling, and reusing items. Suburban community members can also utilize outdoor spaces to compost food waste and use recycling stations to recycle their used plastic, paper, and pre-sort glass products.
- Start Planting & Landscaping
Landscaping choices can have a substantial impact on water consumption. Promote planting native and drought-resistant plants in empty suburban landscapes or garden spaces.
Most people have plenty of space around the house - in such areas - to plant trees or grass. Planting trees help our atmosphere get healthier and reduces global warming. Selecting native and drought-resistant plants is a great choice as they consume less water and energy.
Working with local government, institutions, and community members, you can arrange various awareness programs and take sustainable initiatives in the suburbs. With everyone’s joint effort, suburbs can turn highly sustainable in no time.