A lot of what I do is working with landowners and developers to create more sustainable communities. The built environment will hopefully be around for a long time. Although, as with some high rise developments in the sixties, and other developments, this is not always the case. Creating a sustainable community does in part mean creating somewhere that people want to be, and will continue to want to be there in many decades time. So some of what creating a sustainable development is about is really good urban design, or good master planning. It does go beyond that, looking at how people will live their lives within the development. Creating something that is fit for purpose in the longer term, and flexible, able to adapt as conditions change. Its also about linking with a range of different specialisms, bringing those together, and getting them to consider what they are doing and recommending in the broader context of sustainability.
Sustainability in the built environment really is about sustainability in its broadest context applied to a specific area, in this case the built environment. So its taking the ideas within sustainability, the spiritual, environmental, social and economic issues, and considering how they affect the design of the built environment, and also (importantly, but sometimes not addressed) the use of the development over its lifetime. It is a fascinating area to work in, as the consequences of what is implemented are long term. We are continually learning about what works, remembering how things were done in the past and adapting that to the current day. And noticing what is and isn’t working. Key to that is working with people once they are living somewhere, so future phases can learn from their experiences.
As always, it is how people use something, work or go about their business that provides the fascinating information, the glue that creates the sustainability community.