Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles

Sebastian Moffatt, The Sheltair Group Inc., Vancouver, Canada

1. Introduction
A number of cities around the world have begun the long walk towards
sustainable urban development. While the destination may be far, and the best
pathways not yet known, a number of new planning methods and principles are
proving useful. This paper will examine these ‘eco-city’ methods and principles,
and focus on how they differ from the best current practices for urban planning.
What becomes clear is that moving cities towards ecological sustainability will
require plans that address a broader scope of issues than normal, over a longer
time frame, and with greater accountability. In addition, a number of planning
tools and strategies may greatly enhance chances of success.

Before examining the new planning methods and principles it is worth mentioning
two important limitations that planners face in adopting any of the approaches
presented in this paper.
Limitations on the applicability of eco-city planning methods
One major limitation to creating eco -cities is the current failure of planning
practice to adequately cope with urban growth management, to create functional,
liveable neighbourhoods and to maintain the urban infrastructure - regardless of
ecological goals. Until we have the basic elements of good planning in place, it is
doubly difficult to a new set of environmental goals. Moreover, the same
obstacles that have frustrated good planning practice during the 20th century, will
likely frustrate efforts to create eco-cities in the 21 st century. These obstacles
include:
? ? inadequate financial and human resources within planning departments,
? ? lack of facilitators and information for conducting an effective public
process,
? ? lack of comprehensive and up-to-date Master Plans,
? ? an excessive reliance on private developers for initiating urban renewal,
and for adopting better design methods,
? ? the emphasis given to short-term capital costs as opposed to life cycle
costs, and the lack of accounting for non-monetary indirect costs;
? ? lack of analytical and forecasting tools for modelling and evaluating urban
development scenarios.
This list goes on, and is familiar to anyone who has become involved in the often-
painful process of creating and implementing master concept plans for urban
areas. A United Nations report on world cities, prepared for the Second
International Habitat Conference, profiled cities around the world and concluded
that even prosperous, developed cities like Tokyo and Ne w York are now unable
to manage their infrastructure, or to properly plan for the future. No wonder that
so many of the fast-growing cities in less wealthy countries are having difficulty.

A key strategy for eco-city planners, therefore, is to take adva ntage of

environmental initiatives to simultaneously enhance overall urban planning
capabilities. Recent experience with developing Green Building Guidelines for
the city of Santa Monicai, California illustrates this strategy. As part of creating a
new set of building regulations and guidelines for meeting ecological and
environmental goals, it was found possible to rationalise existing ordinances, and
to streamline the entire permitting and inspection process for the city.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 1 of 19

A second limitation to creating eco-cities is the lack of consensus on what is
meant by eco -city. This limitation may disappear with time, but for moment, we
have no common destination, and this limits the applicability of methods and
tools. An increasing number of people are concern ed about the urgency and
magnitude of the global ecological crisis, and have concluded that long-term
ecological health is a fundamental precondition to the health and prosperity of
cities. However such concerns may be a minor concern for many cities involved
with ‘green’ initiatives and improving the urban environment.

To illustrate differences in philosophy, consider three eco-city types:

1. ‘Watermelon’ Eco-Cities: (Green on the outside only) Many
cities using the term are concerned exclusively with issues of liveability.
Their goal is to preserve or enhance the urban environment so that it is
greener, more varied, easier to look at and to walk through, and more
friendly for people (as opposed to cars). Emphasis is given to such
goals as increasing the amount and quality of public open space,
preserving agricultural land, identifying environmentally sensitive areas,
and creating environmental amenities within the city for enjoyment of the
public.
2. ‘Teenage’ Eco -Cities: (Progressive, concerned about
overcoming limits) Many cities are concerned primarily with how to
overcome bio-physical limits, so that economic growth and increased
levels of consumption can be sustained. Their problems typically relate
to a shortage of land for housing, air pollution, scarcities of fresh water,
congested roads, landfill closures, degradation of water quality in the
local river or lake, and concerns about the increasing costs or
unreliability of power and fuel. Thus emphasis is given to such goals as
increasing the in frastructure carrying capacity to satisfy the long-term
plans for economic growth. Larger and more advanced transportation
infrastructure and wastewater treatment systems are expected to
correct pollution of air and watersheds.
3. Healthy Eco-Cities: Many cities have embraced the concept of
sustainable development within their
Sustainable Urban
official plans –if only in words.
Recognition is given to the rights of Development
future generations, and thus eco-city
planning becomes an extension of an Social
Ecological
enlightened social policy. Historically •Livability
the urban environment has been •Resource
Conservation
compromised in an effort to achieve
short-term social and economic
goals. Thus the new philosophy is to Economic
•Equity
adopt a balanced approach that •Opportunity
Synergy
provides economic and social
benefits, while simultaneously
ensuring long-term ecological health,
stewardship of resources, and 5
adaptability. This is sometimes
called the win-win-win strategy.
Although optimistic, it claims to also be pragmatic, since only healthy,
productive cities are truly sustainable..

