Monday, June 12, 2006
THE URBAN SPRAWL MOTTO: IF THE CAR FITS, DRIVE IT
===================================================
There is no doubt that North American society is painting itself into an environmental corner. However, we still continue to build the cookie cutter subdivisions and the highways that go with it. We continue to freely pollute with our cars since (unlike buying gas) there is no cost to do so. Some car owners even pride themselves with more than one exhaust pipe (e.g. the Cadillac SUV has four- talk about being an unashamed polluter).
Despite the rhetoric about lack of community and nowhere to walk, how does one reconcile that fact that people love suburbia no matter what the environmental impact? The suburbs are really not that bad from a convenience point of view. Most suburban dwellers like to be able to drive their car into the house to take in the groceries and be sheltered from the elements. Let's face it, we have extreme weather, no one likes to walk in cold snowy weather, let alone stand in it waiting for a bus at shelter-less bus stop next to cars spewing noxious gases. Who wants to carry around heavy groceries or a laptop computer when the car makes the task easier?
Also the transit alternative is not cheap or convenient. In suburban transit system you are either packed in like SARDINES during rush hour or the SOLE person in the bus in the late evening. How is that cost-effective and customer-oriented. Further, distances are usually too far to walk and the surroundings not very appealing unless you like concrete and garage doors.
Philosophically, one could argue for the both sides of the suburbs versus urban core argument. However, the real issue is protection of the environment. The suburbs are not efficient from a land use and transportation point of view (even if you believe that is not subsidized to begin with).
We need to cost out highways in a manner thats includes the long-term environmental and maintenance costs and then compare it to the cost of reduce demand or using transit alternatives. We need to look at all transportation solutions rather than road widening or new road construction. Unfortunately, when cities and regional government employ traffic and civil engineers to solve traffic problems, they are trained to build roads not remove roads and build transit lines.
I have been to many Public Information Centres (PIC) to address road traffic problems and, unfortunately, the lack of imagination presented by the engineers and consultants is unacceptable from an environmental standpoint. In most cases these sessions are held because they are required but it is more of charade to give the impression that the public is being consulted. What is insulting is how the reports are skewed in favour of the alternative that the city wishes. The obligatory DO NOTHING alternative is almost always dismissed at the beginning as not practical and lame. Obviously, the real reason is job security for those involved.
How did we get to this point and what are the environmental costs of too many cars and highways. Five books worth reading about these topics are:
1. Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took over America, and How We Can Take It Back. Jane Holtz Kay.
2. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Jeff Speck.
3. The New Urbanism: Towards an Architecture of Community. Peter Katz
4. Healthy urban planning: A WHO guide for planning people. Hugh Barton, & Catherine Tsourou
5. Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities. Michael Southworth & Eran Ben-Joseph
==================================================================================
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream (Duany, Plater-Zyberk,Speck)
==================================================================================
Suburbia is not accidental but intentional. The suburban product is a result of many years of well-intentioned regulatory changes. This has resulted in polarization between the urban core which has mixed use, pedestrian and transit oriented neighbourhoods and the outer core (suburbs) which are car based with separated land use. Notwithstanding the environmental impacts, the current form of suburban development is not financially sustainable and is usually subsidized in many aspects. For example, in order to development suburbs you need highways. It is not cost effective for private landowners so government always picks up the tab for this and subsidizes private land development. Future highways are always considered as investments to bring tax revenues whereas public transit is always considered to be subsidized.
Some other good quotes:
<<__Unlike the traditional neighbourhood model which evolved organically as a response to human needs, suburban sprawl is an idealized artificial system---sprawl in not health growth; it is essentially self-destructive. Even at low population densities sprawl tends not to pay for itself financially and consumes land at an alarming rate, while producing insurmountable traffic problems and exacerbating social inequity and isolation__>>
<<__the simple truth is that building more highways and widening existing roads (almost always motivated by concern over traffic) does nothing to reduce traffic. This revelation is so counterintuitive that it bears repeating: adding lanes makes traffic worse__>>
==============================================================================
Asphalt Nation; How the Automobile Took over America, and How We Can Take It Back (Holtz Kay)
==============================================================================
This book provides a pretty good account of how cities came to be dominated by the car. Some of it came about through customer demand for cars and inexpensive detach homes and some by collusion by certain corporations such as GM, Standard Oil, and Firestone Tires which conspired to buy up and remove all electric street cars in the US and replace them with diesel buses.
