The recommendations from the round-table discussion sponsored by the Lied Institute of Real Estate Studies won't be made public until a white paper is released in the next couple of months. If previous round tables are any indication, the recommendations should spark a lot of public debate. The public and media were not allowed to attend.

During last year's round table on economic diversity, some participants suggested Las Vegas' "Sin City" image deters companies from wanting to move to Southern Nevada.

"The repeated message was that we need a shared community vision and that we need, as a community, to help define the solutions," says Debra March, executive director of the Lied Institute. "Local governments shouldn't approve land-use plans, for example, unless they consider the environment, roads and social impacts as well. If you increase density, there are going to be social impacts such as health care and child abuse."

The recommendations won't be directed at elected officials only, but at business leaders, especially the gaming industry, March says. Eighty people participated in the four sessions.

The round table suggests the vision must be shared by the community as a whole, March says. The push for sustainability must come from the bottom up to be successful.

The group defined sustainability by framing it in terms of economic diversity, water resources, transportation infrastructure and quality education and health care systems, says Ron Smith, executive director of the Urban Sustainability Institute at UNLV, who helped facilitate the discussions at one of the sessions.

Smith says there was some concern about the hotel resort industry not buying into the importance of the concept. It wasn't just about money but political support and moral support and involvement, he says. Everyone recognizes they are an important partner, he says.

In the end, however, it is all about getting everyone on board, he says.

"The question asked was: 'Will the community have the political will and investment in sustainability?' " Smith says. "It is a question mark."

Mike Dwyer, a UNLV professor of environmental studies who participated in one of the sessions as a moderator, says sustainability is a complex concept to implement.

"It is not rocket science, but it is hard," Dwyer says. "We have rocket science figured out."

It is more than just economic sustainability, but dealing with the environment and quality of life, Dwyer says.

"I think to achieve sustainability and a high quality of life in Southern Nevada is not easy," Dwyer says. "There are a lot of moving parts and complex interrelationships. You have to understand the moving pieces and not do something that has unintended consequences and (will be) counterproductive. You don't want to create an environment that destroys the social environment."