It is not possible, nor nece ssary to obtain agreement on what constitutes correct
eco-city goals. However a key strategy for avoiding confusion in eco -city
planning is to encourage each eco-city to collaborate with others. Collaboration

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 2 of 19

will sensitise decision-makers to the differences in approaches, and lead
inevitably to a deeper understanding of the issues and options. International
groups like ICLEIii, and the European Sustainable Cities and Towns campaign,
have brought together hundreds of cities that share goals for improving
environmental performance. The worldwide movement for Local Agenda 21
initiatives has involved over 2000 cities. The Natural Stepiii program has been
highly successful in helping governments and businesses reach agreement on
the four basic principles that must underlie environmental policies. All these
campaigns are extremely useful in providing cities with a common orientation and
deeper understanding.

2. How Eco-City planning methods differ from the current

Best Planning Practices
For convenience the typical urban planning process can be summarised in four
stages:
1. Scope and Goal setting
2. Research and Analysis
3. Concept Design, and
4. Implementation
I will briefly review each of these stages in terms of how eco -city planning might
change best practices. The review is not intended to be comprehensive, and
reflects the author’s personal experiences with eco-city planning.
Stage 1. Methods for Scope and Goal Setting
Current planning practice tends to focus on urban form, land use, transportation,
and provision of social services like affordable housing. Invariably eco-city
planning involves a broadening of scope. Eco -city planners must explore
integrated resource use, including the relationships between the natural
environment and the systems for energy supply, watershed management, solid
waste management, and urban agriculture. While a century ago it was normal for
cities to have responsibility for such systems, now we see the expertise
concentrated in a collection of utilities, regional authorities and other single-focus
groups. Creating an eco -city means that the city must move back into a
leadership position, - something that is not always welcomed by other agencies,
or by the city’s own overworked planners and engineers, who may lack familiarity
with the new territory.

Three new areas of planning are especially important – yet difficult - to include in
the scope of an eco-city plan:
1. Energy infrastructure –Cities in northern Europe, and elsewhere, have
demonstrated the advantages of urban plans that address energy
systems, as opposed to focusing only on energy conservation and
efficiency initiatives. As the energy marketplace is deregulated, and
becomes diverse, all cites will face new choices about their energy
partners and their mix of energy sources, and how energy commodities
are converted stored and transferred. Such choices can radically alter the
energy efficiency of the entire city. For example the City of Toronto has
an estimated energy efficiency of 50%, while the City of Helsinki, which
using the waste heat from energy generation to heat 90% of the housing,
achieves an efficiency of 68%. iv

In future the involvement of cities in energy systems planning will become

an important strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of local industry,
and for ach ieving goals for housing affordability and cleaner air. Large,

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 3 of 19

 centralised energy grids of the 20th century are likely to be replaced by a
more diverse and decentralised system. The decentralisation offers
benefits such as reduced transmission and conversion losses, lower and
slower capital costs, and increased potential for co-generation and
renewable energy. We can expect to see new urban developments like
schools, hospitals, community centres and housing clusters become
nodes in such a “distributed” energy supply system. These changes
provide indirect economic benefits to cities, in a similar fashion to energy
conservation and efficiency investments. Solar water heating, district heat
and power systems, micro -cogeneration, and methane production are all
ways of spending energy dollars locally. The benefits include job creation,
local self-reliance and community economic development.

2. Urban Industrial Ecology: Eco -city planning should go beyond industrial

land use zoning and designation of industrial parks, and instead involve
planners in localised industrial strategy. Like a natural ecology, an urban-
industrial ecology should be carefully designed to create no waste.
Instead resources (or nutrients) should cascade through different
processes (or organisms). If the local industry uses lots of water, urban
planners must look for other industries that can locate nearby, and reuse
the same water. If the local agriculture creates lots of fibre waste, urban
planners look for industries that can use the fibre for other uses, or as a
source of energy. If local office buildings need to be cooled in winter,
planners must consider locating smaller buildings nearby so the waste
heat can be pumped to where it is beneficial.

Such industrial strategies can only be created by cities that partner with
their pillar industries, and with local educational institutions, and with
specialist-consulting teams. The goal of such partnerships is to explore
opportunities for re-use of waste resources, by developing new scenarios
for urban energy and mass flows. The research involves examining the
marketplace, industrial processes, local resources, skills, and
infrastructure. Not an easy task, but the environmental benefits of such
waste utilisation and improved system efficiencies are likely to exceed any
other eco-city initiative. .

3. Watershed Management: Jurisdictional boundaries for urban planning

typically exclude substantial portions of the city’s watershed. This can
increase uncertainty and risk of failure. Eco -city- policies need to be
based upon reliable predictions of water availability and quality – issues
that can only be considered in the context of the watershed.

In an effort to improve planning, a number of states and nations now insist

upon watershed p lanning as a parallel exercise to urban planning v. A
watershed plan analyses all of the water flows in and out of the watershed
(creating a water balance) and attempts to allocate the limited resources
equitably. The plan should also match the quality of water to the end use,
and create watershed-wide policies to minimise risks of flood, disease,
and drought. The absence of watershed planning is especially
problematic for the many cities trying to conserve scarce water resources.
Without an effective wa tershed plan, the city is unable to optimise
investments and address wasteful practices by industry and farms.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 4 of 19

Composition of the Design Team
A ‘team’ approach to design is an essential element of all good planning practice.
The team approach involves creating an interdisciplinary group that works
together, far more closely than traditional planners and architects. By working
closely, right from the start, solutions are often created that cross professional
and discipline boundaries, and satisfy a greater number of planning objectives.
Special effort is often required to solicit participation by individuals with the
specialised knowledge and skill required for eco -city planning. The scope of the
plan may require expertise in energy systems, water, industrial process and
building technology.

An additional effort is also required to ensure that the design team has adequate
public input, since eco-city planning must establish and emphasise a new vision
for the community, - a vision based upon a shared set of values. Eco-city
planning begins with asking the public such question as “What kind of community
you want your children to live in when they grow up?”.

Often the difficulty with involving public in such a visioning process is the poor
access to information, or inappropriate information products, or long, boring
technical meetings that punish anyone who tries to play a part. New tools are
needed to make visioning
more fun and to help people
1. Invent A Future (for the next forty years)
think about the long-term
impacts of current lifestyles. Goals and Targets Values and Beliefs

Public participants, and Land Use

Goals
Population
Growth
Economic
Activity
World
Views
Priorities Politics

experts alike, need to be

coaxed outside the “box” of
everyday concerns. In this
context it is worth considering 2. Choose Policies (for 1 decade)
?Transportation ?Lifestyle ?Labour ?Housing ?Agriculture
3. View
Consequences
the benefits of using new ?Land Use ?Government ?Industry ?Water
(at the end of the
concepts a nd software tools decade)
? Ecology
that may help to enliven and Human Activity Sub-Models ? Air Quality
? Water Quality
educate visioning exercises. Land Use Housing Transportation Labour ? Natural Hazards
? Habitat
Social ? Footprint
Consumption Economy
? Energy
Concepts and Tools for Services
? Land Use
? Transport
Visioning ? Housing
? Agriculture
One especially powerful Environmental Sub-Models ? Economy
? Labour
concept is the ‘ecological Air Quality Water Quality Natural Habitat ? Demography
? Government
footprint’vi a term which refers ? Industry

to the area of fertile land (or

water) needed to biologically Repeat 2 & 3
produce all the resources for each

consumed by a community
and to assimilate all the
wastes, indefinitely. While 4. Scenario De-briefing (at the end
planners sometimes try to use of your 40 year scenario)
footprints as an evaluation
tool, the concept is best used Conceptual Framework used by QUEST visioning software
as a means of raising
awareness and helping people
adopt a new paradigm during
the visioning stage of planning.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 5 of 19

