Research and Markets: Designing Sustainable Cities

DUBLIN-(Business Wire)-September 24, 2009 - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/13d688/designing_sustaina) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new report "Designing Sustainable Cities" to their offering.

This book offers practical solutions to achieving sustainable urban design and development, and helps designers communicate these solutions effectively to planners, developers and policy makers.

Addressing sustainability issues in relation to the design and planning of the urban environment is a complex, multi-disciplinary issue and solutions never arrive from a single perspective. The authors use design as a facilitating factor to consider when and by whom decisions that contribute to sustainability are made, and through three major city-centre case studies - London, Manchester and Sheffield - they consider social, environmental and economic factors and examine their relationship to the decision-making process.

Designing Sustainable Cities begins by identifying the key processes and lead decision-makers. The following chapters develop an understanding of the dimensions of sustainability, presenting the tools by which the dimensions can be analysed. Later chapters illustrate the trade-offs and the relationships between the dimensions of sustainability - with case study examples - as well as the use of IT in making design decisions. Finally, the book makes recommendations for future approaches to the design, development and on-going management of urban environments.

Designing Sustainable Cities covers:

latest research data on the urban environment and the interaction between social, economic and environmental issues
methods of understanding the context in which urban design takes place
guidance on the codes of practice
process maps to help understand the context, make trade-offs and develop design solutions that allow for change
methods for testing the consequences of design proposals and monitoring outcomes.

To be sustainable, design professionals must develop innovative and creative solutions that tackle social, environmental and economic issues at the same time - and then communicate these solutions effectively to planners, developers and policy makers. Addressing sustainability issues in relation to the design and planning of the urban environment is a complex, multi-disciplinary issue and solutions never arrive from a single perspective. This book uses design to consider when and by whom decisions that contribute to sustainability are made. Using three major city-centre case studies (London, Manchester and Sheffield) it considers social, environmental and economic factors and examines their relationship to the decision-making process.

Designing Sustainable Cities begins by identifying the key processes and lead decision-makers. The following chapters develop an understanding of the dimensions of sustainability, presenting the tools by which the dimension can be analysed. The later chapters illustrate the trade-offs and the relationships between the dimensions of sustainability - with case study examples - as well as the use of IT in making design decisions. Finally, the book makes recommendations for future approaches to the design, development and on-going management of urban environments. Designing Sustainable Cities covers:

Latest research data on the urban environment and the interaction between social, economic and environmental issues

Methods of understanding the context in which urban design takes place

Guidance on the codes of practice

Process maps to help understand the context, make trade-offs and develop design solutions that allow for change

Methods for testing the consequences of design proposals and monitoring outcomes.

Key Topics Covered: