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

by Sim Van der Ryn, Peter Calthorpe

This classic text is a practical vision of how different types of communities can make the transition to a sustainable way of life that balances production and consumption, reduces resource waste and produces long-term social and ecological health. Our old patterns of growth are built on isolation―an isolation from the environment, an isolation between activities and ultimately an isolation between individuals. Whether city or suburb, these qualities of isolation are the same. Buildings ignore climate and place, uses are zoned into separate areas, and individuals are isolated by a lack of convivial public places. Sustainable patterns break down the separations; buildings respond to the climate rather than overpowering it, mixed uses draw activities and people together, and shared spaces reestablish community. -from Sustainable Communities

238 pages, Paperback

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]

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.