Addresses the multi-disciplinary aspects of urban planning, a result of the increasing size of cities, the amount of resources and services required and the complexity of modern society. Innovative tools are required for identifying the high complexity of contemporary cities. It is necessary to provide a more scientific approach to urban studies, inspired by Prigogine's theories of dissipative structures, and to highlight relations between different systems and between systems and the environment. The challenge of placing sustainable contemporary cities lies in considering the dynamics of urban systems, exchange of energy and matter and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly supplied and maintained by natural systems. The task of researchers, aware of the complexity of the contemporary city, is to increase the capacity to manage human activities pursuing welfare and prosperity in sustainable cities.

Containing research on sustainable urban redevelopment presented at the latest in a biennial series organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology, this book addresses an area of growing interest. The conference series was first held in 2000. These proceedings are split into two volumes. Urban areas produce a series of environmental challenges arising from the consumption of natural resources and the consequent generation of waste and pollution, contributing to the development of social and economic imbalances. All these problems, which continue to grow in our society, require the development of new solutions. Topics include: Volume I – Urban Strategies; Eco-town Planning; Planning, development and management; Planning, development and management for urban conservation and regeneration; Case studies; Landscape planning and design; Environmental management; Intelligent environments and emerging technologies. Volume II – Sustainable energy and the city; Waterfront developments; The community and the city; Quality of life; Cultural heritage issues; Transportation; Planning for risk; Planning for risk; Transport models in emergency conditions; Industrial wastes as raw materials; Waste management; Safety and security; The city heritage.

Containing the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability this book addresses the multi-disciplinary aspects of urban planning; a result of the increasing size of cities; the amount of resources and services required and the complexity of modern society. Most of earth’s population now lives in cities and the process of urbanisation still continues generating many problems deriving from the drift of the population towards them. These problems can be resolved by cities becoming efficient habitats, saving resources in a way that improves the quality and standard of living. The process however, faces a number of major challenges, related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems. New urban solutions are required to optimise the use of space and energy resources leading to improvements in the environment, i.e. reduction in air, water and soil pollution as well as efficient ways to deal with waste generation. These challenges contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions. Large cities are probably the most complex mechanisms to manage. However, despite such complexity they represent a fertile ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. The challenge of planning sustainable cities lies in considering their dynamics, the exchange of energy and matter, and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly, supplied and maintained by natural systems. Topics covered include: Urban strategies; Planning, development and management; Urban conservation and regeneration; The community and the city; Eco-town planning; Landscape planning and design; Environmental management; Sustainable energy and the city; Transportation; Quality of life; Waterfront development; Case studies; Architectural issues; Cultural heritage issues; Intelligent environment and emerging technologies; Planning for risk; Disaster and emergency response; Safety and security; Waste management; Infrastructure and society; Urban metabolism.

of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In The Sustainable City V many interrelated aspects of the urban environment from transport and mobility to social exclusions and crime prevention are addressed. The papers included were originally presented at the Fifth International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability and will be of interest to city planners, architects, environmental engineers and all academics, professionals and practitioners working in the wide range of disciplines associated with creating a viable urban environment.In this book the papers are published under the following topics: Architectural issues; Cultural heritage; Energy resources systems; Environmental management; Healthy cities; Indicators: ecological, economic, social; Land use and management; Mega cities; Planning issues; Planning, development and management; Public safety; Revitalisation strategies; Socio-economic issues; Spatial modelling; Strategy; Sustainable transportation and transport integration; The community and the city; Traffic and transportation; Urban-rural relationships.

Urban areas result in a series of environmental challenges varying from the consumption of natural resources and the subsequent generation of waste and pollution, contributing to the development of social and economic imbalances. As cities continue to grow all over the world, these problems tend to become more acute and require the development of new solutions. The challenge of planning sustainable contemporary cities lies in considering the dynamics of urban systems, exchange of energy and matter, and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly supplied and maintained by natural systems. The task of researchers, aware of the complexity of the contemporary city, is to improve the capacity to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment. Any investigation or planning for a city ought to consider the relationships between the parts and their connections with the living world. The dynamics of its networks (flows of energy-matter, people, goods, information and other resources) are fundamental for an understanding of the evolving nature of today’s cities. Large cities are probably the most complex mechanisms to manage. They represent a fertile ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. Papers presented at the 14th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability address the multidisciplinary components of urban planning, the challenges presented by the increasing size of cities, the number of resources required and the complexity of modern society. Various aspects of the urban environment are covered and a focus is placed on providing solutions which lead towards sustainability.

