Seeking Leadership for a Sustainable Future

Sustainable development of communities requires leadership and relies on the involvement and participation of stakeholders in the future sustainability of communities.  Development is implemented at the local level by communities and their stakeholders, whether residents or visitors.  Organizations at international and national levels set the policies, standards, reporting, and monitoring requirements to determine the indicators.  This paper argues that organizational advantages of higher levels combined with the implementation capabilities of lower levels through commonly accepted indicators and monitoring lead to a better community.  However, it takes local leadership to drive development and take planning and policy to a new level for communities to become truly sustainable.