About this book
Compact living is sustainable living. High-density cities can support closer amenities, encourage reduced trip lengths and the use of public transport and therefore reduce transport energy costs and carbon emissions. High-density planning also helps to control the spread of urban suburbs into open lands, improves efficiency in urban infrastructure and services, and results in environmental improvements that support higher quality of life in cities. Encouraging, even requiring, higher density urban development is a major policy in the European Community and a central principle of growth management programmes used by cities around the world. However, such density creates design challenges and problems.
This book lays open for debate these related environmental and social issues, and maintains that high-density cities are the more sustainable form. The second and third sections present the work of a collection of experts in each of the related architectural and planning areas, who provide design strategies for each architectural and planning challenge, to form a definitive guide to designing successful high-density areas. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in sustainable urban development.
Contents
Part I: An Understanding of High Density
1. Understanding Density and High Density
2. Is the High Density the Only Option?
3 The Sustainability of High Density
4. Density and Urban Sustainability : An Exploration of Critical Issues
Part II: Climate and High Density Design
5. Climate Changes Brought About By Urban Living
6. Urbanization and City Climate: A Diurnal and Seasonal Perspective
7. Urban Climate in Dense Cities
Part III: Environmental Aspects of High Density Design
8. Thermal Comfort Issues and Implications in High Density Cities
9. Urban Environment Diversity and Human Comfort
10. Designing for Urban Ventilation
11. Natural Ventilation in High Density Cities
12. Sound Environment: High vs Low Density Cities
13. Designing for Daylighting
14. Designing for Waste Minimization in High Density Cities
15. Fire Engineering for Density Cities
16. Role of Urban Greeneries in High Density Cities
17. Energy in High Density Cities
18. Environmental Assessment: Shifting Scales
Part IV: High Density Spaces and Living
19. The Social and Psychological Issues of High-Density City Space
20. Sustainable Compact City and High Rise Building
21. Micro-climate in Public Housing - an Approach to Environment in Community Development
22. Designing for High Density Living: High rise, High Amenity & High Design
Customer Reviews
Biography
Edward Ng is a Professor at the Department of Architecture, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an environmental consultant to organizations and governments.