Sustainability
The most successful parts of our towns and cities have sustained themselvesat a social and economic level for many centuries. They foster longevity becausethey are receptive to change and reuse.
Many of them already incorporate basic principles ofenvironmental sustainability, such as creating attractive outdoor spaces, and providing for numerous different activities within walking distance, as well as offsetting natural risks like floods.
These historic patterns are a starting point for sustainable urban design today, whether it is creating new communities, extending existing ones, or healing damaged ones. A further challenge comes from the need to transform brownfield land, often blighted by previous uses, into sustainable and attractive communities.
The key is to create places whose natural and designed features act together to create a self-sustaining appeal.An essential part of this formula is a local economy underpinned by a mix of accommodation that appeals to a wide range of users and investors.
Being able to provide a variety of opportunities for people of different socio-economic groups drives long-termsuccess. People need variety of housing types and tenures,a range of spaces for economic activity and the community in frastructure needed to sustain that activity.
Environmental sustainability depends on matching whatpeople want and the patterns of use they will create withthe characteristics of the site and the potential of newand more efficient technologies. Natural qualities of thesite like solar orientation, water courses or wind patterns,and human-made ones like power, communicationsand transport infrastructure may offer possibilities that imaginative design can unlock – especially with efficient new methods for power generation and distribution,such as combined heat and power plants or a multi-utility service company.