Renewable City - A Comprehensive Guide to an Urban Revolution

Informationen zum Autor Peter Droege is an expert on the role of renewable energy within the fields of urban design, development and urban infrastructure. He has directed and developed Solar City, a research development effort conducted under the auspices of the International Energy Agency. Droege has performed academic roles at major universities in the United States and Japan, and is presently holding professorial positions at the Universities of Newcastle, Australia and Beijing, China. He is a Chair of the World Council for Renewable Energy, for Asia Pacific, and directs Epolis, a Sydney-based consultancy active in sustainable urban change worldwide. Klappentext Frequently the site of crisis or turmoil, individual cities can be fragile environments. For the first time in history, however, the future of the entire urban system is being thrown into doubt. Catastrophic climate changes threaten the life support of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of urban dwellers around the world. Supplies of fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas, are declining worldwide. Modern cities not only depend on petroleum products for their power, but also for their goods and services - including the making and packaging of virtually all food. How might this precarious global condition be turned around? How can the energy infrastructure of cities, towns and rural settlements be restructured, to confront the environmental challenges of our time? Could a new, positive global vision emerge out of the impending, massive shift from unsustainable fuels to a renewable energy base?Opening with a definition of renewable power, the book concisely sets out the fundamental logic and philosophical framework of the urban energy revolution. It then progresses to look at how cities best attempt adaptation to accelerating, anthropogenic climate change: by mitigating it and fighting its root causes. Two central chapters map the spatial implications of the urban renewable energy transformation and the new technologies that might be involved in successfully creating the renewable city. The guide not only compares different approaches to creating renewable cities, but also examines various sustainable building assessment and design tools. The volume concludes with an easy to use best-practice template for local governments and planners, applying lessons from advanced cities around the world Zusammenfassung Frequently the site of crisis or turmoil, individual cities can be fragile environments. For the first time in history, however, the future of the entire urban system is being thrown into doubt. Catastrophic climate changes threaten the life support of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of urban dwellers around the world. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements and Photo Credits. Introduction. About this book. Renewable energy. The fourth industrial revolution. Cities as settings of hope. The price of inaction. Chapter 1 In the hothouse, beyond the peak: the logic of the urban energy revolution. 1.1 Energy and urban sustainability in the 21st century. Modern cities thrive on petroleum. Kyoto: neither far enough nor fast enough. Fossil and nuclear industries: fighting to maintain their grip. The global urban explosion: the end? Cities are seeds of change. Cities at risk. 1.2 Fossil and nuclear energy systems and the industrial construction of reality. Expiring mindsets. Expiring oil, natural gas and uranium supplies. Age of the fossil fuel city. The rise of the suburb. Renewable energy and sprawl. Fossil war, renewable peace? Fossil and renewable forms of globalisation. Myths and denials. 1.3 Summary and outlook: for urban evolution there is no alternative to renewable energy. Three axioms of urban change. The urban en...

List of contents

Acknowledgements and Photo Credits.
 
Introduction.
 
About this book.
 
Renewable energy.
 
The fourth industrial revolution.
 
Cities as settings of hope.
 
The price of inaction.
 
Chapter 1 In the hothouse, beyond the peak: the logic of the urban energy revolution.
 
1.1 Energy and urban sustainability in the 21st century.
 
1.2 Fossil and nuclear energy systems and the industrial construction of reality.
 
1.3 Summary and outlook: for urban evolution there is no alternative to renewable energy.
 
Chapter 2 How to cope with Peak Oil by preparing for climate change.
 
2.1 Confronting the risks to cities.
 
2.2 Mitigating adaptation.
 
2.3 Urban risks.
 
2.4 Urban exposure and impacts.
 
2.5 Urban vulnerability.
 
Chapter 3 Renewable geography.
 
3.1 Other drivers of change.
 
3.2 The design of the Renewable City.
 
3.3 Renewable City form and formation.
 
3.4 Space, time and energy: storing and dispatching renewable power.
 
3.5 Renewable citizenship: support communities and programmes.
 
Chapter 4 Building the Renewable City: tools, trades, technology.
 
4.1 Form follows fuel.
 
4.2 Citywide efficiency.
 
4.3 The Renewable City toolbox.
 
4.4 Urban renewable power finance.
 
4.5 Municipal power.
 
Chapter 5 Renewable City buildings: guidance and learning.
 
5.1 Renewable city building tools: rating performance.
 
5.2 Learning from renewable building practice.
 
Chapter 6 Renewable City planning and action: guides for local government.
 
6.1 The Solar City programme.
 
6.2 The Renewable City(TM) rating framework.
 
Glossary.
 
References and Webography.
 
Index.

Report

"Having read many books on the subject of ecological building and sustainable development, it is a refreshing change to read." ( Building Engineer , June 2007)

Product details

• Authors: Dr. Peter Droege, P. Droege, Peter Droege, Peter (University of Newcastle Droege
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.12.2006
• EAN: 9780470019269
• ISBN: 978-0-470-01926-9
• No. of pages: 336
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Architecture; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Social structure research; Architektur, Bauwerk, Architecture, Allg. Architektur