This book calls for the DEBRUTALIZATION of the street (from a pedestrian perspective of course). Make it more pedestrian-friendly and level the playing field with the car.
She also agrees with many that building roads and highway only serves to attract traffic rather than alleviate the existing volume. It is called Generated Traffic.
When we think of car pollution we think of emission and disposal. But consider this environmental break down in the pollution equation: manufacturing (33%), use (60%), and disposal (7%).
From the perspective of carbon dioxide production, 66 tons over the life of the vehicle is produced: 15 tons to manufacture it, 45 tons from driving, and 6 tons to dispose of it.
More details with respect to waste and air pollution:
==Step1 (MANUFACTURE): 1207 million cubic yards (polluted air), 29 tons (waste),
==Step2 (USE): 1,330 million cubic yards (polluted air), 40 pounds (road, tire, brake debris)
==Step3 (DISPOSAL): 133 million cubic yards (polluted air)
Total polluted air output = 2.7 billion cubic yards
In the US over 20 million vehicles are discarded per year; most of the waste is not recycled.
Some other good quotes:
<<__when the automobile intruded on human intercourse, older forms of architectural discourse declined___wide streets, treacherous intersections, and fast cars blurred our view and corrupted our built environment. Details vanished__>>
<<__if bad architecture is the shadow of the motor vehicle, good design is the footprint of the walker__>>
<<__it is a truism that the internal combustion engine which powers our automobiles releases more carbon monoxide, reactive hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere than any other urban or industrial source__>>
<<__we are not stuck in traffic, we are stuck in spending money that promotes more the same___By underpricing and oversubsidizing the automobile, the highway and sprawl, we have made this lifestyle the overwhelming option and diminished the alternatives. History has shown us how the governments bankrolling of car costs and car-based land use has made the automobile look economical and become essential___we not opting for exurban flight out of pure passion or even clear preference, we are responding to a rigged market. We are reacting to price supports for ring roads, beltways, and free parking, responding to taxes and infrastructure that promote far-flung highways and suburban homes___and whether through selfishness, ignorance or indifference, we devour our landscape and cityscape, aggravate our lives and destroy our environment__>>
=========================================================================
The New Urbanism: Towards an Architecture of Community (Katz)
=========================================================================
This was one of the first books advocating New Urbanism where cities are more compact, scaled to the pedestrian, and transit oriented. It speaks to the problem that many American cities have encountered: the evacuation of the city core.
A worthy quote on transit and revitalizing the downtown core:
<<__An effective transit system accomplishes many things. It can invigorate downtown as transit invariably focuses on the central business district. Adding more sprawling suburbs to a metropolitan area only increases pressure for parking and freeways downtown, while competing with the city for jobs and retail activity___transit delivers people to the heart of our cities, reducing the need for parking avoiding destructive urban freeway projects. Adding transit-oriented new growth areas and satellite towns can reinforce the city's role as the region's cultural and economic center. The transit system that is supported at the edge with new growth can also become the catalyst for redevelopment and infill at the regional center__>>
Another good quote:
<<__Sprawl is destructive in any growth strategy (infill, new growth area projects, satellite towns). Contemporary suburbs have failed because they lack, as do many of the so-called modern new towns and edge cities, the fundamental qualities of real towns: pedestrian scale, an identifiable centre and edge, integrated diversity of use and population and defined public space. They may have diversity in use and user, but these diverse elements are segregated by the car. They have none of the places for casual and spontaneous interaction which create vital neighborhoods, quarters or towns. Unless urban infill sites, suburban new developments areas and satellite towns embody the qualities of the New Urbanism, they will fail too__>>
============================================================================
Healthy urban planning: a WHO guide to planning for people (Barton, Tsourou)
============================================================================
In Europe there are over 41 cities that have Healthy City plans as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). There are 11 attributes ranging from ecological sustainability to social equity. Unfortunately, every cities interpretation and emphasis is different which make hard to compare the efforts of one city over another. The strategies closing follow the UN's Agenda 21 for cities and sustainable development. Sustainable development is not limited to environmental aspects but includes many other aspects including social and economic sustainability.
