“Earthrise” taken by Apollo 8 crew in 1968

World Population Trend

0.8 1

1.65

2.523

3.7

4.5

5.3

6

6.8

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

bil

lio

n

1700 1800 1900 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2009

World population increased as much between 1980 & 1990

as it did in the 200 years between 1700 and 1900

.85 bill

.80 bill

Las Vegas, Nevada

May, 1973

Population 358,400

Las Vegas, Nevada

June, 1991

Population 937,261

Las Vegas, Nevada

May, 2000

Population 1,563,282

Las Vegas, Nevada

February, 2006

Population 2,013,267

City of College Station, Texas

Change in City Limits and Development

1938 – 2003 (65 years)

Example of resource use:

Transportation• U.S. represents 5% of the world’s population but

uses ~ 25% of the world’s oil.

• Oil use in 2007: #1 USA used 20.7 million bbl/day; #2 China 7.5 million bbl/day….

• U.S. has 34% of the world’s motor vehicles. 66% of oil used in the U.S. goes to transportation.

• Motor vehicles cause more air pollution than any other single resource use.

• U.S. rate of growth in automobiles is more than 3 times the rate of growth in the population.

• 30-50% of urban land is dedicated to auto transport

Questions

• Is growth sustainable?

• Is development sustainable?

What is sustainable

development?

• Bruntland Commission 1987: “… meets the

needs of the present without compromising

the ability of future generations to meet

their own needs.”

• Recognition of limits

• Maintenance

• Lasting, enduring

Three principles of

sustainable places

• Strive to maintain an ecological/biological balance in a place

attempt to balance between open space for habitat, flood control, filter air, filter water and infrastructure: transportation, buildings

encourage behaviors and adopt technologies that conserve resources

• Strive to create or maintain a sense of place

history/culture (what’s a place mean to residents and visitors)

visual images (images of place and their meanings)

• Strive to provide equitable access to process and decisions regarding place

including citizens in why and how to change

equitable access to places and services

Ecological -

Land Use Issues

Conceptual Greenway

System

Benefits:

wildlife habitat/biodiversity

flood control

water & air quality

alternative transportation

fitness and recreation

Green infrastructure in Columbus Ohio

Ecological - open space and land use issues

- building design considerations

Mass transit

Building design

Permeable pavement

Solar lighting

Ecology - TransportationHouston

Anchorage

Plano

Design for Alternatives to the CarBike/Ped Bridge, Austin

Austin’s Lady Bird Lake TrailRecreation and Transportation

A Center Piece in Urban Design

Classic Urban Center PieceNYC Central Park – Olmstead and Vaux

Planning an Alternative System

Mixed Land UseSalt Lake City Neighborhood

Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design - LEED

• Certification program that is administered

by the U.S. Green Building Council

• Awards points for “green” building

practices

• Different point levels allow projects to

achieve different certification levels:

Certified; Silver; Gold; Platinum

Sense of Place - Muir Woods, CA

Sense of Place –Design with nature

Sense of Place - Denver

First impressions:

Denver International

Airport

Denver Convention Center

REI Denver…

- Historic power plant redeveloped

- Located on Platte River

- Reflects Denver’s history and

Colorado’s outdoor active image

Dallas Convention Center

Sense of Place – History/Culture

Sense of Place –

A River as focal point

Water

Sense of Place –

Transportation

Old bridge design influenced the new

Planning and design processes have

traditionally reflected only the

ideas of experts

client design

Public design should include

ideas of many - guided by experts

Desire for

changeLivable design

Example – creating one facility for multiple user groups

Skate park design team

included important user

groups

People need to understand

what they have

Trail planning field trip

Hearing from many - regional stakeholders provide input for

national park transportation

Summary

• Many of our places are changing rapidly

• Sustainability concept can help guide change

• Good planning/design of parks and tourism places should contribute to sustainable communities.

Ecology of place (behaviors, land uses, technologies)

Sense of place (visual quality, history, identity)

Equity in place (including many perspectives and offering many opportunities)