vendredi 20 décembre 2013

A Brief Guide To Sustainable Urban Design

By Cornelia White


There are various things to consider when looking to achieve sustainable urban design. One of the most important is being aware of what sustainability means. Often the combination of economic, social and environmental long term sustainability can be vital when balancing the needs of both a community and long term growth.

Sustainability refers to a number of aspects. There is the idea of economic sustainability. This is where people are able to pay their rent, businesses can stay open and an area can thrive over a long term period. This is a vital balance of the right businesses and services as well as affordable homes for people to stay in.

Another part of this sustainability is access to other areas. More people are likely to want to move to the area if they can get access to major city centres. Therefore it is vital that designers consider transportation in their designs. Ideally this transportation will be affordable and efficient as this will make it easier for people to travel between local areas.

Social issues also need to be considered. While luxury apartments may look good and attractive they will not serve their purpose if people cannot afford to move there. While there is nothing wrong with being ambitious and wanting to attract more people growth has to be viewed in the long term.

This is why ideally an area will not be solely reliable on one particular industry. This may be hard to predict but a good designer will often make it easier to attract a range of businesses to a local area. Reducing dependency on any one industry minimises the impact of any one particular industry collapsing. A good example of this are local areas that were dependent on manufacturing as a lot of primary industries moved out of some local areas or outsourced them to other countries.

A good design can also help to reduce social problems. Social clubs, skate parks and other facilities for young people can help to reduce youth delinquency. This may not totally wipe out youth crime but more engagement with the community can often help to reduce these problems in the long term.

Environmental sustainability also ensures that an area stays clean. Furthermore if the area is more energy efficient then people can afford to live in the area more as they pay less on their electricity bills. This is another aspect where ensuring people have the right facilities can have a massive long term effect.

In short the long term benefits of sustainable urban design can be potentially enormous. If you are someone who is involved it is important to engage with the local community. This will make it easier to create designs that are in keeping with the needs of the people who live in the local area. Use your local search engine to find out more about examples of how design can potentially affect the local area in the long term.




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