Urban areas produce a series of environmental problems arising from the consumption of natural resources and the consequent generation of waste and pollution. These problems contribute to the development of social and economic imbalances. All these problems, which continue to grow in our society, require new solutions. This book addresses the many inter-related aspects of the urban environment from transport and mobility to social exclusion and crime prevention. Publishing papers from the Fourth International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, the volume includes topics such as: Strategy and Development; Planning; Development and Management; Environmental Management; Planning Issues; Socio-economic Issues; The community and the City; Cultural Heritage; Architectural Issues; Traffic and Transportation; Land Use and Management; Public Safety; Conservation of Resources; Sustainable Transportation and Transport Integration; Depleted Ecological Resources; Environmental Pollution; Energy Resources Systems.

As the need to confront unplanned growth increases, planners, policymakers, and citizens are scrambling for practical tools and examples of successful and workable approaches. Growth management initiatives are underway in the U.S. at all levels, but many American "success stories" provide only one piece of the puzzle. To find examples of a holistic approach to dealing with sprawl, one must turn to models outside of the United States. In Green Urbanism, Timothy Beatley explains what planners and local officials in the United States can learn from the sustainable city movement in Europe. The book draws from the extensive European experience, examining the progress and policies of twenty-five of the most innovative cities in eleven European countries, which Beatley researched and observed in depth during a year-long stay in the Netherlands. Chapters examine: the sustainable cities movement in Europe examples and ideas of different housing and living options transit systems and policies for promoting transit use, increasing bicycle use, and minimizing the role of the automobile creative ways of incorporating greenness into cities ways of readjusting "urban metabolism" so that waste flows become circular programs to promote more sustainable forms of economic development sustainable building and sustainable design measures and features renewable energy initiatives and local efforts to promote solar energy ways of greening the many decisions of local government including ecological budgeting, green accounting, and other city management tools. Throughout, Beatley focuses on the key lessons from these cities -- including Vienna, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Zurich, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin -- and what their experience can teach us about effectively and creatively promoting sustainable development in the United States. Green Urbanism is the first full-length book to describe urban sustainability in European cities, and provides concrete examples and detailed discussions of innovative and practical sustainable planning ideas. It will be a useful reference and source of ideas for urban and regional planners, state and local officials, policymakers, students of planning and geography, and anyone concerned with how cities can become more livable.

The CityForm consortium’s latest book, Dimensions of the Sustainable City, is the first book to report on an empirical multi-disciplinary study specifically designed to address urban sustainability. Drawing together the various dimensions of sustainability – economic, social, transport, energy and ecological – the book examines their relationships both to each other and to urban form. The book investigates the sustainability dimensions of cities through a series of projects based on a common list of elements of urban form, and which draw on the consortium’s latest research to review the sustainability issues of each dimension. The elements of urban form include density, land use, location, accessibility, transport infrastructure and characteristics of the built environment. The book also addresses issues such as adapting cities, psychological and ecological benefits of green space and sustainable lifestyles, each presenting a critical review of the relevant literature followed by an empirical analysis presenting the key results. Based on studies across five UK cities, the book draws out findings of relevance to sustainable cities worldwide. As well as an invaluable reference to researchers in sustainable planning and urban design, the book will provide a useful text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and for policy makers dealing with these issues. The CityForm consortium is a multi-disciplinary group of researchers from five universities funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council from 2003-07.

In a world of dwindling natural resources and mounting environmental crisis, who is devising ways of living that will work for the long haul? And how can we, as individuals, make a difference? To answer these fundamental questions, Professor Karen Litfin embarked upon a journey to many of the world’s ecovillagesÑintentional communities at the cutting-edge of sustainable living. From rural to urban, high tech to low tech, spiritual to secular, she discovered an under-the-radar global movement making positive and radical changes from the ground up. In this inspiring and insightful book, Karen Litfin shares her unique experience of these experiments in sustainable living through four broad windows - ecology, economics, community, and consciousness - or E2C2. Whether we live in an ecovillage or a city, she contends, we must incorporate these four key elements if we wish to harmonize our lives with our home planet. Not only is another world possible, it is already being born in small pockets the world over. These micro-societies, however, are small and time is short. Fortunately - as Litfin persuasively argues - their successes can be applied to existing social structures, from the local to the global scale, providing sustainable ways of living for generations to come. You can learn more about Karen's experiences on the Ecovillages website: http://ecovillagebook.org/

This book addresses a central dilemma of the urban age: how to make the vast suburban landscapes that ring the globe safe and sustainable in the face of planetary ecological crisis. The authors argue that degrowth, a planned contraction of economic overshoot, is the only feasible principle for suburban renewal. They depart from the anti-suburban sentiment of much environmentalism to show that existing suburbia can be the centre-ground of transition to a new social dispensation based on the principle of self-limitation. The book offers a radical new urban imaginary, that of degrowth suburbia, which can arise Phoenix like from the increasingly stressed cities of the affluent Global North and guide urbanisation in a world at risk. This means dispensing with much contemporary green thinking, including blind faith in electric vehicles and high-density urbanism, and accepting the inevitability and the benefits of planned energy descent. A radical but necessary vision for the times.