| As we embark through the beginning stages of the 21 st century, we have already seen the earth stretched beyond its bio-capacity. The future of the earth and humanity is, and will continue to be, directly affected by the way we interact and behave within our landscapes. To combat the ills humanity has caused, and projected to continue to cause, sustainable development (SD) has been created as a focal remedy, despite discrepancies. To show the applicability and usefulness of SD this dissertation research, through a two article approach, provides: 1) a better understanding of SD indicators through a survey of composite SD indices, and the creation of two multimetric SD indices for local spatial application; 2) local (landscape scale) methods and models for operationalizing sustainable development for regional planning purposes; 3) a better understanding on spatial models and geographic information science (GIScience) techniques for sustainable development; 4) research on landscape design and human behavior for investigating the feasibility of sustainability; 5) ultimately, a work that links sustainable development theory with an applied application.;To date, there exist no 'ideal' instrument for achieving sustainability neither on the regional nor the local scale. Article one addresses this problem by reviewing common SD indices, and developing an assessment system for analyzing and evaluating SD for use at the local scales of urban planning and regional development. For SD spatial assessment, two composite indices (Ecological Demand Index and Sustainability Demand Index) are created using a demographic and health survey for the Republic of Moldova. Article two uses both mean Ecological Demand Index (EDI) and mean Sustainability Demand Index (SDI) from article one as evaluation indices of 66 landscapes in the Republic of Moldova. In this article, non-spatial, spatial, and nonlinear multivariate statistical models were used to investigate relationships found between- landscape form and population characteristics- and the local indicators of sustainable development condition.;Significant statistical relationships were found through this exploration of SD indicators for assessing landscape functions for operationalizing SD. Future research involves evolutionary analysis of human behavior in relation to urban and landscape form using Internet 2.0 technology. |