Software tools may also help to create new visions. Software can create credible
and fascinating scenarios of the future, that sensitise public and decision-makers
to the impacts of urban design choices on their issues of greatest concern. One
example of a visioning tool is a software product called Questvii, developed by the
University of British Columbia, Canada. Applications of Quest are limited to a
handful of communities so far. However initial resp onse suggests that this type of
tool may be highly effective in engaging people in eco -city planning, and
increasing understanding. Quest is an interactive modelling program that allows
users to actively explore different possible scenarios of the future for their region.
The product has the look and feel of a computer game. Users can express their
own values by choosing issues of importance. By making further choices about
population growth, urban form and technology, they can generate futures that are
reported back to them in a newspaper-like format, writing from decades in the
future.
Pyramid frameworks for creating new directions
A comprehensive conceptual framework is another tool that can be used to assist
in steering an effective public process. Frameworks create a mental map for
setting and justifying specific environmental recommendations. The framework
becomes the underlying structure through which cities can transcend motherhood
statements and provide tangible, measurable targets for designing and assessing
the performance of a community. Frameworks have recently achieved
considerable success in helping diverse groups reach consensus and create bold
visionsviiiix.

A typical framework can be represented as a pyramid that has, at its top, a

definition of sustainable urban development, the fundamental principles of eco -
city planning, and the creation of a unique “vision’ for the community. From this

A Conceptual
Framework for Eco- General
city Planning Definition

Working Principles EXAMPLE:

Spheres of Sustainability Ecology

Categories Solid Waste

Goals Maximize the diversion of all

wastes from disposal
Objectives Reduce the generation of solid
wastes at source

Indicators and Targets Per capita waste disposal

(200 kg/person/year)
pinnacle, the Framework divides into a spreading tree of elements, at increasing
levels of specificity.

The key elements are linked as follows: from the definition of sustainable urban
development a number of principles are derived. These principles are used to
define sustainability in the ecological, economic, and social spheres, and to set

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 6 of 19

priorities. These three spheres are organised into related subject categories,
which represent general subject areas that organise the range of possible
concerns into convenient topics for policy. Some categories reflect different parts
of the physical world (air, water, land), while other reflect sectors and services
(transportation, housing).

Each category is subsequently divided into a series of goals, which represent

broad statements that elaborate on the ultimate condition desired. These goals
are themse lves further separated into specific objectives, which indicate the
direction of change desired.

Each objective leads to one or more performance indicators for which targets
are set. Indicators represent a conceptual tool that can measure progress
towa rds (or away from) objectives. Most eco -city plans require about 30 core
indicators for rating the overall performance of the community. Indicators should
be standardised if possible, to permit easier comparisons, and they should be
practical to measure and monitor.

The indicators provide a means for creating benchmarks . The planners and
public can look back in time to establish trends, or compare their current
performance with other communities. Most importantly, the indicators provide a
means of setting targets that establish in very specific terms the desired level of
performance.

At the bottom of the pyramid, are precedents that describe how other
communities have improved performance through application of specific
environmental policies and adoption of new technologies. Precedents can be
packaged as slide shows, case studies, web pages or testimonials. Regardless,
they ae especially useful in educating people, and making decision-makers
comfortable with the idea of eco-city targets.
Stage II: Methods for research and analysis
Conventional best practice for urban planning uses the research and analysis
stage to create a program for the site. The program integrates the site features
and history with the goals of the stakeholders. Usually the research process
includes an analysis of the surrounding areas, an inventory of existing conditions,
an identification of opportunities and a character study of the different areas or
neighbourhoods. This information is then combined with market and
demographic research.

Eco-city planning requires the same research process, but with greater emphasis
on data collection and analysis. Ideally the research and modelling becomes a
parallel activity, providing input continuously to the design team. Special
attention needs to be given to understanding carrying capacity, both for the
natural environment and the built environments. The carrying capacity is a type
of ‘constraint’, to be satisfied by the design concept. Part of the challenge or
program for eco -city designers is to achieve the city’s social and economic
objectives, without exceeding the natural limits imposed by the ecosystems, and
with a minimum of new capital investment in infrastructure. Thus the research
stage is a time to establish key limits and threshold values, and explain the nature
of each constraint.

In reality it is almost impossible to undertake research to define capacity

constraints during the urban planning process. It is beyond the capability of the
average design team to locate and collect data on the carrying capacity, costs

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 7 of 19

and environmental impacts of the urban infrastructure. Each city and region is
unique. Specialists may already have examined the capacity of specific water
sources, and the limits of existing plants and pipes, but nobody will have a good
understanding of how changes in population and technology will impact long-term
infrastructure costs and resource requirements. Over the longer term our
research methods and tools will no doubt improve, and allow planners to better
understand capacity constraints and to forecast the impacts of growth.

