PROSE Award Finalist 2019
Association of American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence
As a follow up to his widely acclaimed Sustainable Urbanism, this new book from author Douglas Farr embraces the idea that the humanitarian, population, and climate crises are three facets of one interrelated human existential challenge, one with impossibly short deadlines. The vision of Sustainable Nation is to accelerate the pace of progress of human civilization to create an equitable and sustainable world. The core strategy of Sustainable Nation is the perfection of the design and governance of all neighborhoods to make them unique exemplars of community and sustainability. The tools to achieve this vision are more than 70 patterns for rebellious change written by industry leaders of thought and practice. Each pattern represents an aspirational, future-oriented ideal for a key aspect of a neighborhood. At once an urgent call to action and a guidebook for change, Sustainable Nation is an essential resource for urban designers, planners, and architects.
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Janette Sadik-Khan
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xviii
PART ONE: Our Default World
1: Where We Are 5
Civilization Timeline 5
Global hreats 6
National hreats 8
Global Barriers 10
National Barriers 12
Global Progress 14
National Progress 16
2: Case Studies: The Future Ahead of Schedule 24
PART TWO: Our Preferred Future
3: Where We Want to Go 68
A World Advancing Together 69
India 74
China 75
Nigeria 76
United States 77
PART THREE: Theory of Change
4: Igniting Community 82
Making “More Perfect” Communities 83
Are We here Yet? 84
5: Time 92
An Urgent Pivot that Falls on Our Watch 93
Mature Changelines 100
Emergent Changelines 102
6: Acceleration Strategies 116
How We Can Attain Our Preferred Future in Four Generations 117
How We Perceive Change 118
How Markets Inluence Change 124
Campaigns 125
Communities and Networks of Practice 128
Pilgrimage Sites 135
Professional Ethics and Liability 136
PART FOUR: The Practice of Change Why patterns? 146
7: Collective Effervescence 148
Build strong relationships between people and place through hope and hard work 150
Mary Nelson, PhD
Use participatory art to connect to your neighbor’s humanity 152
Kareeshma Ali
Every neighborhood needs an anchor house, magnetized to attract assets and demonstrate possibility 154
Isis Ferguson
Transform every public space into a welcoming place 156
Fred Kent
Increase “expressive surface area” in cities and make a place for creative ecology to lourish! 158
Steven Raspa
Celebrate life with immersive community events guided by the principles of Burning Man 160
Steve Raspa
Create a unique and visible food culture in every neighborhood 162
Janine de la Salle, MA, MCIP, RPP
Use seasonal landscaping to connect humans with nature, and with each other 168
Steve Nygren
8: Self-Governing Neighborhoods 172
Truly great neighborhoods dream, make aspirational plans, and implement them over time 174
Alicia Daniels Uhlig
Maintain the health of your neighborhood by holding annual planning checkups 176
Jessica Millman
Plan land use changes via a design charrette process that includes robust input and at least three feedback loops 178
Bill Lennertz
Conduct an annual “tactical intervention” that re-envisions how underutilized space can promote prosperity 180
Mike Lydon
Make large on-the-ground changes fast through clear vision, demonstration,and measurement 184
Janette Sadik-Khan, Seth Solomonow
Fill the gap in neighbourhood governance by creating an innovative business improvement district that includes residences 187
Jamie Simone, AICP, LEED-AP
Build immunity to gentriication 189
Antwi Akom, Tessa Cruz, Aekta Shah
Treat light poles as valuable public assets able to support advanced data in the future 191
Nancy Clanton, P.E.
