DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOODS

Abstract

The following study is an attempt to understand the broad scope of sustainable design through the research and distillation of existing sustainable design theories, technologies and strategies for a holistic development thorough design of the neighborhood. From this, a series of design considerations (sustainable guidelines and principles), covering practical and real life design measures is proposed. Existing knowledge on this topic is generally limited to the separate disciplines, without much inter-coordination. A complete holistic perspective of achieving sustainability in a neighborhood with the backbone of architectural design is a topic that has not been explored greatly. This is the reason for this study. A holistic perspective on this topic results in a much clearer understanding of the concept of sustainability, as well as a better grasp of how to steer the design industry towards more sustainable practices. It is important to note here, that this study derives its focus from traditional and modern sustainable design practices. Hence, much of the gathered literature and information comes from different sources and backgrounds. This study is not representative of the global field of sustainability, other cultures and regions have different perspectives and approaches to sustainable design. The area under study is an emerging area as regards sustainable development; and relatively new with vast scope and potential for further research and understanding of the sustainable design of neighborhoods.