Neighborhood Design Center, Inc.
Sustainable Urbanism for the Madison Area?
On September 17, Doug Farr gave a lecture on Sustainable Urbanism at Monona Terrace in Madison. Doug is the author of Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature, a Principal with Farr Associates in Chicago, and the Chair of the Core Committee for the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) Certification program. His presentation can be viewed on WisconsinEye Television’s website.
Sustainable Urbanism is defined as “walkable and transit-served urbanism integrated with high-performance buildings and high performance infrastructure.” High performance buildings meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards. In otherwords, they are “green” buildings that reduce energy consumption, are highly energy efficient, use recycled and non-toxic materials, use natural lighting, etc. High perferformance infrastructure refers to streets and other public infrastructure that restores and enhances natural hydrologic (water) systems, reduces energy, provides habitat, etc.
Sustainable Urbanism brings together the three movements of Smart Growth, New Urbanism, and Green Building to create a holistic approach to the built environment that takes into account location, urban design, and building design. LEED-ND is a certification program that establishes measurements to determine if a project qualifies as sustainable urbanism. As such, it seeks to create a brand for sustainable urbanism.
How can we achieve sustainable urbanism in the Madison, Wisconsin area? According to the definition, sustainable urbanism projects would need to be:
Walkable - requires compact (8 dwelling units per residential acre or more) communities with a wide range of housing types within walking distance (1/4 - 1/2 mile) of many daily activities, connected by pedestrian-friendly streets.
Transit-served - LEED-ND defines “adequate transit service” as “during weekday peak periods (5:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 8:30 p.m.) , at least 4 buses (including bus rapid transit), streetcars, or light rail trains per hour OR at least 5 heavy passenger trains or ferries per weekday peak period.”
High Performance Buildings - buildings that meet LEED Certification requirements.
High Performance Infrastructure - Public infrastructure that maximizes stormwater infiltration, greywater recycling, solar reflectivity, creates landscapes for people and wildlife, and adheres to best management construction practices to minimize erorsion and environmental damage.
There are examples in the Madison area of each of those 4 components of sustainable urbanism, but nowhere as far as I know that combines them all. We have some walkable, transit-served neighborhoods with energy consuming buildings and impervious surfaces that pollute our lakes. We have green buildings that are not located in walkable, transit-served areas. And we have a growing number of green infrastructure examples such as rain gardens, rain barrels, pervious pavers, green roofs, and bio-swales; although nowhere near enough to improve water quality.
Sustainable urbanism is great at the site or project level (of varying sizes or scales). But for a city or metro area it needs to be tied to a robust regional transit system that is supported with policies to tie development to transit nodes. A merging, if you will, of sustainable urbanism with Phil Lewis’ vision of regional design.
How can our existing neighborhoods better achieve all of the elements of sustainable urbansim? How can we come together to create visions for new projects that will significantly raise the bar to achieve and set the standard for sustainable urbansim? Should we:
- hold more community meetings to lay out a sustainable urbanism/neighborhood agenda?
- hold design sessions to create visions and designs for sustainable urbanism?
- start neighborhood level conversations about how to make our neighborhood more sustainable?
Are you interested in any of these or other efforts?
on October 19th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I’m looking forward to expanding my business by hosting workshops and discussions on “creating environments for lifestyles of health and sustainability” at TileArt’s new location. Celebrating our 9th year on Monroe Street, TileArt has moved from Knickerbocker Place in April, and we’re still in the process of setting up the new showroom at 1719 Monroe Street, next door to Orange Tree Imports. We’ll start having open hours during the first week in November.
I attending the first Eco-City conference in Berkeley, CA, about 20 years ago, where Fritjof Capra (who I’d love to see in Madison - see www.FritjofCapra.net) was the main speaker. I have also been supportive of Phil Lewis’ vision ever since he gave me a tour about 9 years ago, of his office space that Marshall Erdman gave to him. Your interest in achieving sustainable urbanism is complementary to the workshops I was hoping to have, related to daily choices we make in how we live within our home and work environments and how these choices relate to the local and larger community around us. Maybe it’s best to start with the bigger picture and work from the outside in. Or, maybe it’s the choices we make regarding where we want to go and what we bring back home that determines the sustainability of the neighborhood, so working from the inside out may be the place to begin.
If you would like to have meetings at TileArt, please let me know. It’s going to be a beautiful space and I’d like to open it up to the local community.
on October 19th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Nan,
Thanks much for your comment. It would be great to hear more about eco-cities from you! Fritjof Capra would be great to have in Madison. I remember reading the Tao of Physics a long time ago. Your question about where to start - big picture or personal level - is a good one. I think your point about starting with our choices and making connections to the larger world makes sense. People relate best to their personal level first (typically). I hope to engage people also at the neighborhood level - looking at how their neighborhood can become and function more sustainably; while also building stronger community through connections and working together towards a goal.
And thanks for your offer at TileArt. That sounds great! I’ll keep it in mind.
on March 12th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog? Residential Solar Power
on March 23rd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Yes, that would be fine.