Sustainable Nation Urban Design Patterns for the Future

PROSE Award Finalist 2019
Association of American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence

As a follow up to his widely acclaimed Sustainable Urbanism, this new book from author Douglas Farr embraces the idea that the humanitarian, population, and climate crises are three facets of one interrelated human existential challenge, one with impossibly short deadlines. The vision of Sustainable Nation is to accelerate the pace of progress of human civilization to create an equitable and sustainable world. The core strategy of Sustainable Nation is the perfection of the design and governance of all neighborhoods to make them unique exemplars of community and sustainability. The tools to achieve this vision are more than 70 patterns for rebellious change written by industry leaders of thought and practice. Each pattern represents an aspirational, future-oriented ideal for a key aspect of a neighborhood. At once an urgent call to action and a guidebook for change, Sustainable Nation is an essential resource for urban designers, planners, and architects. 

DOUGLAS FARR (FAIA, LEED AP, CNU-A) is an architect, urbanist, author, and passionate advocate for sustainable design thinking. Doug heads Farr Associates, a Chicago-based firm that plans and designs lovable, aspirational buildings and places. A native Detroiter, Doug Co-Chaired the development of LEED-ND and has served on the boards of urban sustainability organizations including the Congress for New Urbanism, Bioregional, EcoDistricts, and Elevate Energy. In 2017, Planetizen readers named him one of "the 100 most influential urbanists of all time."

Foreword xi
Janette Sadik-Khan

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xviii

PART ONE: Our Default World

1: Where We Are 5

Civilization Timeline 5

Global hreats 6

National hreats 8

Global Barriers 10

National Barriers 12

Global Progress 14

National Progress 16

2: Case Studies: The Future Ahead of Schedule 24

PART TWO: Our Preferred Future

3: Where We Want to Go 68

A World Advancing Together 69

India 74

China 75

Nigeria 76

United States 77

PART THREE: Theory of Change

4: Igniting Community 82

Making “More Perfect” Communities 83

Are We here Yet? 84

5: Time 92

An Urgent Pivot that Falls on Our Watch 93

Mature Changelines 100

Emergent Changelines 102

6: Acceleration Strategies 116

How We Can Attain Our Preferred Future in Four Generations 117

How We Perceive Change 118

How Markets Inluence Change 124

Campaigns 125

Communities and Networks of Practice 128

Pilgrimage Sites 135

Professional Ethics and Liability 136

PART FOUR: The Practice of Change Why patterns? 146

7: Collective Effervescence 148

Build strong relationships between people and place through hope and hard work 150
Mary Nelson, PhD

Use participatory art to connect to your neighbor’s humanity 152
Kareeshma Ali

Every neighborhood needs an anchor house, magnetized to attract assets and demonstrate possibility 154
Isis Ferguson

Transform every public space into a welcoming place 156
Fred Kent

Increase “expressive surface area” in cities and make a place for creative ecology to lourish! 158
Steven Raspa

Celebrate life with immersive community events guided by the principles of Burning Man 160
Steve Raspa

Create a unique and visible food culture in every neighborhood 162
Janine de la Salle, MA, MCIP, RPP

Use seasonal landscaping to connect humans with nature, and with each other 168
Steve Nygren

8: Self-Governing Neighborhoods 172

Truly great neighborhoods dream, make aspirational plans, and implement them over time 174
Alicia Daniels Uhlig

Maintain the health of your neighborhood by holding annual planning checkups 176
Jessica Millman

Plan land use changes via a design charrette process that includes robust input and at least three feedback loops 178
Bill Lennertz

Conduct an annual “tactical intervention” that re-envisions how underutilized space can promote prosperity 180
Mike Lydon

Make large on-the-ground changes fast through clear vision, demonstration,and measurement 184
Janette Sadik-Khan, Seth Solomonow

Fill the gap in neighbourhood governance by creating an innovative business improvement district that includes residences 187
Jamie Simone, AICP, LEED-AP

Build immunity to gentriication 189
Antwi Akom, Tessa Cruz, Aekta Shah

Treat light poles as valuable public assets able to support advanced data in the future 191
Nancy Clanton, P.E.

Let district governance unfold over time 192
Daniel Slone

9: A Theater of Life 196

People need an identiiable spatial unit to belong to 198
Emily Talen, PhD

Maximize contact between communities of interest by designing third places 202
Aly Andrews

Provide microunit housing in a “two-hour neighborhood,” with a nearby grocery, park, and indoor third place 204
Patrick Kennedy

Turn strangers into neighbors by diversifying dwelling types in each building 206
Stefanos Polyzoides, Vinayak Bharne

Mix building types within every block 208
Daniel Parolek

Each building should have one architectural style 210
Steve Nygren

10: Vibrant Density 212

The “sweet spot” in a sustainable urban fabric is four to eight stories 214
Jason F. McLennan

Buildings should comprise a visible base, a middle no more than seven stories tall, and a top 216
Steve Mouzon