The Health Cities Network Europe was established in 1986. Copenhagen was one of the first and is still leading the way with respect to healthy cities. The efficient public transportation system and high bicycle use has contributed to this.
Good quote:
<<__Most urban planning systems in Europe do not address issues of sustainability effectively. Some respond primarily to powerful economic interests and many interpret sustainability only in terms of a narrow role in environmental protection__>>
===========================================================================
Streets and the shaping of towns and cities (Southworth, Ben-Joseph)
===========================================================================
Good book on street grid layout alternatives and ideas. Advocates that current urban development is wasteful and that better land use planning strategies are needed to improve ecological sensitivity and greater efficient use of land and resources.
Some good quotes:
<<__all streets are defined in terms of their performance for traffic movement but local streets should be considered more a part of a neighbourhood environment than a transportation one___streets are complex community settings that serve a variety of functions___ not simply as channels for moving traffic and emergency vehicles. Streets are also for children's play. They are environments used for walking bicycling jogging and for socializing and for children's play__>>
<<__the creation of walkable enclaves within regional sprawl many not reduce automobile dependence or solve regional transportation and environmental problems. To reduce automobile dependence it will be essential to begin to manage patterns of land use and transportation while enhancing local livability. Without such thinking piecemeal efforts to create imageable and comfortable streets and neighbourhoods will result in little more than the old suburb in a new style. Local efforts at creating convenient, less auto-dependent neighbourhoods and communities will be most effective within a regional framework that provides the transit infrastructure and encourages a denser pattern of development with mixed uses__>>
<<__Nontraditional supporters claim a highly interconnected street network (usually grid) will reduce travel distance and time and will extend accessibility by offering more route choices___yet increased accessibility on al l the streets reduces the likelihood of cut-through traffic and speeds inappropriate to residential neighbourhoods- the original impetus for abandoning the grids in favour of discontinuous street systems more than 60 years ago. Shared streets in a connected system can eliminate the deficiencies of the grid. Speeds will be reduced and through traffic by nonresidents discourage, yet connective features such as access points and route choices will be much more numerous than in the typical hierarchical, discontinuous street system. This design would thus combine a high degree of livability and safety in the residential streets while maintaining links to the larger neighbourhood__>>
===================================================
There is no doubt that North American society is painting itself into an environmental corner. However, we still continue to build the cookie cutter subdivisions and the highways that go with it. We continue to freely pollute with our cars since (unlike buying gas) there is no cost to do so. Some car owners even pride themselves with more than one exhaust pipe (e.g. the Cadillac SUV has four- talk about being an unashamed polluter).
Despite the rhetoric about lack of community and nowhere to walk, how does one reconcile that fact that people love suburbia no matter what the environmental impact? The suburbs are really not that bad from a convenience point of view. Most suburban dwellers like to be able to drive their car into the house to take in the groceries and be sheltered from the elements. Let's face it, we have extreme weather, no one likes to walk in cold snowy weather, let alone stand in it waiting for a bus at shelter-less bus stop next to cars spewing noxious gases. Who wants to carry around heavy groceries or a laptop computer when the car makes the task easier?
Also the transit alternative is not cheap or convenient. In suburban transit system you are either packed in like SARDINES during rush hour or the SOLE person in the bus in the late evening. How is that cost-effective and customer-oriented. Further, distances are usually too far to walk and the surroundings not very appealing unless you like concrete and garage doors.
Philosophically, one could argue for the both sides of the suburbs versus urban core argument. However, the real issue is protection of the environment. The suburbs are not efficient from a land use and transportation point of view (even if you believe that is not subsidized to begin with).
