Sustainability in the built environment is a major issue facing policy-makers; planners; developers and designers in the UK; Europe and worldwide. The measuring of buildings and cities for sustainability becomes increasingly important as pressure for green; sustainable development translates into policy and legislation. The problems of such measurement and evaluation are presented by the authors in contributions which move from the general to the particular; e.g. from a general framework for an environmentally sustainable form of urban development to a specific input-output model application to environmental problems. The book is divided into three parts: the first covers city models and sustainable systems - research programmes; environmental policies; green corporations and collaborative strategies to make urban development more sustainable; part two discusses the problems of evaluating the built environment in planning and construction; covering economic and environmental methods and construction; development and regeneration processes; part three illustrates a number of applications using different approaches and techniques and referring to a range of environmental aspects of the natural and built environment; from maintaining historic buildings to transport management and air pollution monitoring.
#3759727 in eBooks 2003-09-02 2003-09-02File Name: B000Q35UAQ
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Plantation architectureBy Mongya AndersonI bought this book hoping to see beautiful photos; but found black and white sketches which are very tastefully done and serve the purpose of the book; which is a textbook in architecture. The author travelled the South visiting these old mansions; some of which are now gone. So his sketches have preserved valuable information. I enjoyed the knowledge about the types of architecture and how it evolved from region to region and period to period. The basic thing I took away from this book is that architects were not professionals in the United States when these homes were being built. Many owners hired architects from France and Italy and you can easily see that in their forms. Also; some of the homes; though huge and beautiful; were not well-designed. I learned about types of staircases and which types were prominent in which regions; the types of brick used and how the skilled builders were hired from New York and Pennsylvania and lived on the plantation until the home was done. The slaves were used only to do the rough work such as molding bricks; digging basements etc. The sketches of the grounds and the garden layouts were most intriguing. This is a good book for those who want to know how a beautiful white-pillared mansion was built. For those who want glossy photos; there are better products out there.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. This is a book for every historian of Southern HistoryBy DBThis is a reprint of the book White Pillars published in 1941. In the 70s I purchased the book White Pillars with the thought in mind that I am going to visit these places when I retire. I have since retired and about wore out the White Pillars book and I retired it so I bought this reprint to take with us on our trips to the antebellum South. This book is outstanding and very well written with some information I have not found elsewhere. The write ups are well done and loaded with interesting facts. This book also contains additional information about culture; a glossery of acrchitectural terms; excellent illistrations of floor plans and of most of the plantations in the book. The illustration of Shadows on the Teche is fantastic - - it drew me to it. We were thrilled to find it open for tours. Have been there twice and plan to visit there more. We have visited 21 of the homes in the book and hope to find more. Not all are open for tours; but we have been fortunate in obtaining permission to walk the grounds and take photos. Sadly some of the homes herein have fallen to neglect or due to "progress" shoved into history by a bull dozer blade. This book is a must for anyone interested in Southern architecture; plantations; and history. The only improvement I would like to see in this book would for it to have more plantion homes shown in it. For a traveller it is an outstanding tour guide.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A classic; despite its racist languageBy Jon L AlbeeI bought this book for several reasons. Im a committed amateur architectural historian; and I have a specific interest in the sociological elements of high-style architecture from the deep South. This book is a good study of the sociological elements that came together to form the great houses we know today.Next; the illustrations include floor plans for each of the houses studied; which is a feature that exists in no other book; at least for these particular sites. And finally; this book includes a few houses that were important examples of their respective style and time; that no longer stand either because they were neglected or wantonly demolished; such as Mount Brilliant in Kentucky.So those are the reasons for reading this book; but there is a major caveat: The author is racist. The text itself runs from merely irritating in places to downright deplorable in others. The racist slant of the writing may be a product of the times; but that does not excuse its vanity and insensitivity. As it is; understanding the sociological elements of the book requires a somewhat dry; clinical approach in order to avoid offense. The chapter about the technical elements of design are really quite good; and tend to be free of racist allusions.This is not a coffee table book or a casual browse of sites. Its not a tourist or travel guide. It is something of a dry academic treatment of architecture from the deep South. I say the "deep South" because the sites featured in the book are from what we would call the Old Southwest - Tennessee; Alabama; Mississippi; Louisiana - and not from the more ancient eastern states like Virginia and South Carolina. It is really a study of the Federal style as it developed on the frontier; and of the Greek Revival style. There is no discussion of Colonial.This book will find most interest from architectural historians and local historians; but will be of limited interest to the casual reader.