Make housing more afordable and proitable by reducing and separating parking 218
John G. Ellis, AIA, RIBA, Mohammad Momin

Urban parking should be considered temporary and designed to be redevelopment-ready 222
Douglas Farr

Build higher-density housing consistent with the average market potential: 100% in downtowns; 80% in in-towns; and 46% in outskirts 224
Todd Zimmerman, Laurie Volk, Christopher Volk-Zimmerman

Meet the demand for walkable living by permitting house-scale, multi-unit buildings 226
Daniel Parolek

Grant single-family homeowners the flexibility to add dwelling units on their lots 228
Brent Toderian

Welcome singles and small families by creating a market for coach houses 230
Tim Kirkby, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, ND

Become a developer, build incrementally, all small buildings 232
R. John Anderson

11: Mobility in Walkable Places 236

Create a bikesharing network with depots located at key destinations approximately 1,000 feet apart 238
Susan A. Shaheen, PhD

Respect that the current carsharing market is dynamic and varies place by place 240
Susan A. Shaheen, PhD

Dramatically reduce residential vehicle trips by up to 90% through land use and transportation design 242
David Fields, AICP

Save money and reduce nonresidential car trips by up to 32% by investing in demand management rather than parking supply 244
David Fields, AICP

Stop inducing vehicular demand by eliminating Level of Service 246
David Fields, AICP, Joshua Karlin-Resnick

Urban highways should be considered temporary and only remain in use through a periodic justiication of their existence 248
Andrew Faulkner, Chris Sensenig

Urban highways that cannot justify their existence should be removed via the following strategies 250
Andrew Faulkner, Chris Sensenig

12: Neighborhood Economy 258

Provide housing attainable by working singles and couples 260
Douglas Farr

Grow an economy of walk-to jobs by providing lower rent space for small-scale manufacturers 264
Ilana Preuss

Support neighborhood retail by scouting and cultivating entrepreneurial talent 268
Daryl Rose Davis

All retail should be accessible on foot 270
Robert J. Gibbs

Always delight pedestrians with storefront design, day and night 274
Robert J. Gibbs

Minimize landills by encouraging zero waste through social norms and pricing 276
Gail Vittori

13: Urban Waters 280

Treat every project as an opportunity to process rainwater and stormwater 282
Thomas H. Price, P.E.

Demand beauty when engineering rainwater and stormwater facilities 284
Thomas H. Price, P.E.

Design urban waters to delight the senses 288
Herbert Dreiseitl

Allow private stormwater to be processed on nearby streets and lands through a local management structure 292
Daniel Slone

Reduce freshwater demand by 36-75% by equipping neighborhoods to use nonpotable water 294
John Leys

Provide enough space to select low energy-consuming wastewater treatment technologies 298
John Leys

Pursue the vision of clean waters for all by choosing wastewater technologies that clean more than they pollute 300
Thomas E. Ennis, PE, LEED AP

Design wastewater treatment plants to be resource recovery and power centers 302
Debra Shore

Recapture the waste heat in wastewater and use it to offset heating demand 304
Brent Shraiberg

14: Stranded Carbon 310

Design all buildings for the future by designing them to be net-zero energy ready 312
Matthew Mcgrane, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

Optimal glazing for buildings is a window-to-wall ratio of approximately 40% 314
Sachin Anand, Sameer Divekar

Build larger buildings, preferably thin,don’t sweat orientation 316
Sachin Anand, Sameer Divekar

Approach every project as though PHIUS+, the building energy code of the future, were in effect today 318
Katrin Klingenberg

Plan systems only at effective scales 320
Cole Roberts, PE

Reduce waste 3-27% by providing timely, relevant, and actionable data 322
Clare Butterield

15: The New Health, Safety, and Welfare 324

Design the built environment to guarantee that the easy choice is the healthy choice 326
Richard J. Jackson, MD

Improve community health and reduce costs by investing in local, people centered wellness 328
Larry Morrissey

For pedestrian safety, use street design to limit vehicle speeds to no more than 20 mph 330
Dan Burden, Samantha Thomas

Increase both property values and time spent outdoors by illing the gaps between walk-to parks 334
Grant M. Hromas

In legacy cities, ensure the future of every block through landscape reuse 336
Maurice Cox, James Macmillen, Erin Kelly, Alexa Bush, Omar Davis, Dan Rieden

To improve public health, safety, and welfare in buildings, make at least one required ire stair open and inviting and start it in the lobby 340
Scott Bernstein

End the race to build the world’s tallest building 342
Douglas Farr

Stay connected to the night sky through minimal adjustable street-level lighting 344
Nancy Clanton, PE

Respect circadian rhythms for all species by eliminating blue outdoor light 346
Nancy Clanton, PE

Make public outdoor lighting beautiful from every angle 348
Nancy Clanton, PE

Epilogue 353

Glossary 355

Index 361

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