- Eco-Cities, a sustainable Solution to Urbanisation?    374 kb by    Jenkison, James | jamesjenkison@hotmail.com    Short Outline Eco-cities are needed to solve the global pollution and urbanisation crisis. They must minimise traffic and have ecological links into their surroundings. Plant and wildlife needs to thrive, energy independence promoted and they must be livable. Abstract Linear settlement of connected streets and parks. Direct public transport along central spine road. Maximise convenience of walking and cycling. Surrounding countryside accessible to all residents and used for sports fields, local food production, countryside recreation and woodlands. Separate but integrated industrial estate to separate bad neighbour activity and heavy traffic from residential areas and town centre. LAYOUT Vehicular traffic limited to every second street. Limited vehicle cross-overs to allow long rows of trees, grass verges, shrubs and hedges. Every other second street used as greenway and wildlife corridor linking evenly spaced local parks along the length and breadth of settlement. Organised variation in street widths and function, each with a different number of tree rows makes the settlement more understandable. Different varieties of trees and shrubs used and arranged to give every street its own identifiable character (eg. by using a different tree species for ever street). Streets wide enough to accommodate mature trees with extensive branch spread. Mature trees established at park edges with central space having a recreational function. Landscaping promoted in the industrial district. Interior of street blocks to accommodate mature trees. Fruit trees promoted as a local food source. Preserving natural streams and their environs, or creating new ones to provide water habitats that increase wildlife diversity and food chains. ENERGY PRODUCTION Solar energy and wind power necessarily compromised by need for a compact urban form with large amounts of mature trees. Rows of wind turbines along the spine road and parallel avenues give them a distinctive visual identity as the main streets of settlement. Biomass, micro-hydro and geo-thermal possible. Managed woodlands and mature trees within a settlement provide branch cuttings and thinned trees as fuel and as a local construction material. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) stations throughout the settlement. Keywords Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2008: Urban Growth without Sprawl   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper