Sustainable development strategies vs traditional approaches: public preferences

Abstract

The article describes the methodological approach to the development of strategies of socio-economic development created by the authors on the basis of the analysis of the best practices of sustainable development strategies in the world. The methodology involves the use of ecological and economic (the solid core of the ecological economics, projects with integrated efficiency) and humanistic (indicators of “true well-being”, human experience at the center of change) principles, as well as the use of direct democracy tools (residents are co-authors of strategies, in-depth interviews, online polls with alternative scenarios). The use of this methodology while producing strategies for socio-economic development, including conducting surveys of the population in Kerch, Simferopol and Tolyatti, showed that residents choose the solutions that are laid down in the sustainable development strategies of the leading cities of the world. Surveys regarding the image of the desired future, sustainable city, sustainable mobility and sustainable urban environment showed that residents respond not only progressively and professionally, but also in a consolidated manner choosing the sustainable development path as the only desired vector for long-term development. The main party uninterested in the implementation of the sustainability agenda is a conservative bureaucracy focused on familiar and simple measures and decisions.