Sustainable Urban Environments: An Ecosystem Approach

Citation

Storey, J. (2012), "Sustainable Urban Environments: An Ecosystem Approach", Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 316-316. https://doi.org/10.1108/20466091211287173

At over 400 pages and with 17 authors this is a prodigious work and the editors have done a wonderful job of creating a seamless and well‐ordered dissertation on this complex subject. For this is no mere collection of academic papers on loosely related subjects connected to the subject at hand, but a successful attempt to address the many disparate elements of this complex topic and bring them together into a convincing and comprehensive whole. It does this by using an ecosystem approach to provide the binding and ordering framework for the multifarious subjects and issues that come within the general ambit of the sustainable urban environment descriptor. This concept is very valuable in helping the reader to appreciate and understand the complex set of interconnected issues that make up a sustainable urban environment.

The book's implicit intent seems to be as a text for tertiary students and in that connection it is possible to envisage a whole series of possible uses. It would also be very useful for practicing professionals who wish to better understand the scope and direction of the work undertaken by allied professionals when operating in an integrated design environment.

After an excellent introduction the book provides an overview of ecosystem thinking and urban ecology, moves on to chapters on water, energy and materials flows in the urban condition and then brings this information together to explain how these systems influence human living conditions in urban environments in terms of air quality, human health and liveability. The book continues with chapters on urban transport, the impact of urban form on sustainability and specific strategies and tools to aid integrated design. Following chapters discuss governance tools and change processes that can be used in to develop sustainable urban environments, while the concluding chapter reflects on the material presented in the book.

The content of the book seamlessly builds from one chapter to the next in a way that facilitates readers’ understanding of the subjects addressed and enables them to gain a valuable and informed overview of this very complex subject. It also provides a useful gateway to further in‐depth study in all the subjects covered. While this book is excellent in many ways, it could be made even more useful by the inclusion of more discussion and reflection on trends and future directions at the end of each chapter in the next edition.

Congratulations to all involved.