Visioning for the sustainable economy

The sustainable economy is all about people. People will come and establish themselves in cities and neighborhoods that are livable. This brings me to a book that recently came across my desk. This fascinating book is entitled:

The leap: how to survive and thrive in

the sustainable economy

by Chris Turner (www.randomhouse.ca)

Printed and electronic format available.

Here's a couple of excerpts that pickup up where I left off in the opening lines of this post.

Making cities more livable

In the great quest for revitalization, people are sometimes struck by how another city has succeeded. The temptation to copy what was done is strong but needs to be avoided because while you can copy the principle of making the city more livable, you cannot necessarily copy the model itself (i.e.: it might not apply to your city).

Public space

People on foot use transit more often and play and work within walking distance of the places they live. There are plazas from Imperial Roman times that are as functional today as they were then, apartment blocks older than the internal combustion engine that still provide top-quality living space. The same has never been said (and never will be) for freeways and off-ramps. When the people come to the "reconquered" city, they may come for the livability, but they stay because the scene can sustain itself. They stay because there is public space to be in. To be continued soon - Thanks for reading our Blog.