|
|
|
Designing Sustainable Communities
“... The rules of what constitutes sustainable development are hereby changed, or more accurately, established for the first time. It is no longer acceptable to build a high-performance building in a greenfield, automobile-dependant context and have it certified as ‘green.’ It is no longer good enough to develop in a responsible location and build an admirable, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood while ignoring the level of resources required to build and maintain the buildings there. The time for half measures has passed.” - Douglas Farr, Sustainable Urbanism
By Lesley Beale
The influence that the sustainable design movement has had on the design of buildings is beginning to make a positive impact. Progressive Canadian cities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver have mandated LEED standards for their facilities. The effect on private development has also begun to be felt, however greater opportunities for sustainable design can occur with the design of communities. There is a direct link between increasing density and reducing urban sprawl.
|
|
|
|
The question is how do we apply intensification in the right way, i.e. in a sustainable way, to the design of communities? As we know, for the last 20 years, human resource demands have far exceeded the world’s ability to provide them. Because of our car based culture, buildings, cities and towns and the vehicular trips we take between them are directly responsible for the increase in our carbon footprint. The following outlines key principles for sustainable community design.
Diverse & Dompact Community Design
The community must be diverse and provide housing for a variety of incomes with assorted housing types and mixed use development; a variety of employment opportunities; and local office and retail opportunities. It must also provide a range of local services and amenities including sports, cultural and educational; a rich variety of public spaces and must also provide services for people of all ages including seniors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preservation of Local Context Character and Heritage
The task should be to develop a distinct and memorable community identity by ensuring that new development is compatible with adjacent land uses. Buildings must employ high quality architectural and landscaping standards so that housing styles are complementary to local community character without reverting to a pastiche or imitation. The design of streets and roads should ensure they are treated as public spaces. In addition the ecology, microclimate and landscape of a community should be understood and respected by new development.
Walkable & Well Connected Communities
If we are going to design walkable communities, not only do the streets and buildings have to provide the suitable conditions, we must also provide a transit service alternative. There is a direct relationship between the amount of residents living in an area and the ability to afford a reliable transit service. We must create opportunities for localized transit including handi-bus opportunities so we can walk, bike or use a wheel chair to access transit.
Street Design
To provide walking and bicycling connections we have to design streets to accommodate pedestrians, using sidewalks on both sides of the street and ensuring that the distances between intersections are relatively short, i.e.100 meters (300-400 feet). Public sidewalks should be wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and provide room for street trees which also serve to shade the streets and reduce the heat island effect. Many Canadian street standards are designed to accommodate vehicular traffic at the pedestrian’s expense. They are often too wide which encourages speeding — the majority of streets should be no more than 2 travel lanes wide. Lower speed streets can more easily accommodate shared networks of pedestrians, buses, cars and bicycles.
The positive social and health benefits from designing walkable streets include opportunities for greater social connection and improved health benefits from walking or biking. We need to empower all ages to use the streets so that children can walk to school, and disabled people feel comfortable using wheelchairs or walkers. Parking associated with development should be placed underground wherever possible, while on-street parking will generate traffic calming. Finally, streets and pathways need to be linked so that travel for the pedestrian is the shortest distance possible.
Enhanced Public Realm and Open Space
A well designed public realm, with public parks and open spaces, is critical where a higher number of residents reside. Parks should be designed to accommodate a range of activities including active sports, playgrounds and passive uses, and should include a variety of hard and soft surfaces and plantings. The adjacent buildings should serve to frame the space of the park, formalizing its surroundings so that the park becomes the living room of the community. Access to views and landmarks should be exploited wherever possible. The parks should also create opportunities for storm retention and controlled storm release.
Sustainable Urban Design
Potentially all issues are sustainable issues, however, responsible urbanism can address such specific concerns as using brownfield sites to preserve greenfield sites; the design of sustainable infrastructure; utilizing sustainable construction techniques and encouraging both public and private developers to build sustainably.
Lesley Beale is a partner at Sturgess Architecture and is passionate about sustainable urban master planning. She has worked on award winning sustainable projects including The Bridges Master Plan, the Strathearn Heights Master Plan and The Water Centre.
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
| |
| < Back |
|
|
|
| Copyright © Design Quarterly. All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|