Sustainable Development Projects : Integrating Design, Development, and Regulation

Development projects are the building blocks of urban growth. Put enough of the right projects together in the right way, and you have sustainable cities. But getting the pieces to stack up takes a feat of coordination and cooperation. In our market economy, developers, designers, and planners tend to operate in silos, each focused on its own piece of the puzzle.

Sustainable Development Projects shows how these three groups can work together to build stronger cities. It starts with a blueprint for a development triad that balances sound economics, quality design, and the public good. A step-by-step description of the development process explains how and when planners can most effectively regulate new projects, while a glossary of real estate terms gives all the project participants a common language.

Detailed scenarios apply the book’s principles to a trio of projects: rental apartments, greenfield housing, and mixed use infill. Readers can follow the projects from inception to finished product and see how different choices would result in different outcomes.

This nuts-and-bolts guide urges planners, developers, and designers to break out of their silos and join forces to build more sustainable communities. It’s essential reading for practicing planners, real estate and design professionals, planning and zoning commissioners, elected officials, planning students, and everyone who cares about the future of cities.

David R. Godschalk, Stephen Baxter Professor Emeritus of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Emil Malizia, Institute for Economic Development in the City and Regional Planning Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill