Designing High-Density Cities: For Social and Environmental Sustainability - Tapa dura

'A distinctive and comprehensive selection of conceptual ideas covering the 'art and science' of sustainable city design.' Khee-Poh Lam, Professor of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University, USA 'Designing High-Density Cities is a unique contribution. It is an excellent overview of the state of the art on design process for cities presenting high densities. The book is an outcome of long standing research in the area of urban sustainability and includes contributions from internationally acclaimed researchers and building scientists. This is a valuable reference not only for academics but also for architects and practitioners.' Matheos Santamouris, Professor of Energy Physics, University of Athens, Greece 'An outstanding collection of papers on a key issue in planning today. Starting with the essentials of high density building, this book then explores the complex relations of high-density metropolitan areas It goes without saying that the combination of such important themes fills a gap in our knowledge and that no planner can ignore this book' Tejo Spit, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Utrecht University, The Netherlands 'At first glance this may not seem to be a text book for urban designers but I wish that it had been available when I was working on large projects in Hong Kong... the twenty two contributors to this book comprehensively cover the gamut of issues of building at high densities, the growth of mega cities and their environmental consequences.' Urban Design, Issue 115, 2010

Compact living is sustainable living. High-density cities can support closer amenities, encourage reduced trip lengths and the use of public transport and therefore reduce transport energy costs and carbon emissions. High-density planning also helps to control the spread of urban suburbs into open lands, improves efficiency in urban infrastructure and services, and results in environmental improvements that support higher quality of life in cities. Encouraging, even requiring, higher density urban development is a major policy and a central principle of growth management programmes used by planners around the world. However, such density creates design challenges and problems. A collection of experts in each of the related architectural and planning areas examines these environmental and social issues, and argues that high-density cities are a sustainable solution. It will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in sustainable urban development.