All that Sustainability Jazz.

Those of us currently recovering from a Bachelors of Urban and Regional Planning degree program might be a bit cynical about implementing the principles of Sustainability in a real world practice. In fact, we might be very cynical, even hopeless about the very thought of it.

The Denver Post has an article that imagines a future where a neighborhood might survive through the coming increases in energy costs. And it's not as dramatic as some might think - no eco-village where we live amongst the animals. The critical aspect to changing energy consumption is that communities must work to more intellegently use scarce resources. The current pattern allows the individual to make decisions that result in redundancy and waste. Furthermore, the community can plan out methods of extracting energy from new sources (wind, solar, biomass, etc.) that are unfeasable to the individual.

Superbia! is mentioned at the end of the article. Sounds like a good read and something that forward-looking Planning departments should have on hand. Speaking of books on sustainability (in this case on a global scale) I'd like to leaf through Raising Less Corn, More Hell. Really fascinating idea.