Creating Sustainable Cities

by Girardet, Herbert

• ISBN13: 9781870098779
• ISBN10: 1870098773
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-01
• Publisher: Green Books

Summary

Modern cities make a huge impact on their environments, but if they were to dramatically reduce their consumption of resources and energy, they would still prosper. Waste recycling can reduce urban use of resources whilst creating many new jobs; new materials and architectural designs can greatly improve the environmental performance of urban buildings. Cities can also adopt imaginative new approaches to transport planning and management, and the use of urban space. We can dramatically improve the experience of urban life by the creation of new urban villages, reducing the peoples' desire to escape from the pressures of city life.How can we put the pulsing heart of conviviality back into our cities? How can we make sure of creating cities of diversity for the new millennium--places of cultural vigour and physical beauty that are also sustainable in economic and environmental terms? This Schumacher Briefing shows the way forward.

Author Biography

Herbert Girardet he is visiting Professor for Environmental Planning at Middlesex University, London.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 4
Preface	p. 7
Introduction and Summary	p. 9
Urban Sustainability: a contradiction in terms?	p. 15
Urbanisation and its Impacts	p. 20
Cities as Superorganisms	p. 23
Cities and their Ecological Footprint	p. 27
The Metabolism of Cities	p. 32
From Urban Sprawl to Convivial Cities	p. 47
Prospects for Urban Farming	p. 52
Smart Cities and Urban Best Practice	p. 57
Principles and Policies	p. 61
A Culture of Sustainability	p. 70
App. I Organisations	p. 74
App. II References and Bibliography	p. 76
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