Designing and managing sustainable settlements with appropriate housing and infrastructure

Abstract

Designing and managing a successful sustainable settlement is a multidisciplinary task involving cooperation and consultation between many parties. Sustainable development highlights the fact that all life is interrelated, insofar as a settlement must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

The built environment is not equated with the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of individual residents, but includes housing form, roads and footpaths, parks and other public amenities. The effects of the built environment on social interaction, including crime, are most salient for health and thus sustainability. Independently rated features of the built environment are associated with depression and poor health, independent of individual socio-economic status.

Therefore appropriate housing and infrastructure are fundamental to creating a sustainable settlement in which the population is healthy and happy. Housing of appropriate size to meet the requirements of the occupants is crucial. Having adequate infrastructure to support a community in terms of essential services like sewerage, power, water and adequate waste management, is also important. In the following chapter emphasis has been placed on the rural and remote Indigenous communities of Australia where the issues of overcrowding, appropriate housing and adequate infrastructure are paramount.