Fundamentals of Sustainable Neighbourhoods
This book introduces architects, engineers, builders, and urban planners to a range of design principles of sustainable communities and illustrates them with outstanding case studies. Drawing on the author’s experience as well as local and international c
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Avi Friedman
Fundamentals of Sustainable Neighbourhoods
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Avi Friedman McGill School of Architecture Montreal Québec Canada
ISBN 978-3-319-10746-2 ISBN 978-3-319-10747-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-10747-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2014955104 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Recent societal transformations have given rise to the need to rethink community and dwelling design. Climate change, aging populations, persistent economic challenges, and new lifestyle trends are some of the factors that bring about an urgent need to plan different neighborhoods and homes. The catalyst for such changes is also the realization that the development practices that prevailed after World War II, primarily in North America, had been overly wasteful. Such practices led to the consumption of vast amounts of agricultural and forested land, made commuting by fuel-consuming and polluting vehicles more common, and used ample valuable nonrenewable natural resources during the construction and after the occupancy of sprawling homes. It has become abundantly clear that this development path and consumption rate is unsustainable. If continued, future generations will lack the resources to support their own development needs. Neighborhoods must be regarded as a vital block of society. Their successes will often determine how well a city and even a country will perform. Therefore, the need to include a social perspective in their conception needs to be a part of the planning process. In addition to economic successes and environmental considerations, a mark of a successful neighborhood will be an enriched web of social relations between residents, which serves as another mark of sustainability. To reverse the current development trends and to achieve many