Let district governance unfold over time 192
Daniel Slone
9: A Theater of Life 196
People need an identiiable spatial unit to belong to 198
Emily Talen, PhD
Maximize contact between communities of interest by designing third places 202
Aly Andrews
Provide microunit housing in a “two-hour neighborhood,” with a nearby grocery, park, and indoor third place 204
Patrick Kennedy
Turn strangers into neighbors by diversifying dwelling types in each building 206
Stefanos Polyzoides, Vinayak Bharne
Mix building types within every block 208
Daniel Parolek
Each building should have one architectural style 210
Steve Nygren
10: Vibrant Density 212
The “sweet spot” in a sustainable urban fabric is four to eight stories 214
Jason F. McLennan
Buildings should comprise a visible base, a middle no more than seven stories tall, and a top 216
Steve Mouzon
Make housing more afordable and proitable by reducing and separating parking 218
John G. Ellis, AIA, RIBA, Mohammad Momin
Urban parking should be considered temporary and designed to be redevelopment-ready 222
Douglas Farr
Build higher-density housing consistent with the average market potential: 100% in downtowns; 80% in in-towns; and 46% in outskirts 224
Todd Zimmerman, Laurie Volk, Christopher Volk-Zimmerman
Meet the demand for walkable living by permitting house-scale, multi-unit buildings 226
Daniel Parolek
Grant single-family homeowners the flexibility to add dwelling units on their lots 228
Brent Toderian
Welcome singles and small families by creating a market for coach houses 230
Tim Kirkby, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, ND
Become a developer, build incrementally, all small buildings 232
R. John Anderson
11: Mobility in Walkable Places 236
Create a bikesharing network with depots located at key destinations approximately 1,000 feet apart 238
Susan A. Shaheen, PhD
Respect that the current carsharing market is dynamic and varies place by place 240
Susan A. Shaheen, PhD
Dramatically reduce residential vehicle trips by up to 90% through land use and transportation design 242
David Fields, AICP
Save money and reduce nonresidential car trips by up to 32% by investing in demand management rather than parking supply 244
David Fields, AICP
Stop inducing vehicular demand by eliminating Level of Service 246
David Fields, AICP, Joshua Karlin-Resnick
Urban highways should be considered temporary and only remain in use through a periodic justiication of their existence 248
Andrew Faulkner, Chris Sensenig
Urban highways that cannot justify their existence should be removed via the following strategies 250
Andrew Faulkner, Chris Sensenig
12: Neighborhood Economy 258
Provide housing attainable by working singles and couples 260
Douglas Farr
Grow an economy of walk-to jobs by providing lower rent space for small-scale manufacturers 264
Ilana Preuss
Support neighborhood retail by scouting and cultivating entrepreneurial talent 268
Daryl Rose Davis
All retail should be accessible on foot 270
Robert J. Gibbs
Always delight pedestrians with storefront design, day and night 274
Robert J. Gibbs
Minimize landills by encouraging zero waste through social norms and pricing 276
Gail Vittori
13: Urban Waters 280
Treat every project as an opportunity to process rainwater and stormwater 282
Thomas H. Price, P.E.
Demand beauty when engineering rainwater and stormwater facilities 284
Thomas H. Price, P.E.
Design urban waters to delight the senses 288
Herbert Dreiseitl
Allow private stormwater to be processed on nearby streets and lands through a local management structure 292
Daniel Slone
Reduce freshwater demand by 36-75% by equipping neighborhoods to use nonpotable water 294
John Leys
Provide enough space to select low energy-consuming wastewater treatment technologies 298
John Leys
Pursue the vision of clean waters for all by choosing wastewater technologies that clean more than they pollute 300
Thomas E. Ennis, PE, LEED AP
Design wastewater treatment plants to be resource recovery and power centers 302
Debra Shore
Recapture the waste heat in wastewater and use it to offset heating demand 304
Brent Shraiberg
14: Stranded Carbon 310
Design all buildings for the future by designing them to be net-zero energy ready 312
Matthew Mcgrane, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Optimal glazing for buildings is a window-to-wall ratio of approximately 40% 314
Sachin Anand, Sameer Divekar
Build larger buildings, preferably thin,don’t sweat orientation 316
Sachin Anand, Sameer Divekar
Approach every project as though PHIUS+, the building energy code of the future, were in effect today 318
Katrin Klingenberg
Plan systems only at effective scales 320
Cole Roberts, PE
Reduce waste 3-27% by providing timely, relevant, and actionable data 322
Clare Butterield
15: The New Health, Safety, and Welfare 324
Design the built environment to guarantee that the easy choice is the healthy choice 326
Richard J. Jackson, MD
Improve community health and reduce costs by investing in local, people centered wellness 328
Larry Morrissey
For pedestrian safety, use street design to limit vehicle speeds to no more than 20 mph 330
Dan Burden, Samantha Thomas
Increase both property values and time spent outdoors by illing the gaps between walk-to parks 334
Grant M. Hromas
In legacy cities, ensure the future of every block through landscape reuse 336
Maurice Cox, James Macmillen, Erin Kelly, Alexa Bush, Omar Davis, Dan Rieden
To improve public health, safety, and welfare in buildings, make at least one required ire stair open and inviting and start it in the lobby 340
Scott Bernstein
End the race to build the world’s tallest building 342
Douglas Farr
Stay connected to the night sky through minimal adjustable street-level lighting 344
Nancy Clanton, PE
Respect circadian rhythms for all species by eliminating blue outdoor light 346
Nancy Clanton, PE
Make public outdoor lighting beautiful from every angle 348
Nancy Clanton, PE
Epilogue 353
Glossary 355
Index 361
