Environmental planning for site development a manual for sustainable local planning and design Anne R. Beer and Catherine Higgins

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Environmental planning forms the basis of all site development decisions and deals with the factors that must be considered before a site plan can be drawn up. Environmental Planning for Site Development emphasizes the man/nature interface and explains how nature limits and controls what can happen on every piece of land. The text is clearly set out and will help the reader understand exactly what information is needed for a site planning proposal. The book includes a live case study to demonstrate how GIS systems are now assisting in the design and decision process as communities increasingly participate in local decisions. (Local Agenda 21)

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. xi)
• Part 1 Site Planning (p. 1)
• 1 What is site planning? (p. 3)
• What does sustainable site planning entail? (p. 3)
• Why site planning is multi-disciplinary (p. 8)
• The site planning team (p. 9)
• The site planning process summarized (p. 13)
• References (p. 17)
• 2 Environmental planning related to site planning (p. 18)
• Fundamental principles (p. 18)
• The evolution of site planning (p. 24)
• Identifying key issues (p. 29)
• References (p. 31)
• Part 2 The Site Inventory (p. 33)
• 3 An introduction to making a site inventory (p. 35)
• Solving local land-use problems (p. 35)
• Information gathering (p. 36)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 38)
• 4 The physical environment (p. 40)
• Geology, geomorphology and site planning (p. 40)
• Geological problems and the development of a site (p. 41)
• Geomorphological factors and the development of a site: some indicators (p. 51)
• Surface water and site planning (p. 57)
• Surface water and the development of a site (p. 59)
• Recording the topography (p. 64)
• Local climate and the sustainable development of a site (p. 66)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 90)
• References (p. 90)
• 5 The natural environment (p. 92)
• The natural environment and site planning (p. 92)
• Soils and plants (p. 94)
• Soils: their influence on site planning (p. 95)
• Vegetation and site planning (p. 104)
• Plants: their influence on site planning (p. 109)
• Ecological value and site planning (p. 117)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 118)
• References (p. 118)
• 6 Aspects of the social environment: land use, land management and landscape (p. 120)
• The built environment land uses (p. 121)
• Rural or urban fringe land uses (p. 125)
• The people living in and around the project area (p. 127)
• Past land use and historic features (p. 129)
• Land ownership and planning controls (p. 131)
• Landmarks (p. 132)
• Landscape (p. 133)
• Landscape types and their maintenance and management (p. 134)
• Views (p. 138)
• Site planning in essence (p. 139)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 140)
• References (p. 140)
• Part 3 Spaces For People (p. 141)
• 7 Environmental settings and the quality of life (p. 143)
• Environmental settings (p. 143)
• How people experience environments (p. 147)
• Site planning and human environmental preference (p. 157)
• Human adaptability (p. 160)
• Nature and 'green' in life and in cities (p. 164)
• References (p. 174)
• 8 User requirements (p. 176)
• Public participation (p. 177)
• Drawing up a user brief (p. 178)
• User satisfaction (p. 181)
• The range of settings (p. 189)
• The main characteristics of a place (p. 201)
• Preparing briefs for environmental settings (p. 204)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 210)
• References (p. 210)
• Part 4 The Site Plan (p. 213)
• 9 Exploring site potential (p. 215)
• Assessing the site's potential (p. 216)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 229)
• References (p. 229)
• 10 Production of the site plan (p. 230)
• The financial aspects of site planning (p. 231)
• The stages of preparing a site plan (p. 233)
• Carrying out the project work (p. 244)
• Planning for the future (p. 244)
• References (p. 245)
• 11 Case study of Fort Park (p. 246)
• Introduction (p. 246)
• The brief (p. 246)
• Part 5 Sustainable Urban Environmental Planning (p. 257)
• An illustration of the community environmental planning process (p. 259)
• The vital role of local people in planning and implementing a more sustainable future (p. 260)
• The Stocksbridge Case Study (p. 261)
• 12 The Environmental Inventory, and assessing the implications of the findings for sustainable local communities (p. 264)
• The physical environment: abiotic data collection (p. 264)
• The natural environment: biotic data collection (p. 275)
• The social, cultural and economic inventory: people, land use and landscape (p. 281)
• 13 A Community Environmental Plan - interpreting the data to develop an approach to Local Agenda 21 (p. 288)
• Content of a Community Environmental Plan (p. 288)
• Identifying local problems in relation to environmental sustainability (p. 289)
• Local policies and their implementation (p. 298)
• 14 Neighbourhood environmental sustainability 'actions' - implementing Local Agenda 21 (p. 303)
• Opportunities to involve a local community (p. 304)
• Increasing tree cover through local 'actions' (p. 306)
• Community preference and involvement (p. 307)
• An illustration of site planning processes for an urban site (p. 308)
• 15 Techniques for gathering and presenting site and user data (p. 309)
• The site planning project area (p. 309)
• The site planning team (p. 310)
• The client's brief and its evaluation by the team (p. 310)
• Site and user information (p. 311)
• 16 Techniques for evaluating site potential (p. 328)
• What is site potential? (p. 328)
• Analytical and creative techniques (p. 329)
• Site potential - integration (p. 333)
• 17 Creating a site plan (p. 334)
• Strategies for the site (p. 334)
• Developing the site plan (p. 335)
• Uses of the site plan for future planning and design (p. 340)
• References to Part Five (p. 343)
• Appendix A Local Agenda 21 and sustainable urban environments (p. 344)
• Index (p. 348)

Author notes provided by Syndetics