Sustainable Planning in Gateway Natural Amenity Region Communities

This study used six principles of sustainability to comprehensively score general plan documents from seven Gateway Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) communities. The goal was to investigate the sustainability values of communities with public land recreation access based on the understanding that individual participation in outdoor recreation positively influences environmental concern. The study found that while strong sustainability themes are present in gateway community general plan documents, these themes don’t necessarily correspond to higher overall sustainability scores. However, GNAR community plans prioritize the Harmony with Nature principle, indicating an emphasis on ecosystem health in communities with adjacent public land recreation.