Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities
Picture a beautiful, green neighborhood where most of your needs could be met by walking, rolling, or accessing transit. There is a diversity of housing types with abundant affordable and middle-income options. Schools, services, and pedestrianized streets make the neighborhood family friendly. As cities turn brownfields into green fields and look to maximize public investment in transit and infrastructure, ecodistricts are the answer. Eliason shows that this type of affordable, climate-adaptive living option is possible anywhere.    
 
In Building for People, architect and ecodistrict planner Michael Eliason makes the case for low-carbon ecodistricts and presents tools for developing these residential and mixed-use quarters or neighborhoods. Drawing from his experience working in Europe and North America, he shows the potential for new climate-adaptive ecodistricts that directly and equitably address our housing shortages while simultaneously planning for climate change. Eliason explains that to create highly livable places with a low carbon impact, ecodistricts must incorporate ample social housing for a good economic and social mix of residents, invest in open space, create infrastructure that can adapt to a changing climate, and offer car-free or car-light realms.  He also looks at how public health, livability, climate adaptation, and quality of life are interconnected.
 
Full-color photos and illustrations show what is possible in ecodistricts around the world, drawing heavily from examples in German cities.
 
Building for People shows professionals involved in regulating, planning, or designing our communities that high-quality, low-carbon living is within reach.
 
1145411652
Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities
Picture a beautiful, green neighborhood where most of your needs could be met by walking, rolling, or accessing transit. There is a diversity of housing types with abundant affordable and middle-income options. Schools, services, and pedestrianized streets make the neighborhood family friendly. As cities turn brownfields into green fields and look to maximize public investment in transit and infrastructure, ecodistricts are the answer. Eliason shows that this type of affordable, climate-adaptive living option is possible anywhere.    
 
In Building for People, architect and ecodistrict planner Michael Eliason makes the case for low-carbon ecodistricts and presents tools for developing these residential and mixed-use quarters or neighborhoods. Drawing from his experience working in Europe and North America, he shows the potential for new climate-adaptive ecodistricts that directly and equitably address our housing shortages while simultaneously planning for climate change. Eliason explains that to create highly livable places with a low carbon impact, ecodistricts must incorporate ample social housing for a good economic and social mix of residents, invest in open space, create infrastructure that can adapt to a changing climate, and offer car-free or car-light realms.  He also looks at how public health, livability, climate adaptation, and quality of life are interconnected.
 
Full-color photos and illustrations show what is possible in ecodistricts around the world, drawing heavily from examples in German cities.
 
Building for People shows professionals involved in regulating, planning, or designing our communities that high-quality, low-carbon living is within reach.
 
45.14 In Stock
Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities

Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities

by Michael Eliason
Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities

Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities

by Michael Eliason

Paperback

$45.14 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 1-2 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

Picture a beautiful, green neighborhood where most of your needs could be met by walking, rolling, or accessing transit. There is a diversity of housing types with abundant affordable and middle-income options. Schools, services, and pedestrianized streets make the neighborhood family friendly. As cities turn brownfields into green fields and look to maximize public investment in transit and infrastructure, ecodistricts are the answer. Eliason shows that this type of affordable, climate-adaptive living option is possible anywhere.    
 
In Building for People, architect and ecodistrict planner Michael Eliason makes the case for low-carbon ecodistricts and presents tools for developing these residential and mixed-use quarters or neighborhoods. Drawing from his experience working in Europe and North America, he shows the potential for new climate-adaptive ecodistricts that directly and equitably address our housing shortages while simultaneously planning for climate change. Eliason explains that to create highly livable places with a low carbon impact, ecodistricts must incorporate ample social housing for a good economic and social mix of residents, invest in open space, create infrastructure that can adapt to a changing climate, and offer car-free or car-light realms.  He also looks at how public health, livability, climate adaptation, and quality of life are interconnected.
 
Full-color photos and illustrations show what is possible in ecodistricts around the world, drawing heavily from examples in German cities.
 
Building for People shows professionals involved in regulating, planning, or designing our communities that high-quality, low-carbon living is within reach.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781642833133
Publisher: Island Press
Publication date: 12/12/2024
Pages: 222
Product dimensions: 8.00(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Michael Eliason is an architect and founder of Larch Lab—part architecture and urbanism studio, part “think and do” tank focusing on research and policy, decarbonized low-energy buildings, and climate adaptive urbanism. Michael is also a writer, and an award-winning architect specializing in mass timber, social housing, baugruppen (urban cohousing), and ecodistricts. His career has been dedicated to advancing innovation and broadening the discourse on sustainable development, passivhaus, non-market housing, and decarbonized construction. He serves on the board of Seattle’s new Passivhaus Social Housing Developer PDA. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and became a Passivhaus consultant in 2010. His professional experience includes work in both the Pacific Northwest, and Germany. He has been a guest critic and lecturer at several institutions and has presented internationally.
 

Table of Contents

Foreword: Urbanism in the Planetary Crisis by Alex Steffen
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Chapter 1: The Compact, Climate Adaptive Ecodistrict 
Chapter 2: Rethinking Urban Development in the United States

Part I: Planning the Ecodistrict
Chapter 3: The Productive District 
Chapter 4: Net Zero and Fossil-Fuel-Free Districts 
Chapter 5: Unlocking Ecodistricts with Better Regulations 
Chapter 6: Planning the Ecodistrict
Chapter 7: Community Participation

Part II: Quality of Life and Public Health 
Chapter 8: Mobility and the District of Short Distances 
Chapter 9: A Good Economic and Social Mix 
Chapter 10: Urban Places and Spaces 
Chapter 11: Opportunities for New Forms of Living 
Chapter 12: Child-Friendly Districts 
Chapter 13: Air and Noise Pollution 

Part III: Climate Adaptation and Nature 
Chapter 14: Green Space 
Chapter 15: Sponge Cities and Water Loops 
Chapter 16: Active Resilience with Passive House 
Chapter 17: The Heat Is Already Here 

Part IV: Building Decarbonization 
Chapter 18: Circular Mass Timber Districts 
Chapter 19: Decarbonized Buildings 
Chapter 20: Futureproofing with Open Building 

Epilogue: Unleashing Brilliant Futures 
Notes 
About the Author
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews