Conservation Design for Subdivisions: A Practical Guide To Creating Open Space Networks - Softcover

Arendt, Randall G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559634898 ISBN 13: 9781559634892

Publisher: Island Press, 1996

Synopsis

In most communities, land use regulations are based on a limited model that allows for only one end result: the production of more and more suburbia, composed of endless subdivisions and shopping centers, that ultimately covers every bit of countryside with "improvements." Fortunately, sensible alternatives to this approach do exist, and methods of developing land while at the same time conserving natural areas are available.

In Conservation Design for Subdivisions, Randall G. Arendt explores better ways of designing new residential developments than we have typically seen in our communities. He presents a practical handbook for residential developers, site designers, local officials, and landowners that explains how to implement new ideas about land-use planning and environmental protection. Abundantly illustrated with site plans (many of them in color), floor plans, photographs, and renditions of houses and landscapes, it describes a series of simple and straightforward techniques that allows for land-conserving development.

The author proposes a step-by-step approach to conserving natural areas by rearranging density on each development parcel as it is being planned so that only half (or less) of the buildable land is turned into houselots and streets. Homes are built in a less land-consumptive manner that allows the balance of property to be permanently protected and added to an interconnected network of green spaces and green corridors. Included in the volume are model zoning and subdivision ordinance provisions that can help citizens and local officials implement these innovative design ideas.

About this title

From the Back Cover

In Conservation Design for Subdivisions, Randall G. Arendt explores better ways of designing new residential developments. He presents a practical handbook for residential developers, site designers, local officials, and landowners that explains how to implement new ideas about land-use planning and environmental protection. Abundantly illustrated with site plans (in color), floor plans, photographs, and renditions of houses and landscapes, it describes a series of simple and straightforward techniques that allow for land-conserving development. The author proposes a step-by-step approach to conserving natural areas by rearranging density on each development parcel as it is being planned so that no more than half of the buildable land is turned into houselots and streets. Homes are built in a less land-consumptive manner that allows the balance of property to be permanently protected and added to an interconnected network of green spaces and green corridors. Included in the volume are model zoning and subdivision ordinance provisions that can help citizens and local officials implement these innovative designs.

About the Author

Randall Arendt was formerly vice president for conservation planning for the Natural Lands Trust and is now president of Greener Prospects, a land use consulting firm in Narragansett, Rhode Island. He is the author of Growing Greener (Island Press, 1999) and Growing Greener Ordinance Language (Natural Lands Trust, 2001).

About this edition

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1559634898
• ISBN 13: 9781559634892
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 203