permaculture

[lbsaltzman@aol.com]

Rain,



This is an absolutely brilliant analysis which I would like to forward to a 
lot of people with your permission.? I am particularly struck by your 
analysis of smart growth which is a big issue where I live.? The conversation 
is happening with no concern for the carrying capacity of the land to produce 
food and to provide adequate water.? We have conservatives who want to 
develop on the last bit of open farmland and we have progressives who want to 
do urban infill. Neither group is willing to look at how we live during 
energy descent, and global warming when water supplies may be more dicey, and 
food will be far more expensive to import from far away.? 



Larry Saltzman








-----Original Message-----
From: Rain Tenaqiya <raincascadia@yahoo.com>
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org; Bill Quirk 
<BillQuirkForHayward@Comcast.net>
Sent: Sat, Aug 29, 2009 12:26 pm
Subject: [permaculture] rural vs urban design




The September/October 2009 edition of Sierra magazine has a very telling pair 
of 
images on page 21 that shows greenhouse gas emissions per acre versus 
emissions 
per household for the Phoenix, Arizona area.? The first image shows the 
highest 
density of emissions in the urban cores, as you'd expect.? However, the 
second 
image shows the highest levels of emissions coming from the rural areas.? The 
fact is, with current consumption habits, rural dwellers use way more energy 
than urban dwellers, an idea that has been floating around a lot lately as 
folks 
start looking at their carbon footprints.
?
However, the kneejerk reaction is to start supporting "smart growth" 
planning, 
which emphasizes increased density, in addition to integrated 
residential/business zoning and good mass transit and bicycle lane systems.? 
I 
would argue that if we are planning to avoid global warming and to anticipate 
energy descent, increased density has a limit.? In order to have enough space 
for rainwater catchment, greywater distribution, solar and wind energy 
harvesting, biomass energy production, food production, and composting within 
residential areas, I would guess that most buildings cannot be higher than 2 
or 
3 stories and that there needs to be enough open space around these buildings 
to 
grow around 50% of the population's food requirements.? This, incidentally, 
is 
what older neighborhoods and the much-maligned suburbs used to look like.? 
Higher density structures also have less access to ventilation and contain 
more 
thermal mass, resulting in more energy
 required for cooling.
?
Higher density zoning only outcompetes lower density zoning in energy 
efficiency 
when it comes to building materials, heating needs, consumption patterns, and 
transportation, with transportation being the main weak point of lower 
density 
designs.
?
It takes less material to create higher density buildings because of all the 
shared walls.? However, the materials must be of?a higher quality, and often 
more massive, due to the taller des
igns.? This results in a trade-off in energy 
savings.? In smaller and shorter structures, on-site and more basic materials 
may be utilized to?a greater extent, possibly resulting in less embedded 
energy 
overall.
?
As for heating requirements, higher density structures require less heating 
overall due to the insulating effects of shared walls, floors, and ceilings.? 
However, it is harder to include passive solar design in structures that are 
deeper than one room north to south, and taller structures block solar access 
to 
the buildings next to them.? 
?
Consumption patterns are probably more sensitive to culture than the other 
factors mentioned here, but there is a potential for less consumption of 
goods 
in denser areas than in rural areas.? The ability to share laundry 
facilities, 
food processing equipment, energy technology, farming and landscaping 
equipment, 
entertainment, etc., is greater where the population density is highest.? 
However, an individualist culture prevents this to a large extent.? 
Regardless, 
as prices go up, we should expect more sharing, and designs should encourage 
this.
?
Transportation is the Achilles' heal of low density zoning.? Since personal 
transportation accounts for over 40% of the energy currently used by the 
average 
person in the US (see www.coolcalifornia.org),?it is easy to?see how smart 
growth got its name.? However, this will have to change (and already is) as 
energy prices go up.? As an example of what personal behavior and technology 
improvements can do, my partner and I use 87% less energy for transportation 
than the average US household of two, and our transportation sector is only 
22% 
of our total.? This is true even though we live about six miles out of town 
and 
our closest neighbors are half a mile away.? We are able to do this through 
personal restraint and the use of a Prius and electric bicycle.? However,?I 
realize that few will be this committed to energy conservation in the near 
future and this is why I believe that no settlement designs wi
ll be successful 
without a serious consideration
 of transportation needs.? Siting work areas next to housing and providing 
abundant opportunities for walking, bicycling, and mass transit are essential 
for a low energy future.? Permaculture homesteads spread out over rural land 
are 
definitely not a sustainable design.? (Unfortunately, the price of land, 
current 
zoning and building rules, and idiotic cultural practices make it very 
difficult 
to live a permaculture lifestyle in most urban areas, today.)
?
All this is to say that sustainable settlement designs are likely to look 
more 
like a neighborhood or village than a big city or rural country.? City 
councils 
and planning departments that focus on increasing density, rather than on 
encouraging things like local rainwater and energy harvesting and 
conservation, 
biomass and food production, and composting are creating communities that 
will 
continue to be dependent on vast hinterlands and massive energy inputs.? 
There 
may be some economies of scale realized in centralized projects outside of 
the 
urban zones, but I believe that cities will need to be more self-reliant in 
the 
future, as has happened in Cuba.? Beyond this, the quality of life is much 
better where there is open space integrated into the places where we live, 
and 
where our needs are being met within the local community.
?
?


      
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