Designing Innovative Sustainable Neighborhoods


Book Description

This book covers fundamental aspects of neighborhood planning and architecture along sustainable principles. Written by a designer and instructor, the book’s fully illustrated chapters provide detailed insights into contemporary strategies that architects, planners and builders are integrating into their thought processes and residential design practices. Past approaches to planning and design modes of dwellings and neighborhoods can no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. This book explores new outlooks on neighborhood design, which are propelled by fundamental changes that touch upon environmental, economic and social aspects. It presents contemporary well-designed and illustrated examples of communities and detailed analysis of topics including the depletion of non-renewable natural resources, elevated levels of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. It also explores the increasing costs of material, labor, land and infrastructure, which pose economic challenges; as well as social challenges including the need for walkable communities and the increase in live-work environments. The need to think innovatively about neighborhoods is at the core of this book, which will be useful to students and practitioners of urban design, urban planning, geography and urban systems; and to architecture studios focused on sustainable residential development.




Sustainable Residential Development


Book Description

Capitalize on a Comprehensive New Process for Planning and Designing Sustainable Green Communities Written by internationally renowned architect Avi Friedman, Sustainable Residential Development equips you with a much-needed process and examples for planning and designing green communities. This landmark resource explains the principles of green building and how to apply them to residential development, presenting guidelines for creating communities that balance social, economic, and environmental needs. Filled with plans, elevations, and vignettes, the book shows how to incorporate wind direction, sun exposure, tree preservation, topography, and public spaces into site plan. It also shows how to design high-density neighborhoods...apply green design and construction principles by using local materials and techniques, solar power, waste management, and water efficiency...as well as rehabilitate neighborhoods while respecting their heritage. Sustainable Residential Development features: Expert guidelines for planning and designing communities that balance social, economic, and environmental needs A wealth of international and U.S. case studies and examples that illustrate the principles of sustainable community design Over 100 downloadable plans and elevations that offer a head start for planning and designing sustainable communities Inside this Green Planning and Design Guide: • Defining and Applying Principles of Sustainability in Neighborhood Development • Learning Lessons from the Past: The Rise of Suburbia • Site Selection and Analysis • Strategies for High-Density Neighborhoods: The New Urbanism • Planning, Design, and Construction Principles for Sustainability • The Urban Renewal Process and Architectural Heritage • Balancing Environmental, Cultural, and Economic Needs: A Framework for Greener Neighborhoods




Fundamentals of Sustainable Neighbourhoods


Book Description

This timely book introduces architects, engineers, builders, and urban planners to a range of contemporary community design concepts and illustrates them with outstanding case studies from around the world. Drawing on successful projects from London, New Mexico, Austria, and the Netherlands, "Innovative Sustainable Communities" presents planning concepts that minimize developments' carbon footprint through compact communities, adaptable and expandable dwellings, edible landscape, and smaller-sized yet quality designed housing.




Designing Sustainable Communities


Book Description

The movement towards creating sustainable communities has gained increased prominence with approaches such as New Urbanism, yet there are few examples of the successes. This text offers an analysis of one such example: Village Homes outside Davis, California. The area offers features including extensive common areas and green space; community gardens, orchards and vineyeards; narrow streets; pedestrian and bike paths; solar homes; and an innovative ecological drainage system.




Fundamentals of Innovative Sustainable Homes Design and Construction


Book Description

This book offers ideas and practices on contemporary design concepts and illustrates them with plans and photographs of outstanding examples. Current planning and design modes of dwellings and neighborhoods are facing challenges of philosophy and form. Past approaches no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. The need for a new outlook is propelled by fundamental changes that touch upon environmental, economic and social aspects. The depletion of non-renewable natural resources and climate change are a few of the environmental challenges. Increasing costs of material, labor, land and infrastructure have posed economic challenges with affordability being paramount among them. Social challenges are also drawing the attention of designers, builders and homeowners. Walkable communities, aging in place and multigenerational living are some of the concepts considered. In addition, live-work environments have become part of the economic reality for those who wish to work from home—which has become possible through digital advances. The text would be of interest to scholars working in: architecture, urban planning, and construction.







Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods


Book Description

Cities are growing at unprecedented rates. Most continue to sprawl into the countryside. Some are only now adopting policies that attempt to control air pollution from vehicles, reduce water pollution from urban runoff, and repair fragmented urban ecosystems. Can good urban design and sound environmental design coincide at a neighborhood level to create healthy communities? Absolutely, and the strategies presented by Cynthia Girling and Ronald Kellett in Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods illustrate how to weave together contemporary thinking in urban planning with open space planning and urban ecology. Drawing from eighteen case studies, these green neighborhoods are the best examples of how the natural environment can play integral roles in neighborhoods. Green neighborhoods offer a mix of housing types in order to serve a broad cross-section of people with a finely-grained variety of land uses and services, all close to home. In ecologically sound communities, the urban landscape is a functioning part of the whole ecosystem. Wooded areas, meandering streams, wetlands, and open spaces are planned and engineered to clean the air and the water. Skinnier streets and practical pathways weave into a functional, economical network to provide a range of equally good transportation choices, from walking to mass transit, that move people efficiently and economically. This book moves beyond identifying problems to demonstrate proven methods and models that solve multiple, complex problems in concert. With innovative ideas and practical advice, Skinny Streets and Green Neighborhoods is a guide for today's planners, architects, engineers, and developers to design better neighborhoods and a more natural metropolis.




Sustainable Urbanism


Book Description

Written by the chair of the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) initiative, Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature is both an urgent call to action and a comprehensive introduction to "sustainable urbanism"--the emerging and growing design reform movement that combines the creation and enhancement of walkable and diverse places with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings. Providing a historic perspective on the standards and regulations that got us to where we are today in terms of urban lifestyle and attempts at reform, 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. At once solidly researched and passionately argued, Sustainable Urbanism is the ideal guidebook for urban designers, planners, and architects who are eager to make a positive impact on our--and our descendants'--buildings, cities, and lives.




Dynamic Urban Design


Book Description

Advance Praise for Dynamic Urban Design “Finally, in one book a complete guide to the theory, practice, and potential of urban design by one of Canada’s preeminent urban designers.” —David R. Witty, former dean, School of Architecture, University of Manitoba, Canada “Michael von Hausen has given us a clear and hopeful path to the creation of a sustainable urbanism, one that will be inspiring and instructive to practitioners, students, and all those who are focused on the most fundamental issue of our time.” —Jim Adams, architect and principal, McCann Adams Studio, Austin, Texas “Dynamic Urban Design establishes Michael von Hausen as a sustainable urban design authority. Sharing insights taken from six millennia ... von Hausen articulates a clearly understandable and masterfully illustrated process.” —Kevin Harris, architect and principal, Kevin Harris Architect, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Whether we are practicing urban designers or interested citizens, virtually all of us want to live in communities that are safe, attractive, and healthy. Yet our good intentions face conflicting goals. How are we going to improve community health, reduce crime, and improve mobility in cities while at the same time expanding our cities to accommodate growth? How are we going to do all this with seemingly limited financial resources? How do we do more with less, live within our means, and still create a higher quality of life? The list of challenges is almost endless. Urban design is emerging as a critical interface that brings various professions together to address these challenges and improve our communities. For future human survival and quality of life, the world needs a more inclusive, rigorous, socially inspired, and comprehensive urban design model integrated with sustainable development. This book delivers that model—a reference guide for doing it right.




Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns


Book Description

Small and mid-sized suburban towns house two-thirds of the world’s population and current modes of planning for these municipalities are facing challenges of both philosophy and form. Common approaches that have prevailed in past decades no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. Rather than dismissing small and mid-sized towns as unattractive suburban sprawl, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns offers ideas and methods on how small isolated and edge towns can be designed and retooled into sustainable, affordable and adaptable communities. Coverage includes: the evolution of small towns mobility and connectivity neighborhood and sustainable dwelling design town centers and urban renewal economic sustainability and wealth generation, and more. With numerous case studies from North America and Europe and over 150 color photographs, maps, and illustrations, Planning Small and Mid-Sized Towns is a valuable, practical resource for professional planners and urban designers, as well as students in these disciplines.