Urban Ecology Australia exists to demonstrate and promote a more sustainable approach to the way we live. More people now live in cities than in rural areas, so if we are are to address major issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, resource scarcity and social equity, we need to focus on the urban form and look for ways in which we can improve it. Urban Ecology’s flagship ‘Ecocity’ development, Christie Walk in Adelaide, provides visitors with a tangible example of what is possible when good urban design is applied to the challenge of housing people in medium density near the city centre. Membership of Urban Ecology is open to anyone.
Ecosystem Services come to Town: greening cities by working with nature demonstrates how to make urban environments greener. It starts by explaining how, by mimicking nature and deliberately creating habitats to provide ecosystem services, cities can become more efficient and more pleasant to live in. The later sections offer solutions to the challenges of sustainable urban development by describing and explaining a whole range of approaches and interventions, beginning at the regional scale with strategic green infrastructure, looking at districts and precincts, with trees, parks and rain gardens and ending with single buildings, including with green roofs and living walls.
The Hunter and Central Coast Regional Environmental Management Strategy (HCCREMS) team and the councils of the region invite you to participate in the Alternative Futures Conference. Convened over three days in Newcastle NSW, the conference will deliver an exciting multidisciplinary event addressing sustainability, climate and risk, land use planning, biodiversity conservation, liveable communities and urban design.
Creating Places for People is a collaborative commitment to best practice urban design in Australia. Released at the end of 2011, the protocol is the result of two years of collaboration between peak community and industry organisations, States, Territories, Local Governments, and the Australian Government. The protocol does not take a one size fits all approach. It provides broad principles for urban design that take into account the unique characteristics of a location, people’s enjoyment, experience and health, and encourages excellence and collaboration in the design and custodianship of urban places.
The Guardian The future of urban living site is dedicated to the future of the built environment. As well as articles exploring the philosophy of the way we will live in the future, it will also report on a debate featuring high profile names from the world of architecture and building planning. At the heart of the discussion is a challenge to develop new ways of thinking and working, analysing the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the urban spaces of tomorrow.
The Green Roofs Australasia 5th National Conference will present international and national speakers presenting on recent projects, latest technology, new research, and best design practice for the design, installation & maintenance of greenroofs and greenwalls in the urban context as one solution to greening cities and mitigating impacts of climate change. In addition there is the 101 GreenRoof Training Workshop, Green Sites Sydney Tour, a free Trade Show and social events.
The new book Computer Modelling for Sustainable Urban Design – Physical Principles, Methods and Applications directly addresses the physics of urban sustainability and how urban sustainability may be modelled and optimised. Starting with an introduction to the importance and key aspects of the topic, it moves on to a detailed consideration of the urban climate and pedestrian comfort. Comprehensive techniques for the modelling and optimisation of urban metabolism are then described, together with means for defining sustainability as the fitness function to be optimised. It ends with an eye to the future of sustainable urban design and the means available to urban designers and governors to help them to secure a more sustainable urban future.
The Griffith University Environmental Futures Centre Fact Sheet Biodiversity and urban design: birds, ‘burbs and Brisbane’s bushland provides information on Brisbane’s significance as a “hotspot” for bird biodiversity, the impacts of urbanisation, and approaches to sustain the city’s bushland-dependent bird diversity.
How can we transform and future-proof the post-industrial city through strategies of architectural and urban design? The Principles of Green Urbanism advises that the answer is to use an energy-efficient, zero-carbon model based on renewable energy sources and renewable building typologies. The book presents different models for sustainable urban growth, based on the principles of ‘Green Urbanism’.
Heat islands are urban and suburban areas that are significantly warmer than their surroundings. Traditional, highly absorptive construction materials and a lack of effective landscaping are their main causes. Heat island problems, in terms of increased energy consumption, reduced air quality and effects on human health and mortality, are becoming more pressing as cities continue to grow and sprawl. Heat Islands brings together the latest information about heat islands and their mitigation. The book describes how heat islands are formed, what problems they cause, which technologies mitigate heat island effects and what policies and actions can be taken to cool communities.