Sustainable Communities Program

VNRC's Sustainable Communities Program builds on Vermont's long tradition of compact, vibrant settlements surrounded by farms, forests and unique natural areas. For over two centuries Vermonters have sought a balanced path to economic well-being that recognizes the importance and interdependence of both community and countryside.

VNRC Classic "So Goes Vermont" Now Available Online

Thoughts on the Future of Vermont

In response to the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s request for VNRC’s thoughts on the future of Vermont, Executive Director Elizabeth Courtney outlines some of the priorities that will guide this organization far into the future, including stemming the privatization of the world’s water resources, curbing the loss of Vermont’s farm and forestlands and combating climate change and achieving energy security.

VNRC COMMENTARY: The Great Transition?

In this Op-Ed, VNRC's Executive Director Elizabeth Courtney muses that we are not experiencing another “Great Depression” or even a “Great Disruption” as some leading business experts and authors assert. Instead, she posits that we are in a “Great Transition” Why? "Because transition implies a future, as opposed to the dead end of a depression or a disruption. And the future can be as hopeful as we can imagine it."

VNRC on call to support communities in face of adverse court ruling

Vermont municipalities that want to protect important natural resources and wildlife habitat face additional challenges in the wake of a Vermont Supreme Court decision, and VNRC is available to help communities navigate the new legal landscape.

Last year the Vermont Supreme Court issued a decision (In re Appeal of JAM Golf, LLC) which has far-reaching implications for Vermont communities engaged in land use planning, development regulation and natural resource protection. The court struck down a South Burlington zoning bylaw protecting an array of natural resource features, including wildlife habitat, on the basis that the bylaw did not specify sufficient conditions and safeguards to guide applicants and decision makers.

The Gift of Sharing