Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesis for Cities, Suburbs, and Towns

by Sim Van der Ryn (Editor), Peter Calthorpe (Editor), Paul Hawken

Presents four case studies that serve as illustrations for discussions of land use, building design, and service systems, all shaped to promote limited dependence on fossil fuels

238 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 1986

About the author

Simon Herman Van der Ryn was a Dutch-born American architect, researcher and educator. Van der Ryn's professional interest was applying principles of physical and social ecology to architecture and environmental design. He promoted sustainable design at the community scale and the building-specific scale. He designed single-family and multi-family housing, community facilities, retreat centers and resorts, learning facilities, as well as office and commercial buildings.

Reviews

[Mike Moskos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Peter Calthorpe on a podcast and decided to pick up this book.

While it is now somewhat dated (it was published in 1986), 25 years later the book is still an important and relevant one. It is amazing that the things they were looking to change 25 years ago in an era of expensive energy for the most part still need changed. Unfortunately, credit and oil got real cheap and we went back to our old energy consuming ways. But there is light on the end of the tunnel: the young prefer the life of dense, urban communities and maybe soon all of us will.