This study explains how, confronting ever-greater environmental pressures, we can plan for and achieve a sustainable environment. The book focuses on urban development, as population and resources and often the most severe environmental problems are concentrated in cities. It looks at the nature of environmental planning and at the main areas where changes have to be made: in energy policy, waste disposal and pollution control, construction, transport and infrastructure. The book concludes with chapters on planning a sustainable city and on how to bring the necessary changes and institutional arrangements about.

As global warming advances, regions around the world are engaging in revolutionary sustainability planning - but with social equity as an afterthought. California is at the cutting edge of this movement, not only because its regulations actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also because its pioneering environmental regulation, market innovation, and Left Coast politics show how to blend the "three Es" of sustainability--environment, economy, and equity. Planning Sustainable Cities and Regions is the first book to explain what this grand experiment tells us about the most just path moving forward for cities and regions across the globe. The book offers chapters about neighbourhoods, the economy, and poverty, using stories from practice to help solve puzzles posed by academic research. Based on the most recent demographic and economic trends, it overturns conventional ideas about how to build more livable places and vibrant economies that offer opportunity to all. This thought-provoking book provides a framework to deal with the new inequities created by the movement for more livable - and expensive - cities, so that our best plans for sustainability are promoting more equitable development as well. This book will appeal to students of urban studies, urban planning and sustainability as well as policymakers, planning practitioners, and sustainability advocates around the world.

Containing papers presented at the 9th International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning this volume brings together the work of academics, policy makers, practitioners and other international stakeholders and discusses new academic findings and their application in planning and development strategies, assessment tools and decision making processes. Problems related to development and planning are present in all areas and regions of the world. Accelerated urbanisation has resulted in both the deterioration of the environment and quality of life. Taking into consideration the interaction between different regions and developing new methodologies for monitoring, planning and implementation, new strategies can offer solutions mitigating environmental pollution and non-sustainable use of available resources. Energy saving and eco-friendly buildings have become an important part of modern day progress with emphasis on resource optimisation. Planning is a key part in ensuring that these solutions along with new materials and processes are efficiently incorporated. Planners, environmentalists, architects, engineers and economists have to work collectively to ensure that present and future needs are met. The papers in the book cover a number of topics, including: City planning; Regional planning; Rural developments; Sustainability and the built environment; Sustainability supply chain; Resilience; Environmental management; Energy resources; Cultural heritage; Quality of life; Sustainable solutions in emerging countries; Sustainable tourism; Learning from nature; Transportation; Social and political issues; Community planning; UN Sustainable Development Goals and Timber Structures.

Planning Sustainable Cities: An infrastructure-based approach provides an analytical framework for urban sustainability, focusing on the services and performance of infrastructure systems. The book approaches infrastructure as a series of systems that function in synergy and are directly linked with urban planning. This method streamlines and guides the planning process, while still highlighting detail, each infrastructure system is decoded in four "system levels". The levels organize the processes, highlight connections between entities and decode the high-level planning and decision making process affecting infrastructure. For each system level strategic objectives of planning are determined. The objectives correspond to the five focus areas of the Zofnass program: Quality of life, Natural World, Climate and Risk, Resource Allocation, Leadership. Developed through the Zofnass Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, this approach integrates the key infrastructure systems of Energy, Landscape, Transportation, Waste, Water, Information and Food and explores their synergies through land use planning, engineering, economics and policy. The size and complexity of infrastructure systems means that multiple stakeholders facing their own challenges and agendas are involved in planning; this book creates a common, collaborative platform between public authorities, planners, and engineers. It is an essential resource for those seeking Envision Sustainability Professionals accreditation.

Environmental protection is a global issue. But most of the action is happening at the local level. How can communities keep their air clean, their water pure, and their people and property safe from climate and environmental hazards? Newly updated, The Environmental Planning Handbook gives local governments, nonprofits, and citizens the guidance they need to create an action plan they can implement now. It’s essential reading for a post-Katrina, post-Sandy world.

This book includes contributions from scientists and representatives from government and non-governmental organisations working in the field of land management and use and on management of fires. The book is truly interdisciplinary and has both a research and application-oriented dimension. The list of topics includes sustainability and water management; sustainability and biodiversity conservation; the future sustainability of nature-based industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry; sustainability, people and livelihoods; sustainability and landscapes planning; sustainability and land use planning; handling and managing forest fires. The papers are innovative and cross-cutting, and many have practice-based experiences. Also, this book, prepared by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and the World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre (WSD-RTC), reiterates the need to promote a sustainable use of land resources today.