1st Edition

Low Carbon Cities Transforming Urban Systems

Edited By Steffen Lehmann Copyright 2015
    484 Pages 195 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    484 Pages 195 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Low Carbon Cities is a book for practitioners, students and scholars in architecture, urban planning and design. It features essays on ecologically sustainable cities by leading exponents of urban sustainability, case studies of the new directions low carbon cities might take and investigations of how we can mitigate urban heat stress in our cities’ microclimates. The book explores the underlying dimensions of how existing cities can be transformed into low carbon urban systems and describes the design of low carbon cities in theory and practice. It considers the connections between low carbon cities and sustainable design, social and individual values, public space, housing affordability, public transport and urban microclimates. Given the rapid urbanisation underway globally, and the need for all our cities to operate more sustainably, we need to think about how spatial planning and design can help transform urban systems to create low carbon cities, and this book provides key insights.

    Foreword by Donovan Storey and Phillip Kang, ‘Planning for sustainable, low carbon and green cities: the eco-city development paradigm’  Preface by Joo Hwa (Philip) Bay, ‘Holistic approaches to future cities’  Introduction: Low carbon cities – more than just buildings (Steffen Lehmann)  Part I: Classic texts on ecologically sustainable cities: conceptual evolutions and different schools of thought  1. Ecopolis – the regenerative city (Herbert Girardet)  2. Much better than climate change adaptation (Richard Register)  3. Imagining biophilic cities (Tim Beatley)  4. Sustainable cities are solar responsive cities (Norbert Lechner)  5. Trends in low carbon transport and urban development in thirty-three cities, 1995 to 2005 (Jeff Kenworthy)  6. ‘How city dwellers affect their resource hinterland – a spatial impact study of Australian households (Manfred Lenzen and Greg M. Peters)  Part II: New directions: case studies for low carbon city design  7. Future ecological design as urbaneering: new positions on city-making without scale (Mitchell Joachim)  8. A planning approach for the transformation to low carbon cities (Nico Tillie, Andy van den Dobbelsteen and Sebastian Carney)  9. Green districts and carbon engineering: increasing greenery, reducing heat island effects and generating energy (Steffen Lehmann)  10. From green buildings to sustainable urban design: two case studies (Christoph Ingenhoven, Martin Reuter and Ben Dieckmann)  11. Urban reclamation and regeneration in Seoul, South Korea (Robert Cervero)  12. From sustainable to low carbon cities: is India’s urban transformation triggering a paradigm shift? (Shipra Narang Suri)  Part III: Urban micro climates: mitigating urban heat stress  13. The urban heat island and low carbon cities (Gerald Mills)  14. A holistic view of the effects of urban heat island mitigation (David Sailor)  15. Urban micro climates: mitigating urban heat stress (Mattheos Santamouris and Dionysia-Denia Kolokotsa)  16. Energy reduction using natural ventilation in city planning (Yukiko Yoshida and Toshio Ichinose)  17. The impact on the increase of urban air temperature on planning and building energy consumption in tropical urban climates (Steve Kardinal Jusuf, Nyuk Hien Wong and Zhun Min Adrian Chong)  18. Urban heat islands: case studies from Frankfurt am Main, Arnhem and Ho-Chi-Minh City (Lutz Katzschner and Sabrina Campe)  19. The green plot ratio and the role of greenery in low carbon living (Boon Lay Ong)  20. Urban populations' vulnerability to climate extremes: mitigating urban heat through technology and water-sensitive urban design (Nigel Tapper, Andrew Coutts, Margaret Loughnan and Devna Pankhania)  21. Multi-scale analysis of surface layer urban heat island effect in five higher density precincts of central Sydney (Eshan Sharifi, Conrad Philipp and Steffen Lehmann)  Looking ahead: Applying low carbon principles to shift urban design paradigms in the Asia-Pacific region towards green urbanism (Steffen Lehmann and Katharine Thornton)  Glossary  Bibliography  Index

    Biography

    Steffen Lehmann is Founding Director of the Zero Waste Research Centre for Sustainable Design and Behaviour at the University of South Australia. He is a widely published author and scholar, and is Founding Director of the s_Lab Space Laboratory for Architectural Research and Design (Sydney–Berlin). A German-born architect and urban designer, he was editor-in-chief (2007–2014) of the US-based Journal of Green Building and an advisor to the Australian and German governments, city councils and industry. Since July 2014 he has been Head of School in the School of Built Environment at Curtin University, Perth.

    ‘For too long, the international debate about ‘green’ building has been far too object-focused. That is why Low Carbon Cities: Transforming Urban Systems is of utmost importance.’ Ulf Meyer, architecture journalist, Berlin

    ‘From the author who gave us the tour-de-force account of urban sustainability, The Principles of Green Urbanism, comes another timely read. Steffen Lehmann has assembled some of the best environmental urban minds in this new anthology that will become essential for all those who are looking for viable and sustainable solutions. Low Carbon Cities might just be the inspiration we need in our efforts to rethink and transform our cities towards the new, ecologically sustainable and resilient future.’ Professor Tigran Haas, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm

    ‘The rapid urbanisation underway in Asia is a challenge and an opportunity for urban sustainability. With chapters written by experts from different parts of the world, this book is a timely addition that addresses many aspects of how low carbon cities can contribute to curbing climate change. Its essays and case studies provide useful references for students, practitioners and researchers who are interested in the global issue of sustainable urban development.’ Professor Edwin H. W. Chan, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

    Low Carbon Cities: Transforming Urban Systems is an inspiring guide to exploring ways to create low carbon cities. The world’s cities play a major role in climate change as both sources of problems and pioneering projects for solutions. Low carbon solutions can demonstrate thriving participatory processes of systematic urban transformation. This excellent anthology illustrates how low carbon urban design can help to reduce or mitigate climate change-related emissions.’ Professor Thomas Spiegelhalter, Florida International University, Miami

    ‘This book delivers a holistic view of sustainable cities, bridging a variety of practice, from architecture to environmental studies to urbanism, green building and micro climates. It's a must-read textbook for graduates seeking to understand the complexity of urban environmental issues.’ Professor Wanglin Yan, Keio University, Japan