Sustainable Communities

'This book re-addresses the concepts of neighbourhood and community in a refreshing and challenging way. It will be of immense benefit, not only to town planners but also to al those professional and voluntary groups and politicians who seek to create the new communities of tomorrow' From the Foreword by Jed Griffiths, Past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute. There is widespread support for the principle of creating more sustainable communities, but much hazy, wishful-thinking about what this might mean in practice. In reality, we witness more the death of local neighbourhoods than their creation or rejuvenation, reflecting an increasingly mobile, privatized and commodified society. Sustainable Communities examines the practicalities of re-inventing neighbourhoods. It is neither an idealistic, utopian tract nor a designer's manual, but is, rather, a serious attempt to address the real issues. This collection of expert contributions: * examines the nature of local community and methods of building social capital * presents the findings of a world-wide survey of eco-neighbourhoods and eco-villages with case studies from the United Kingdom, Europe, America and Australia * develops a fresh perspective on the planning and design of neighbourhoods in urban areas, based on the eco-system approach * explores practical programmes for local resource management and the implications for community-based decision-making * provides a detailed appendix listing current eco-village and eco-neighbourhood schemes by country Written by an interdisciplinary team of social and environmental scientists, town planners and urban designers, this is a thought-provoking and important contribution to both the theory and practice of the development of sustainable communities.

Hugh Barton is a lecturer, researcher and consultant on sustainable settlement planning and environmental decision-making. He has worked for many years at the University of the West of England and is currently Executive Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Healthy Cities and Urban Policy.

Part I: Setting the Scene - Conflicting Perceptions of Neighbourhood * Eco-Villages: Dream and Reality * Unsustainable Settlements * Part II: Rethinking the Neighbourhood Option - Do Neighbourhoods Matter? * Innovative Eco-Neighbourhood Projects * The Neighbourhood as Ecosystem * Urban Form and Locality * The Design of Neighbourhoods * Part III: Community and Subsidiarity - Design for Living: The Challenge of Sustainable Communities * Leading from Below: The Contribution of Community-Based Initiatives * Community Governance * Part IV: Managing Resources Locally - The Community Energy Utility * The Food Producing Neighbourhood * Planning Local Movement Systems * Community Safety and Actual Neighbourhoods * Towards Sustainable Communities * Appendices * Bibliography * Index