The Hidden Potential of Sustainable Neighborhoods: Lessons from Low-Carbon Communities By Harrison Fraker

Abstract

The Hidden Potential of Sustainable Neighborhoods: Lessons from Low-Carbon Communities By Harrison Fraker Island Press, 2013 Reviewed by Nicola Szibbo The terms “low-carbon” and “zero-carbon” are now frequently bandied about in planning dialogues regarding sustainable neighborhood development. These terms—used in the context of neighborhood design and planning—possess increasing currency given the problem of climate change. In the past, zero-energy goals have been perceived as desirable but lofty and difficult or even impossible for planners and designers to achieve. However, in an era of adaptation to climate change, resilient infrastructure and built form is both warranted and necessary. Harrison Fraker—a pioneer researcher and professor in passive solar, daylighting, and other sustainable design techniques—presents this imperative with striking resolve in his new book. Fraker attempts to raise awareness about the “hidden potential” of sustainable infrastructure through an analysis of several best practice case studies in Europe. Exploring progressive neighborhoods at the forefront of environmental design in Sweden and Germany, the book outlines how planners, architects, and urban designers can design and build zero-carbon neighborhoods. Fraker chooses the four German and Swedish case studies specifically because the energy and performance data were available for the purposes of comparative evaluation. The case studies ultimately indicate that low-carbon communities are no longer a futuristic fantasy, but are now a reality. It is clear that in order for sustainable neighborhoods to be realized, the relevant metrics and measurements need to represent the “three axes of sustainability”: environmental, economic, and social. Fraker’s book covers the environmental aspects in great detail. Chapters two through four are dedicated to the individual neighborhoods; each chapter is filled with benchmarks and metrics for sustainable infrastructure and design, based on performance data collected by Fraker and his students. Fraker thoroughly describes the coordinated operation of the various systems of water infrastructure, waste infrastructure, renewable energy generation, green space, land use, and transportation in terms of the estimated benefits and impacts. Often, these systems overlap and reinforce each other in terms of inputs and outputs from a cradle-to-cradle perspective, and