This book advocates a fresh approach to planning that anticipates, rather than reacts to, the changes in climate currently in process. Today’s spatial planning procedures rely on historical evidence instead of preparing for factors that by definition lie in the future, yet which are relatively uncontroversial: shortages of water, sea level rise and rises in average temperatures being but three examples. Arguing for more flexibility, the contributors view ‘complexity’ as the key to transforming the way we plan in order to better equip us to face uncertainties about our future environment.
In the early sixteenth century, Albrecht Altdorfer promoted landscape from its traditional role as background to its new place as the focal point of a picture. His paintings, drawings, and etchings appeared almost without warning and mysteriously disappeared from view just as suddenly. In Albrecht Altdorfer and the Origins of Landscape, Christopher S. Wood shows how Altdorfer transformed what had been the mere setting for sacred and historical figures into a principal venue for stylish draftsmanship and idiosyncratic painterly effects. At the same time, his landscapes offered a densely textured interpretation of that quintessentially German locus—the forest interior. This revised and expanded second edition contains a new introduction, revised bibliography, and fifteen additional illustrations.
This book shows that the problem of climate adaptation, which is described in social planning terms as ‘wicked,’ is at odds with the contemporary practice of spatial planning. The author proposes a new adjusted framework which is more adaptable to unpredictable, wicked, dynamic and non-linear processes. The inspiration for this new method is the behaviour of swarms: bees, ants, birds and fish are capable of self-organization, which enables the system to become less vulnerable to sudden environmental changes. The framework proposed in Swarm Planning consists of these four elements: Two levels of complexity, the first being the whole system and the second its individual components. Each of these has different attributes for adapting to change. Five layers, consisting of networks, focal points, unplanned space, natural resources and emerging occupation patterns. Each layer has its own spatial dynamic, and each is connected to a spatial scale. Non-linear processes, which emerge in different parts of the framework and include emerging patterns, connectedness and tipping points among others. Two planning processes; the first, ‘from small to large’ works upward from the slowest changing elements to more rapidly-changing ones. The second, ‘on the list of partners’ addresses each layer from networks through emerging occupation patterns. Swarm Planning applies this framework to a series of pilot studies, and appraises its performance using criteria for an adaptive landscape. The results show that the use of the Swarm Planning Framework reduces the vulnerability of landscapes as well as the impact of climate hazards and disasters, improves response to unexpected hazards and contains adaptation strategies. “This book is a must for planners in government and the private sector as it outlines the concept, strategies and techniques for swarm planning. It is also an important guide for policymakers looking to engage communities in a dialogue about the adaptation planning process.” Professor John Martin, La Trobe University “The ultimate value of the book lies in encouraging the planning community to consider options that go far beyond those offered by business-as-usual planning methodologies developed for a set of operating conditions that are fast becoming obsolete. As such it makes an important and much needed contribution to the field.” Assistant Professor Dr. Chrisna du Plessis, University of Pretoria
This is the first book on spatial entropy in the scientific literature. It links spatial entropy with landscape analysis, landscape diversity and geo-information. It gives all the essential tools that a researcher needs in order to study the spatial entropy of physical as well as artificial landscapes (created with artificial life, swarm intelligence etc). This book explores the fascinating world of the interplay between spatial entropy, spatial information, self-organization and emergence and gives geographers and landscape scientists several alternative mathematical methods to study them, i.e. Shannon's formula, measures from non-extensive thermodynamics, from directional statistics and network theory. An essential book for researchers in landscape analysis and geo-informatics.
