Provides Insight About The Environmental Problems Plaguing The Urban Areas In A Cross-Country Perspectives. Emphasizes The Partnership Between The Local Government And The Community In Urban Environmental Management Sustainable Development. Provides Case Studies Also.

The urban environment – buildings, cities and infrastructure – represents one of the most important contributors to climate change, while at the same time holding the key to a more sustainable way of living. The transformation from traditional to sustainable systems requires interdisciplinary knowledge of the re-design, construction, operation and maintenance of the built environment. Sustainable Urban Environments: An Ecosystem Approach presents fundamental knowledge of the built environment. Approaching the topic from an ecosystems perspective, it shows the reader how to combine diverse practical elements into sustainable solutions for future buildings and cities. You’ll learn to connect problems and solutions at different spatial scales, from urban ecology to material, water and energy use, from urban transport to livability and health. The authors introduce and explore a variety of governance tools that support the transformation process, and show how they can help overcome institutional barriers. The book concludes with an account of promising perspectives for achieving a sustainable built environment in industrialized countries. Offering a unique overview and understanding of the most pressing challenges in the built environment, Sustainable Urban Environments helps the reader grasp opportunities for integration of knowledge and technologies in the design, construction and management of the built environment. Students and practitioners who are eager to look beyond their own fields of interest will appreciate this book because of its depth and breadth of coverage.

This paper describes a strategic approach to urban environmental planning and management that is based on participation, building commitment, and choosing effective policy interventions. Five key policy areas are emphasized : (i) mobilizing public support and participation, (ii) choosing policy instruments that will change behavior, relieve conflicts, and encourage cooperative arrangements, (iii) building local institutional capacity, (iv) strengthening urban service delivery, and (v) increasing local knowledge about urban environment. Case studies are presented to show how institutional, informational, political, and technical problems related to urban environment management can be addressed in a strategic manner. (Adapté du résumé des auteurs).

First published in 1999, this volume features contributors specialising in urban planning and examines the challenges of environmental planning in urban areas, focusing on policy, management, organisation and policy. A collection of ground-breaking and thought-provoking papers, they are written by some of the most distinguished, internationally known names in the field of urban sustainability. The authors go beyond debates about approach and policy options to look at what is taking place. The experience of urban environmental management is presented from several countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia. They examine over twenty case studies in contributing to existing knowledge of environmental management practice in urban areas, emphasising the issue in both Northern and Southern countries in relation to growing awareness in the North and rapid city growth in the South. While containing critical analyses, the emphasis is placed on achievements and promising developments of vital importance to local administrators, policy-makers, town planners, academics, environmentalists and students alike.

Originally published in 1997, Urban Environmental Planning provides a groundbreaking overview of innovative methods and techniques for measuring and managing the environmental effects of urban land uses on other urban activities. Fully revised and updated, this second edition brings together a team of leading environmental planners and policy makers from the US, UK, Europe and SE Asia to address the central questions confronting sustainable urban development. Typical questions include: How can you measure and manage the negative environmental effects of intrusive urban activities such as manufacturing and transport on sensitive land uses including residential and recreational areas? Can a balance be found between reducing these effects through means such as separating conflicting land uses? While other sources identify the need for effective programmes to improve urban environmental quality, this volume describes and assesses analytical methods and implementing programmes practised by leading communities around the world.

In rapidly growing developing country cities, distorted land markets and ineffective urban land management often have resulted in the degradation of environmentally fragile land ; occupation of hazard-prone areas; loss of cultural resources, open space, and prime agricultural land; and excessive urban sprawl. The paper presents the most promising land management approaches and instruments for protecting sensitive resources, managing hazard-prone areas, protecting cultural resources, conserving open space, discouraging excessive urban sprawl, and managing prime agricultural land. (Adapté du résumé de l'auteur).