Sustainable Urbanism – Urban Design With Nature
Reviewed by Robert Pritchett
Introduction
Douglas Farr makes a powerful
case for sustainable urbanism, showing where we went wrong, and where we need
to go. He then explains how to implement sustainable urbanism through
leadership and communication in cities, communities, and neighborhoods. Essays
written by Farr and others delve into such issues as:
- Increasing sustainability through density.
- Integrating transportation and land use.
- Creating sustainable neighborhoods, including housing, car-free
areas, locally-owned stores, walkable neighborhoods, and universal
accessibility.
- The health and environmental benefits of linking humans to
nature, including walk-to open spaces, neighborhood stormwater systems and
waste treatment, and food production.
- High performance buildings and district energy systems.
Enriching the argument are in-depth case studies in
sustainable urbanism, from BedZED in London, England and Newington in Sydney,
Australia, to New Railroad Square in Santa Rosa, California and Dongtan,
Shanghai, China. An epilogue looks to the future of sustainable urbanism over
the next 200 years.
What I Learned
Douglas Farr looks to modern transportation as the cause of
Urban Sprawl and has laid down the gauntlet and challenge to change the course
of “community” by laying out justifications and reasons for sustainable living
based on geography and resources and moving away from dependence on wheels to
get places. He does this by showing intelligent design one hamlet at a time.
I learned that collaborative design can allow human
settlements to co-exist and even enhance localities by working with the natural
terrain, instead of working against it. Part of that is through what the LEED
organization would call a “Charette” – an event in the planning process
where all parties involved get together to hash things out before any dirt is
dug up.
Here is the Challenge as set forth by Douglas Farr to the
Engineers and Architects for 2030;
The average American family is dependent on cars to meet
their daily needs, driving 21,500 miles a year, nearly the circumference of the
earth. Without a change in course, total vehicles miles traveled (VMTs) is
expected to grow 2.5% per year, energy consumption and CO2 omissions will
continue to increase, while obesity and other side effects of an inactive
lifestyle are predicted to shorten life span as much as five years per
American.
The
2030 Community Challenge proposes to reverse the increase in VMTs and adopt
LEED for Neighborhood Development as a municipal standard by 2030. The
challenge calls for a 50% decrease in VMTs from 2005’s baseline of 8000 VTM per
capita, to 4000 VTM and aims to have 100% of public and private development
projects achieve LEED-ND Platinum certification by 2030. Working in parallel to
the 2030 Architecture challenge, the 2030 Community Challenge serves as a
viable standard to address the challenge of climate change in the
transportation sector, while improving community health and well-being.
The book has four parts on why the American Lifestyle is
non-sustainable, and how that can be changed for the better with sustainable
corridors and neighborhoods, open spaces and improved energy-friendly
facilities. There are also a few case studies of lessons learned, for both
“Infills” (rebuilding in established areas) and “Greenfields” (new undeveloped
spaces).
Conclusion
Wiley Press has kindly provided a whole “Sustainable
Design” section with over 20 books on the topic.
Sustainable Urbanism happens put “Greenism” into proper perspective by offering intelligent and
well-researched information based on what works and what doesn’t work in
building developments into well-knit communities.