In the meantime, how is it possible to create eco-city programs? Part of the

solution may be for cities to adopt an Environmental Management System (EMS),
as opposed to a ‘one-shot’ eco-city plan. Urban EMS is a more proactive
approach. Rather than simply trying to mitigate environmental damage through
goal statements and periodic environmental impact assessments, an EMS
integrates goals into ongoing policy and management. Urban EMS works similar
to the EMS now being widely adopted by industry, like the ISO 14001 standard.
However the built environment is far more complex than any industrial product or
process, and contains many site-specific interactions and relationships.

EMS includes 1) data collection, organisation and analysis; 2) the monitoring of

performance; 3) setting appropriate and challenging targets for environmental
improvement and restoration; and 4) creating feedback systems for ensuring
responsibility and accountability. Basically it is a rigorous method for ensuring
environmental policy is fully integrated into city operations.

The foundation to an urban EMS is a relational database that organises detailed

data at both the building and the urban scales. A comprehensive urban database
needs at least dozen files, reflecting all the key elements of an urban system,
including weather, infrastructure systems, population, buildings and linear
infrastructure. These files are common to eco-city plans anywhere in the world,
and are graphically displayed below.

Weather

Land Use Potable Water

Solid
Waste

Energy
Supply

Industry Transportation

Commercial
Buildings

Demographics

Waste

Linear
Infrastructure Residential Buildings © 1999

Such databases need to fit together, like a series of Russian dolls, providing data
on resource consumption at each scale. A minimum level of detail is needed for
populating each database, and the challenge is to find ways to fulfil data needs

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 8 of 19

using existing data sources. Tremendous amounts of data exist in the tax
assessment records, utility records, GIS files and weather files. Most of it never
used to assist in planning work.

Once a community Indictors and Benchmarks for

database is organised, it
can be used with Solid Waste
Target for
modelling and Residential
Project
Best City in
Canada
Nearby City
(Seattle)
Current
Vancouver
Goal
Vancouver
1996
Vancouver 1990
(prior to recycling

aggregation tools to (Belleville,

Ontario)
programs)

profile the performance

of the city in all indicator
areas. A web-based 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

version of such a Per capita waste disposal (kg / person year)

database is now under Target for
Nearby
Demonstration

development for the Vancouver 1990

Greater
Vancouver
Regional
Best City in
Residential
Canada
Project
(Guelph ,
Program (Kent-
Aggasiz
Mountain)
Fraser Valley Region, District 1996 Ontario)

next to Vancouver. The

database is designed for
easy updates and 00 10 30 50 70 90 110 130 150
additions. Thus it Organic waste processed within neighbourhood (kg /person year)
should provide planners
and public with regular feedback on performance of specific neighbourhoods, or
the city and region as a whole. An example of solid waste indicators, generated
from such a database, is shown opposite.

A Pattern Language
Good planning practice requires that researchers investigate patterns in the
landscape and culture. Designers can then use the patterns as themes for urban
renewal and growth. Eco-city planning expands the search for patterns to include
the natural ecosystems, and their relationship with human settlements. Why is
the city located on a flood plain or wetland, instead of on a hillside? Why did the
traditional architecture use large roof overhangs? How has the river been
affected by the industrial history, and what kind of riparian ecosystem might be
recreated in a rehabilitated river?

It is also worthwhile to look at the successful natural ecosystems in the area for
models and patterns that can influence urban form and function. How high are
the highest trees in the area? – and is this therefore an appropriate height limit
for typical buildings? What kinds of local plants and animals work well together?
– and is it possible to use a similar combination of species and shapes for
creating green spaces and cityscapes?

