Making Sustainability Mainstream: The 5A Planning Approach and the Rogers Innovation Adoption Curve
PAS Memo 123
By Petra Hurtado, PhD, Norman Wright, AICP
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Many communities have developed some iteration of a sustainability plan, climate action plan, resilience plan, or similar initiatives. But while some of these strategies and plans have led to more sustainable outcomes, others have not effectively brought change. Why is this the case?
A sustainable society is built on sustainable behaviors, but today's public policies, services, and built environment designs make those behaviors unnecessarily difficult to foster. To gain broad adoption of sustainable practices, we need a new paradigm that makes such practices easier and more attractive than the status quo. The 5A planning approach and the Rogers innovation adoption curve are two concepts planners can use to move towards a new sustainability paradigm.
The 5A planning approach outlines five key elements that drive our decision-making as individuals — availability, affordability, attractiveness, awareness, and accessibility — and explains how they can be used to understand unsustainable behaviors and determine what is needed to change them through planning and design. The Rogers innovation adoption curve is a model that divides consumers into five major groups based on their adoption behavior — innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards — to understand how new ideas, practices, or products spread through a population. Together, these concepts offer planners a focused approach to designing and implementing effective sustainability efforts that drive lasting community change.
This PAS Memo explains why current sustainability measures are often unsuccessful and describes how applying the 5A approach together with the Rogers curve can result in sustainability plans that create truly sustainable outcomes.
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About the Authors
Petra Hurtado, PhD
<p>Petra (Stieninger) Hurtado is the Director of Research and Foresight at the American Planning Association, heading APA’s research programs and foresight practice. In this role, she is responsible for expanding a future-focused research agenda, advancing planning practices that assist communities in navigating change, and developing APA's foresight practice to inform APA's strategic governance. Petra has a Ph.D. in urban planning from the Vienna University of Technology. Her areas of expertise and research include strategic foresight, urban futures, urban sustainability, smart cities, emerging technologies, nature-based solutions, and environmental psychology. Prior to joining APA, she worked as an advisor, planner, researcher, and educator in the global urban sustainability arena. Petra has authored and co-authored multiple books, research papers, publicly funded reports, and articles and has presented as a keynote speaker at numerous conferences around the globe. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland and at the Vienna University of Technology. </p>
Norman Wright, AICP
Norman Wright, AICP, is the founder of Parameter, a design and analytics consultancy that specializes in creating plans, policies, and best practices for local government. Prior to this, he was a local government executive leading planning, economic development, and community development efforts in Oregon, Colorado, Tennessee, and South Carolina. His teams have delivered award-winning work recognized by the American Planning Association and Urban Land Institute. He holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Clemson University.