We need to cost out highways in a manner thats includes the long-term environmental and maintenance costs and then compare it to the cost of reduce demand or using transit alternatives. We need to look at all transportation solutions rather than road widening or new road construction. Unfortunately, when cities and regional government employ traffic and civil engineers to solve traffic problems, they are trained to build roads not remove roads and build transit lines.
I have been to many Public Information Centres (PIC) to address road traffic problems and, unfortunately, the lack of imagination presented by the engineers and consultants is unacceptable from an environmental standpoint. In most cases these sessions are held because they are required but it is more of charade to give the impression that the public is being consulted. What is insulting is how the reports are skewed in favour of the alternative that the city wishes. The obligatory DO NOTHING alternative is almost always dismissed at the beginning as not practical and lame. Obviously, the real reason is job security for those involved.
How did we get to this point and what are the environmental costs of too many cars and highways. Five books worth reading about these topics are:
1. Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took over America, and How We Can Take It Back. Jane Holtz Kay.
2. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Jeff Speck.
3. The New Urbanism: Towards an Architecture of Community. Peter Katz
4. Healthy urban planning: A WHO guide for planning people. Hugh Barton, & Catherine Tsourou
5. Streets and the Shaping of Towns and Cities. Michael Southworth & Eran Ben-Joseph
==================================================================================
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream (Duany, Plater-Zyberk,Speck)
==================================================================================
Suburbia is not accidental but intentional. The suburban product is a result of many years of well-intentioned regulatory changes. This has resulted in polarization between the urban core which has mixed use, pedestrian and transit oriented neighbourhoods and the outer core (suburbs) which are car based with separated land use. Notwithstanding the environmental impacts, the current form of suburban development is not financially sustainable and is usually subsidized in many aspects. For example, in order to development suburbs you need highways. It is not cost effective for private landowners so government always picks up the tab for this and subsidizes private land development. Future highways are always considered as investments to bring tax revenues whereas public transit is always considered to be subsidized.
Some other good quotes:
<<__Unlike the traditional neighbourhood model which evolved organically as a response to human needs, suburban sprawl is an idealized artificial system---sprawl in not health growth; it is essentially self-destructive. Even at low population densities sprawl tends not to pay for itself financially and consumes land at an alarming rate, while producing insurmountable traffic problems and exacerbating social inequity and isolation__>>
<<__the simple truth is that building more highways and widening existing roads (almost always motivated by concern over traffic) does nothing to reduce traffic. This revelation is so counterintuitive that it bears repeating: adding lanes makes traffic worse__>>
==============================================================================
Asphalt Nation; How the Automobile Took over America, and How We Can Take It Back (Holtz Kay)
==============================================================================
This book provides a pretty good account of how cities came to be dominated by the car. Some of it came about through customer demand for cars and inexpensive detach homes and some by collusion by certain corporations such as GM, Standard Oil, and Firestone Tires which conspired to buy up and remove all electric street cars in the US and replace them with diesel buses.
This book calls for the DEBRUTALIZATION of the street (from a pedestrian perspective of course). Make it more pedestrian-friendly and level the playing field with the car.
She also agrees with many that building roads and highway only serves to attract traffic rather than alleviate the existing volume. It is called Generated Traffic.
When we think of car pollution we think of emission and disposal. But consider this environmental break down in the pollution equation: manufacturing (33%), use (60%), and disposal (7%).
From the perspective of carbon dioxide production, 66 tons over the life of the vehicle is produced: 15 tons to manufacture it, 45 tons from driving, and 6 tons to dispose of it.
More details with respect to waste and air pollution:
==Step1 (MANUFACTURE): 1207 million cubic yards (polluted air), 29 tons (waste),
==Step2 (USE): 1,330 million cubic yards (polluted air), 40 pounds (road, tire, brake debris)
==Step3 (DISPOSAL): 133 million cubic yards (polluted air)
Total polluted air output = 2.7 billion cubic yards
In the US over 20 million vehicles are discarded per year; most of the waste is not recycled.
Some other good quotes:
<<__when the automobile intruded on human intercourse, older forms of architectural discourse declined___wide streets, treacherous intersections, and fast cars blurred our view and corrupted our built environment. Details vanished__>>
<<__if bad architecture is the shadow of the motor vehicle, good design is the footprint of the walker__>>
<<__it is a truism that the internal combustion engine which powers our automobiles releases more carbon monoxide, reactive hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere than any other urban or industrial source__>>
<<__we are not stuck in traffic, we are stuck in spending money that promotes more the same___By underpricing and oversubsidizing the automobile, the highway and sprawl, we have made this lifestyle the overwhelming option and diminished the alternatives. History has shown us how the governments bankrolling of car costs and car-based land use has made the automobile look economical and become essential___we not opting for exurban flight out of pure passion or even clear preference, we are responding to a rigged market. We are reacting to price supports for ring roads, beltways, and free parking, responding to taxes and infrastructure that promote far-flung highways and suburban homes___and whether through selfishness, ignorance or indifference, we devour our landscape and cityscape, aggravate our lives and destroy our environment__>>
=========================================================================
The New Urbanism: Towards an Architecture of Community (Katz)
=========================================================================
This was one of the first books advocating New Urbanism where cities are more compact, scaled to the pedestrian, and transit oriented. It speaks to the problem that many American cities have encountered: the evacuation of the city core.
A worthy quote on transit and revitalizing the downtown core:
<<__An effective transit system accomplishes many things. It can invigorate downtown as transit invariably focuses on the central business district. Adding more sprawling suburbs to a metropolitan area only increases pressure for parking and freeways downtown, while competing with the city for jobs and retail activity___transit delivers people to the heart of our cities, reducing the need for parking avoiding destructive urban freeway projects. Adding transit-oriented new growth areas and satellite towns can reinforce the city's role as the region's cultural and economic center. The transit system that is supported at the edge with new growth can also become the catalyst for redevelopment and infill at the regional center__>>
Another good quote:
<<__Sprawl is destructive in any growth strategy (infill, new growth area projects, satellite towns). Contemporary suburbs have failed because they lack, as do many of the so-called modern new towns and edge cities, the fundamental qualities of real towns: pedestrian scale, an identifiable centre and edge, integrated diversity of use and population and defined public space. They may have diversity in use and user, but these diverse elements are segregated by the car. They have none of the places for casual and spontaneous interaction which create vital neighborhoods, quarters or towns. Unless urban infill sites, suburban new developments areas and satellite towns embody the qualities of the New Urbanism, they will fail too__>>
============================================================================
Healthy urban planning: a WHO guide to planning for people (Barton, Tsourou)
============================================================================
In Europe there are over 41 cities that have Healthy City plans as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). There are 11 attributes ranging from ecological sustainability to social equity. Unfortunately, every cities interpretation and emphasis is different which make hard to compare the efforts of one city over another. The strategies closing follow the UN's Agenda 21 for cities and sustainable development. Sustainable development is not limited to environmental aspects but includes many other aspects including social and economic sustainability.
The Health Cities Network Europe was established in 1986. Copenhagen was one of the first and is still leading the way with respect to healthy cities. The efficient public transportation system and high bicycle use has contributed to this.
Good quote:
<<__Most urban planning systems in Europe do not address issues of sustainability effectively. Some respond primarily to powerful economic interests and many interpret sustainability only in terms of a narrow role in environmental protection__>>
===========================================================================
Streets and the shaping of towns and cities (Southworth, Ben-Joseph)
===========================================================================
Good book on street grid layout alternatives and ideas. Advocates that current urban development is wasteful and that better land use planning strategies are needed to improve ecological sensitivity and greater efficient use of land and resources.
