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Current policies in planning emphasise the importance of rejuvenating neighbourhoods. This new guide bridges the gap between rhetoric and reality, promoting an interprofessional and collaborative approach to making localities work. The objective is to design neighbourhoods that are healthy, safe, friendly and attractive for residents and users, whilst being more self-sustaining in terms of water, energy, local services and work. Social inclusion, accessibility and the quality of the public realm are central tenets. Shaping Neighbourhoods is distinctive in showing not only what should.

The only book that shows how to transform existing suburbs to create environment- and people-friendly neighborhoods...

'This book re-addresses the concepts of neighbourhood and community in a refreshing and challenging way. It will be of immense benefit, not only to town planners but also to al those professional and voluntary groups and politicians who seek to create the new communities of tomorrow'From the Foreword by Jed Griffiths, Past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute. There is widespread support for the principle of creating more sustainable communities, but much hazy, wishful-thinking about what this might mean in practice. In reality, we witness more the death of local neighbourhoods than their creation or rejuvenation, reflecting an increasingly mobile, privatized and commodified society. Sustainable Communities examines the practicalities of re-inventing neighbourhoods. It is neither an idealistic, utopian tract nor a designer's manual, but is, rather, a serious attempt to address the real issues. This collection of expert contributions: • examines the nature of local community and methods of building social capital • presents the findings of a world-wide survey of eco-neighbourhoods and eco-villages with case studies from the United Kingdom, Europe, America and Australia • develops a fresh perspective on the planning and design of neighbourhoods in urban areas, based on the eco-system approach • explores practical programmes for local resource management and the implications for community-based decision-making • provides a detailed appendix listing current eco-village and eco-neighbourhood schemes by country Written by an interdisciplinary team of social and environmental scientists, town planners and urban designers, this is a thought-provoking and important contribution to both the theory and practice of the development of sustainable communities.