Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Development

Thirteen years ago, the first edition of Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Development examined the question: is the environmental doomsday scenario inevitable? It then presented the underlying concepts of sustainable land-use planning and an array of alternatives for modifying conventional planning for and regulation of the development of land. This second edition captures current success stories, showcasing creative, resilient strategies for fundamentally changing the way we alter our landscape.
See What's New in the Second Edition: Explains the relationship between innovative land-use planning and nature's impartial, inviolate biophysical principles that govern the outcome of all planning Focuses on how decision making that flows from and aligns with nature's biophysical principles benefits all generations by consciously protecting and maintaining social-environmental sustainability Proposes an alternative framework for municipal comprehensive plans framing the community as a living system Written by two experienced professionals in sustainable development planning, the second edition revisits the successes as well as barriers to progress associated with establishing new community development models, such as EcoMunicipalities. The authors emphasize the necessity and potency of citizen involvement and initiatives. They provide proposals for alternative approaches that rest on lessons from history as well as the research, wisdom, and vision of many individuals and communities whose work they have studied. The book supplies a sturdy platform on which to continually build and innovate progress in sustainable land use planning.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE CONCEPTThe Elements of SustainabilityHuman RelationshipsSummaryEndnotesTRUE COMMUNITY IS FOUNDED ON A SENSE OF PLACE, HISTORY, AND TRUSTCommunity HistoryMoney Versus WealthThe Value of Social CapitalReweaving the Social FabricGrieving for Our Environmental/Social LossesOf Leisure and CommunitySummaryEndnotesNATURE’S INVIOLABLE BIOPHYSICAL PRINCIPLES AND LAND USE PLANNINGPrinciple 1—Everything Is a RelationshipPrinciple 2—All Relationships Are Inclusive and Productive of an OutcomePrinciple 3—The Only True Investment in Our Global Ecosystem Is Energy from SunlightPrinciple 4—All Systems Are Defined by Their FunctionPrinciple 6—All Relationships Are Self-Reinforcing Feedback LoopsPrinciple 7—All Relationships Have One or More Trade-OffsPrinciple 8—Change Is a Process Of Eternal BecomingPrinciple 9—All Relationships Are IrreversiblePrinciple 10—All Systems Are Based on Composition, Structure, and FunctionPrinciple 11—All Systems Have Cumulative Effects, Lag Periods, and ThresholdsPrinciple 12—All Systems Are Cyclical, but None Are Perfect CirclesPrinciple 13—Systemic Change Is Based on Self-Organized CriticalityPrinciple 14—Dynamic Disequilibrium Rules All SystemsSummaryEndnotesPLANNING FOR A LOCAL LIVING ECONOMY: REINVENTING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLANLiving Economy DefinedCommunity as EcosytemComprehensive Plan for a Local Living EconomySummaryEndnotesPLANNING FOR A LOCAL LIVING ECONOMY: NATURE’S BIOPHYSICAL REQUIREMENTSProtecting Nature’s Free ServicesProtecting Diversity through Constraints to Development and Land Use PlanningThe Misguided Role of Today’s Planning for TransportationWhen A Community’s Population Begins to Destroy Its Quality of LifeIn The End, It Is a Question Of Biological Carrying Capacity Versus Cultural Carrying CapacitySummaryEndnotesREFRAMING THE PROBLEMAll of Life Is CyclicWe Make What We AreHumankind in AmnesiaCompeting Instincts and Ecological UnconsciousRemoving the Blame FactorSummaryEndnotesMODELING THE PLANNING PROCESS AFTER NATUREZero WasteDiversity within the Planning ProcessStrengthening The Flow of Energy Through Self-OrganizationFree-Flowing CommunicationOpen Space Planning, an Alternative ProcessStep-By-Step: A Suggested Process for Developing a Comprehensive PlanSummaryEndnotesIMPLEMENTING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLANZoning OrdinancesTransitioning to Local Living Economy Land Use PracticesOther Regulatory Approaches to Land Use ControlNon-Regulatory Methods of Controlling Land UseSummaryEndnotesMONITORING PROGRESSChange and Our Perception of ItCreating Measures of ProgressOutputs Vs. OutcomesSummaryEndnotesONGOING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT—CITIZENS AS PLANNERSKnowing Our AudienceWhat Do We Need To Be Communicating and HowIs a "Paradigm Shift" Occurring?Barriers to OvercomeSummaryEndnotes

Silberstein M.A., Janeand Chris Maser