Some good quotes:
<<__all streets are defined in terms of their performance for traffic movement but local streets should be considered more a part of a neighbourhood environment than a transportation one___streets are complex community settings that serve a variety of functions___ not simply as channels for moving traffic and emergency vehicles. Streets are also for children's play. They are environments used for walking bicycling jogging and for socializing and for children's play__>>
<<__the creation of walkable enclaves within regional sprawl many not reduce automobile dependence or solve regional transportation and environmental problems. To reduce automobile dependence it will be essential to begin to manage patterns of land use and transportation while enhancing local livability. Without such thinking piecemeal efforts to create imageable and comfortable streets and neighbourhoods will result in little more than the old suburb in a new style. Local efforts at creating convenient, less auto-dependent neighbourhoods and communities will be most effective within a regional framework that provides the transit infrastructure and encourages a denser pattern of development with mixed uses__>>
<<__Nontraditional supporters claim a highly interconnected street network (usually grid) will reduce travel distance and time and will extend accessibility by offering more route choices___yet increased accessibility on al l the streets reduces the likelihood of cut-through traffic and speeds inappropriate to residential neighbourhoods- the original impetus for abandoning the grids in favour of discontinuous street systems more than 60 years ago. Shared streets in a connected system can eliminate the deficiencies of the grid. Speeds will be reduced and through traffic by nonresidents discourage, yet connective features such as access points and route choices will be much more numerous than in the typical hierarchical, discontinuous street system. This design would thus combine a high degree of livability and safety in the residential streets while maintaining links to the larger neighbourhood__>>
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
IF ONLY THE HIGHWAY WAS WIDER THEN ALL THE TRAFFIC WOULD DISAPPEAR
===================================================================
Back in the 70's during the oil crises, we all thought that small cars, walking and cycling was the future. Who would have thought that 30 years later, everyone drives large trucks called SUV's and the outdoor, car-oriented Box Stores are replacing pedestrian-oriented indoor shopping malls. We were told that highways were bad for the environment and caused urban sprawl. Not only are they expensive but ineffective as road building simply "attracts" traffic. When roads are toll-free and the user demand in insatiable, then gridlock can never be eradicated. How wide does Toronto's "401" need to be before it alleviates traffic. The 401 is now 20 lanes wide and we still have traffic! We could add another 25 lanes, the relief would be temporary, then people would decide that living in Milton and working in Pickering is now possible... and guess what, in 5 years we would be back with the same gridlock. The main reason for gridlock is not lack of road capacity but the fact that that everyone wants to travel at the same time. So what is the solution. It is obvious after 50 years of intensive highway building then nothing really has been accomplished. The solution is to move closer to work and invest in mass transit. Also flexible work hours and telecommuting. Unfortunately, the jobs are moving to the suburbs since people are not willing to give up their cars, big homes. It is ironic that Toronto has one of best transit systems in North America while at the same time holding the record for the 2nd busiest highway after LA's San Bernadino freeway or Santa Monica Freeway. Nevertheless it is certainly the widest highway probably in the world - even the busiest LA highway is only 10 lanes wide!
The 401 during an off-peak time. ( photo source:
www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/f142.html )
===================================================================
Back in the 70's during the oil crises, we all thought that small cars, walking and cycling was the future. Who would have thought that 30 years later, everyone drives large trucks called SUV's and the outdoor, car-oriented Box Stores are replacing pedestrian-oriented indoor shopping malls. We were told that highways were bad for the environment and caused urban sprawl. Not only are they expensive but ineffective as road building simply "attracts" traffic. When roads are toll-free and the user demand in insatiable, then gridlock can never be eradicated. How wide does Toronto's "401" need to be before it alleviates traffic. The 401 is now 20 lanes wide and we still have traffic! We could add another 25 lanes, the relief would be temporary, then people would decide that living in Milton and working in Pickering is now possible... and guess what, in 5 years we would be back with the same gridlock. The main reason for gridlock is not lack of road capacity but the fact that that everyone wants to travel at the same time. So what is the solution. It is obvious after 50 years of intensive highway building then nothing really has been accomplished. The solution is to move closer to work and invest in mass transit. Also flexible work hours and telecommuting. Unfortunately, the jobs are moving to the suburbs since people are not willing to give up their cars, big homes. It is ironic that Toronto has one of best transit systems in North America while at the same time holding the record for the 2nd busiest highway after LA's San Bernadino freeway or Santa Monica Freeway. Nevertheless it is certainly the widest highway probably in the world - even the busiest LA highway is only 10 lanes wide!
The 401 during an off-peak time. ( photo source:
www.urbanplanet.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/f142.html )
TWO LEGS GOOD, FOUR WHEELS BAD
==================================
***Good readings and graphics on Sustainable Urban Development making places more people friendly***
Articles/Journals
------------------------
Shape the Future. Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel Final Report April 2003. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs
www.orht.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_2_12081_1.html
+
==SOME GOOD MOTHERHOOD STATMENTS THAT USUALLY DO NOT TRANSLATE INTO EFFECTIVE ACTION:
<<__it is essential to plan carefully for growth to make transit more attractive and cost effective, prevent more gridlock, reduce air emissions, protect natural features, including source protection areas and agricultural areas, and build a diversity of livable vibrant communities__>>
+
<<__walkable and bikeable communities are integral to achieving the goals of smart growth because they enhance mobility, reduce negative environmental consequences, strengthen communities, and support stronger communities__>>
Defining Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Sustainable Communities: A working paper for the Sustainable Toronto Project. Daniella Molnar (York University), Alexis J. Morgan (University of Toronto) & David V. J. Bell (York Centre for Applied Sustainability)
www.utoronto.ca/envstudy/sustainabletoronto/resources/SustainableTorontoDefinitionsPaper-FinalDraft.doc
Green Infrastructure: Smart Conservation for the 21st Century, (2001). Mark Benedict, & Edward McMahon.
www.sprawlwatch.org/greeninfrastructure.pdf
==Best quote: "Successful land conservation in the future will have to be: more proactive and less reactive; more systematic and less haphazard; multifunctional and not single purpose; large scale and not small scale; better integrated with other efforts to manage growth and development."
The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide: An introduction to Sustainable Development (1996) International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). www.idrc.org/en/ev-84818-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
Dreaming the Sustainable City: Organizing Hope, Negotiating Fear, and Mediating Memory (2003). Leonie Sandercock in Barbara Eckstein (eds) Story and Sustainability: Planning, Practice and Possibility for American Cities
Websites
----------
International Development Research Centre (IDRC): Canadian crown corporation building healthy and sustainable cities in the third world www.idrc.org/en/ev-1-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Division for Sustainable Development _ Agenda 21
www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm
EUROPAN
Architectural competition for students and young architects. Some innovative ideas on housing. Ideas make more efficient use of space and more environmentally sound. www.europan.org.uk
Winning project from England
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES (PPS) website:
Best quote: <<__If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places__>>
Approach to Transportation
www.pps.org/transportation/info/transportation_approach
Balancing Street Space for Pedestrians and Vehicles
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/balancing_peds_and_vehicles
An Antidote to Sprawl
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/sprawl
21 Great Places That Show How Transportation Can Enliven a Community
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/great_transportation_places
Lessons from Paris: the campaign to reclaim city streets for people
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/paris
Traffic Calming 101
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/livememtraffic
Transit-Friendly Streets: Design and Traffic Management Strategies to Support Livable Communities
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/transit_friendly_sts
Case Studies:
------------
Sites worth checking out with innovative ideas making areas pedestrian friendly:
Surrey BC East Clayton:
www.surrey.ca/NR/rdonlyres/3D6F5D5C-3831-45DB-8E01-2F822DF9EE83/0/EastClaytonPresentationMar505.pdf
Excellent slide show with design details. Marketed as sustainable and pedestrian friendly with diverse housing types.
Hammarby Sjostad Sweden www.stockholm.se
High density development along waterfront. 8000 apartments employing environmentally sustainable practices with respect to construction, energy, water, and waste.
University of Manitoba - Sustainable Community Design (7 cases):
www.umanitoba.ca/academic/faculties/architecture/la/sustainable/contents.htm
(Note: the site is temporarily unavailable)
Selected housing developments attempting to be less car dependant, more pedestrian oriented, and have greater environmental sensitivity.
Ecolonia, Netherlands
Kolding, Denmark
McKenzie Towne, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Slagelse Denmark
Viikki, Helsinki, Finland
Windsong Community Co-Housing, Langely, BC, Canada
Compact neighbourhood of freehold townhouses separated by glass covered pedestrian street.
