Patrick Condon's new book is called Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities: Design Strategies for the Post Carbon World. Patrick sent an email to other Pringle Creek Team members upon its publication
and had this to say:
My new book is out. In it I try to simplify the complex, and boil down the work that we have all been doing into a set of simple to understand "rules". These rules are nested, meaning they represent a systems approach to sustainable cities where all things are considered together in their economic, social, and ecological relationships. There are a few things that make this book different from any other, I think:
--It recognizes cities as they are, not as we imagine they are. The concept of the streetcar city embodies this aspect.
--It compares and contrasts US and Canadian circumstances, thus shattering a number of myths about why our cities developed the way they did, and
--It recognizes the importance of green infrastructure as the very underpinnings of a sustainable high density, walkable, transit city.
Naturally SFA and Pringle Creek are a big part of the book, used to illustrate all seven principles and mostly to show a real world example of green infrastructure in action. I hope that the book helps elevate the profile of the project(s) and that more people end up knowing about what to me seems like a heroic and crucial effort.
The paragraph below is from the promotional materials:
The IPCC has declared that global greenhouse gas emissions, which are inordinately produced by North American cities, must be radically reduced by the year 2050--or risk global environmental collapse. But as the world becomes increasingly more urban, how can our cities reduce greenhouse gas emissions and become more energy efficient? This book clearly describes how changes in the design of our communities can achieve dramatic reductions in carbon emissions, improved livability, and the reduction of the cost of building and maintaing infrastucture systems. With specific and well-tested examples he demonstrates that it is indeed possible to create more compact, energy-efficient, pedestrian-friendly, and transit-served regions with green infrastructure systems that reduce resource consumption and pollution of all kinds.
Patrick is James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Liveable Environments at the University of British Columbia. He has served as friend and both technical and creative advisor to Sustainable Fairview and Pringle Creek Community. Here is our post about his previous book, Design Charrettes for Sustainable Communities.
