Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design
With Nature by Douglas Farr
More A General Guidebook For Professionals Than A Text
Written by the chair of the LEED-Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND)
initiative, Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature is both an
urgent call to action and a comprehensive introduction to sustainable
urbanism--the emerging and growing design reform movement that
combines the creation and enhancement of walkable and diverse places
with the need to build high-performance infrastructure and buildings.
Providing a historic perspective on the standards and regulations that
got us to where we are today in terms of urban lifestyle and attempts at
reform, Douglas Farr makes a powerful case for sustainable urbanism,
showing where we went wrong, and where we need to go. He then
explains how to implement sustainable urbanism through leadership and
communication in cities, communities, and neighborhoods. Essays written

by Farr and others delve into such issues as: Increasing
sustainability through density. Integrating transportation and land use.
Creating sustainable neighborhoods, including housing, car-free areas,
locally-owned stores, walkable neighborhoods, and universal accessibility.
The health and environmental benefits of linking humans to nature,
including walk-to open spaces, neighborhood stormwater systems and
waste treatment, and food production. High performance buildings and
district energy systems. Enriching the argument are in-depth case
studies in sustainable urbanism, from BedZED in London, England and
Newington in Sydney, Australia, to New Railroad Square in Santa Rosa,
California and Dongtan, Shanghai, China. An epilogue looks to the future
of sustainable urbanism over the next 200 years.
At once solidly researched and passionately argued, Sustainable
Urbanism is the ideal guidebook for urban designers, planners, and
architects who are eager to make a positive impact on our--and our
descendants--buildings, cities, and lives.
Personal Review: Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With
Nature by Douglas Farr
Thank god for the current trend toward the generalization of textbooks.
I don't mean generalization in the sense of broadening or watering-down of
subject matter, but rather in writing: many more texts in relatively technical
fields are being written so that they can be appreciated interdisciplinarily,
but professionals in related and sometimes even slightly-unrelated fields,
and other folks who may simply be interested in the topic. It's good
marketing, too, of course - it opens up much larger markets both
academically and professionally, and as long as the book contains enough
authority to convince instructors and professionals to purchase (or trust) it,
it's a win-win situation for the publisher and author as well as the audience.
Douglas Farr's Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature (Wiley,
2008; foreword by Andres Duany) falls into the category of win-win for
everyone. A very well-illustrated primer on the subject, it appeals to
planners, architects, landscape designers, engineers and other folks
interested in integrating their work into the larger natural environment.
Duany - the great architect and urban planner whose work with
Arquitectonica shaped what we think of as "Florida modern" and whose
current firm, DPZ, has become a de facto leader of the New Urbanism
movement - suggests that the problem with such books is often that they
most often fail to engage the reader in any kind of dialogue by simply being
too technical, or by failing to instruct by simply being too exhortative and
dogmatic. Luckily, Farr gives more than enough data and instruction in the
dozen linked essays and case studies to instruct - but never loses sight of
the fact that he's along with us for the ride, not talking at us but at our

elbow, learning along with us, sharing both successes and failures and an
honest interest in building communities that complement, rather than
exclude, the unmanufactured world.
There's so much more here than just part one's "Case for Sustainable
Urbanism." Other sections focus on the type of leadership and
communication strategies most helpful in implementing both small and
large-scale projects; technical tools and special techniques for community
involvement are also explored extensively. Other chapters discuss the role
of density, how to approach corridor situations, diagramming
neighborhoods and the various types of housing that complement specific
types of neighborhoods, "biophilia" - including everything from designing
walkable streets to integrating wastewater management - and extensive
essays on high-performance buildings and infrastructure. The last section
of the book is given over to case studies, which both illustrate the
preceding chapters with easy-to-understand real-world examples of
sustainable success stories & offer solutions for those of us slogging
through similar projects or at an impasse with a particular audience.
I recommend the book without hesitation to any planner interested in
integrating sustainable projects in urban infill or exurban growth
environments, as well as other aficionados of new urbanism topics. It's an
entertaining read AND a necessary reference; it will replace several books
on the already-overloaded shelves of a number of planners I know.
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