==================================
***Good readings and graphics on Sustainable Urban Development making places more people friendly***
Articles/Journals
------------------------
Shape the Future. Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel Final Report April 2003. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs
www.orht.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_2_12081_1.html
+
==SOME GOOD MOTHERHOOD STATMENTS THAT USUALLY DO NOT TRANSLATE INTO EFFECTIVE ACTION:
<<__it is essential to plan carefully for growth to make transit more attractive and cost effective, prevent more gridlock, reduce air emissions, protect natural features, including source protection areas and agricultural areas, and build a diversity of livable vibrant communities__>>
+
<<__walkable and bikeable communities are integral to achieving the goals of smart growth because they enhance mobility, reduce negative environmental consequences, strengthen communities, and support stronger communities__>>
Defining Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Sustainable Communities: A working paper for the Sustainable Toronto Project. Daniella Molnar (York University), Alexis J. Morgan (University of Toronto) & David V. J. Bell (York Centre for Applied Sustainability)
www.utoronto.ca/envstudy/sustainabletoronto/resources/SustainableTorontoDefinitionsPaper-FinalDraft.doc
Green Infrastructure: Smart Conservation for the 21st Century, (2001). Mark Benedict, & Edward McMahon.
www.sprawlwatch.org/greeninfrastructure.pdf
==Best quote: "Successful land conservation in the future will have to be: more proactive and less reactive; more systematic and less haphazard; multifunctional and not single purpose; large scale and not small scale; better integrated with other efforts to manage growth and development."
The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide: An introduction to Sustainable Development (1996) International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). www.idrc.org/en/ev-84818-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
Dreaming the Sustainable City: Organizing Hope, Negotiating Fear, and Mediating Memory (2003). Leonie Sandercock in Barbara Eckstein (eds) Story and Sustainability: Planning, Practice and Possibility for American Cities
Websites
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International Development Research Centre (IDRC): Canadian crown corporation building healthy and sustainable cities in the third world www.idrc.org/en/ev-1-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Division for Sustainable Development _ Agenda 21
www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm
EUROPAN
Architectural competition for students and young architects. Some innovative ideas on housing. Ideas make more efficient use of space and more environmentally sound. www.europan.org.uk
Winning project from England
PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SPACES (PPS) website:
Best quote: <<__If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places__>>
Approach to Transportation
www.pps.org/transportation/info/transportation_approach
Balancing Street Space for Pedestrians and Vehicles
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/balancing_peds_and_vehicles
An Antidote to Sprawl
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/sprawl
21 Great Places That Show How Transportation Can Enliven a Community
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/great_transportation_places
Lessons from Paris: the campaign to reclaim city streets for people
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/paris
Traffic Calming 101
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/livememtraffic
Transit-Friendly Streets: Design and Traffic Management Strategies to Support Livable Communities
www.pps.org/transportation/info/trans_articles/transit_friendly_sts
Case Studies:
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Sites worth checking out with innovative ideas making areas pedestrian friendly:
Surrey BC East Clayton:
www.surrey.ca/NR/rdonlyres/3D6F5D5C-3831-45DB-8E01-2F822DF9EE83/0/EastClaytonPresentationMar505.pdf
Excellent slide show with design details. Marketed as sustainable and pedestrian friendly with diverse housing types.
Hammarby Sjostad Sweden www.stockholm.se
High density development along waterfront. 8000 apartments employing environmentally sustainable practices with respect to construction, energy, water, and waste.
University of Manitoba - Sustainable Community Design (7 cases):
www.umanitoba.ca/academic/faculties/architecture/la/sustainable/contents.htm
(Note: the site is temporarily unavailable)
Selected housing developments attempting to be less car dependant, more pedestrian oriented, and have greater environmental sensitivity.
Ecolonia, Netherlands
Kolding, Denmark
McKenzie Towne, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Slagelse Denmark
Viikki, Helsinki, Finland
Windsong Community Co-Housing, Langely, BC, Canada
Compact neighbourhood of freehold townhouses separated by glass covered pedestrian street.
