Restoring the Balance
Sustainable neighborhoods hold the potential to address a number of critical environmental issues. First of all, they curb sprawl, which preserves habitat and watersheds, and dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions caused by lengthy commutes. Mixed-use designs that locate appropriate scale commercial activities and government services within the ‘village’ further reduce vehicle traffic as residents can walk or bike to most destinations. Residents might not even need to own a vehicle with enhanced public transit which higher densities will enable and the availability of ‘time share’ vehicles such as Flex Cars.
These neighborhoods further reduce emissions tied to climate change by generating their own clean, renewable energy through wind, photo voltaic, bio mass and other technologies. Because the generation is ‘distributed’ it is also far less susceptible to disruption. Through eco-design, utilizing materials with minimal embodied energy, along with site design and orientation for passive solar heat and cooling, emissions are further minimized.
By capturing precipitation from all impervious surfaces and recycling gray water through ‘living systems’, as well as incorporating the latest ‘low flow’ technologies, these new neighborhoods can support a far more dense population without increasing overall water use.
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