The Ecological Design and Planning Reader

The Ecological Design and Planning Reader by Forster O. Ndubisi

This is a collection of essays on "Ecological Design." The general idea is sound. We should pay attention to the ecology and consider our development as just one part of the ecosystem. The implementation is where issues come. In one essay, it is mentioned that no place has fully implemented "smart growth". Instead, interested parties have just picked the pieces that interest them. Similar issues can be seen in other ecological developments. The Woodlands Texas is given as an example. Natural storm systems are in place with a large park area. This is an environmental win in one area. However, it also involved cutting down forest for large lot suburban development. Large roads criss cross the area, with many cul-de-sacs preventing alternate travel. Freeway travel is the primary way to and from the area. A large amount of land is used and will be difficult to return to natural conditions.

Problems occur in other areas of attempted ecological development. A golf course may maintain part of the original ecosystem. But it also requires a large amount of built up space. A subdivision may follow the contours of the land, but be car centric with huge lots. Is something ecological if it is just a playground for the rich? Once land is allocated for urban or suburban uses, it is almost impossible to get it back to a state of nature. Even "smart" development could be negative if it is not done in a scalable way. Our current political boundaries were set in the "foot and horse" travel era, and don't work well for the car era. It is too easy to jump to a different city or county to sidestep any building requirement.