In the near future the appearance and spatial organization of urban and rural landscapes will be strongly influenced by the generation of renewable energy. One of the critical tasks will be the re-integration of these sustainable energy landscapes into the existing environment-which people value and want to preserve-in a socially fair, environmenta
A bold and exciting exploration of the relationship and interactions between humans, the human landscape and the earth, looking at a diverse range of case studies from the nineteenth-century city to the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
This book was written to support community involvement in the design process, to help prevent negative outcomes that can result from a top-down design approach. The combination of community involvement and design is, at least in literature, not very extensive. Although much has been written about stakeholder involvement, this is often not directly related to design processes, which – most importantly – deprives community members of the opportunity to design their desired future themselves. The Design Charrette: Ways to Envision Sustainable Futures provides a theoretical foundation establishing the benefits of organizing a design charrette for community-based planning, supported by many practical examples. The book includes sections on collaborative learning, practical guidance, theory and case studies in many different contexts: long and short charrettes, urban and rural subjects, and Dutch, Chinese, Australian, Indian and European examples. Part I: General Theory offers a detailed overview of the charrette process, a chapter on innovations in organizational and community learning and a chapter on shifting paradigms in the design charrette. Part II presents a number of case studies, including the INternational Conference on Renewable Energy Approaches for the Spatial Environment (INCREASE); charrettes accomplished in two days in the communities of Sea Lake and Bendigo in Australia; a chapter on lessons for the future, describing rural participatory design in Rajasthan, India; a description of learning by practice in a high-pressure student atelier; a chapter entitled Design Charrettes for Sustainable Building in China and more. The Design Charrette challenges the conventional wisdom that good design by itself will bring about the benefits the designer envisions. By demonstrating and analyzing the effectiveness of design charrettes in personal development and learning, and as a way to share desired future pathways, the book benefits everyone who may be leading, considering or participating in a design charrette.
Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented rate; by 2050 three quarters of the world’s people will live in urban environments. The cars we drive, products we consume, houses we live in and technology we use will all determine how sustainable our cities will be. Bridging the increasing divide between cross-disciplinary academic insights and the latest practical innovations, Resilient Sustainable Cities provides an integrated approach for long term future planning within the context of the city as a whole system. In the next 30 years cities will face their biggest challenges yet, as a result of long term, or ‘slow burn’ issues: population growth will stretch to the breaking point urban infrastructure and service capacity; resource scarcity, such as peak oil; potable water and food security, will dramatically change what we consume and how; environmental pressures will change how we live and where and; shifting demographic preferences will exacerbate urban pressures. Cities can’t keep doing what they’ve always done and cope – we need to change current urban development to achieve resilient, sustainable cities. Resilient Sustainable Cities provides practical and conceptual insights for practitioners, researchers and students on how to deliver cities which are resilient to ‘slow burn’ issues and achieve sustainability. The book is organized around three overarching themes: pathways to the future innovation to deliver the future leadership and governance issues The book includes a variety of perspectives conveyed through international case studies and examples of cities that have transformed for a sustainable future, exploring their successes and failures to ensure that readers are left with ideas on how to turn their city into a resilient sustainable city for the future.
As different parts of the globe deal with the challenges of coastal settlements in the Anthropcene landscape of increasing uncertainty, the methods of design offer new strategies for developing and testing solutions. These complex problems require collaboration across disciplines, with scientists, planners, engineers, designers, and others able to work together in finding new ways of living in coastal and changing landscapes. Sustainable Coastal Design and Planning is an outstanding collection of essays by leading practitioners and academics from across the globe on design and planning for coastal resilience in the face of climate change. It thoroughly explores the questions of coastal change at different scales and provides international case studies that illustrate diverse strategies in different geographies and cultures. Taken as a whole, they canvas a broad palette of approaches and techniques for engaging these complex problems. Divided in two parts, this book focuses on how to develop solutions through multidisciplinary design thinking and informs all stakeholders on specific methods and practices that will be needed to work effectively in this dynamic space.
This book contributes to the literature on resilience, hazard planning, risk management, environmental policy and design, presenting articles that focus on building resilience through social and technical means. Bringing together contributions from Japanese authors, the book also offers a rare English-language glimpse into current policy and practice in Japan since the 2011 Tohoku disaster. The growth of resilience as a common point of contact for fields as disparate as economics, architecture and population politics reflects a shared concern about our capacity to cope with and adapt to change. The ability to bounce back from hardship and disaster is essential to all of our futures. Yet, if such ability is to be sustainable, and not rely on a “brute force” response, innovation will need to become a core practice for policymakers and on-the-ground responders alike. The book offers a valuable reference guide for graduate students, researchers and policy analysts who are looking for a holistic but practical approach to resilience planning.