3. Stage III: Methods for Design

Planning and design is a creative process that involves analysing a lot of
information, experimenting with many options, pursuing hunches, looking for new
patterns and ultimately proposing a concept which appears to satisfy the
program. Creating eco -city designs follows the same design process but can
benefit from a number of new design techniques and strategies.
Target Setting
One of the most effective design tools for creating eco -cities is target-setting.
Targets are intended to be challenging, but feasible performance goals for the
concept plan. They are directions, not standards, and not all targets need by
achieved.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 9 of 19

Targets are not easily accepted by designers, because they limit freedom and
impose an awkward set of numbers on top of a process that is largely conceptual
and intuitive. However targets are probably worth the trouble. For example the
City of Vancouver established a set of targets in 1998, with assistance from the
author, that were used to guide a development plan for a new downtown
community. The City of Vancouver’s targets are shown on the following page.
Once the design team had committed to targets, the result was a much greater
level of creativity and effort than would otherwise occur. The planners and
architects confessed that the targets caused them to explore environmental
design concepts far more thoroughly, especially in the areas where targets were
challenging, such as water conservation, sewage treatment and energy supply
systems.

Research into the impact of targets on the design process confirms this
conclusion.x The targets force designers to break habits, and think about
completely new approaches. They are also a means of efficient management
within a large team – similar to ‘results oriented’ management, or ‘management
by objectives’. They help designers concentrate on the priority areas. And
finally, ambitious targets help a city to create a powerful new public image that
can be a source of pride, and a competitive advantage over other cities.
Concept engineering
Concept engineering refers to the broad thinking required to explore technical
options for providing urban services. Concept e ngineering is especially important
to eco -city planning, since the ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions are no longer desirable.
Engineers must look for elegant solutions that achieve synergy amongst a variety
of goals. At the same time, they must consider adaptability, and the possibility of
diverse technologies for meeting the same need. In eco-city planning, there is no
“best” application, but rather an adaptable approach that can respond to
environmental surprises.

This type fo concept engineering is not easy for most engineers, who by nature
and training tend to be cautious, and reductionist. A number of concepts and
tools are worth describing, as a means of encouraging engineers to participate.

Plan for integrated systems : Concept engineering can benefit from looking for
opportunities to integrate elements of the city. Stable natural ecologies are highly
integrated systems. If our built environment is to become sustainable, it too will
tend towards complexity and integration. Integration can occur between the end-
use demands, like a low-flush toilet) , and the supply infrastructure, like water
reservoirs. Integration occurs between technologies within buildings; for example
energy used for lighting also contributes significantly to space heating.
Integration occurs between sectors, for example the location and design of
housing influences the transportation system. Integration also occurs between
different resources. For example, one of the biggest energy sources in some
communities is the energy used to pump water; and therefore water consumption
is linked to energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, electricity costs and
power generation requirements. A good place to begin concept engineering
therefore, is to consider how further integration might produce better design
concepts.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 10 of 19

Leapfrog over outdated technology
Conceptual breakthroughs are possible today that allow cities to leapfrog
outdated technology, while saving costs, improving the environment and
enhancing the quality of life. For example :
? ? A city chooses to cancel plans for telephone and cable networks using poles,
pipes and wires. Instead the area is serviced using an advanced wireless
communications systems. The result is capital cost savings, reduced
environmental impact, and much more rapid access to technology.
? ? A city chooses to cancel plans for a centralised mechanical sewage treatment
plant; instead develops on-site, passive filtration for modules of new buildings.
The result is lower capital costs, no need for a piped system, no impact on the
river, and the creation of many water re-use opportunities for the treated
effluent, including: toilet flushing, irrigation in community gardens, localised
water amenities like ponds and canals, and water for industrial processes.
Many such solutions are intimately related to decisions about urban form, open
space and land use. Thus concept engineering for all urban services may be
sometimes be a primary consideration in the design process.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 11 of 19

 EXAMPLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TARGETS (Vancouver, S.E. False Creek)
CATEGOR
Y
GOAL OBJECTIVE INDICATOR & TARGET
1. Maximize the diversion of 1. Reduce and manage the generation 200 Kg / person / year (Per capita waste disposal)
SOLID all wastes from disposal of neighbourhood waste
WASTE 80 kg / person / year (Organic waste produced and processed within
SEFC)
2. Minimize the need to travel 2. Increase proximity of housing to key 100% of dwelling units (Percentage within 350m of basic shopping
TRANS- outside the neighbourhood activity centres needs and personal services)
PORT. for basic needs
3. Increase pedestrian, bicycle and 60% of street area (Percentage that is dedicated to walking, cycling,
transit amenities within the and transit uses)
neighbourhood
3. Promote a regional balance 4. Increase the match of housing types 30% of dwelling units (Percentage that are affordable, relative to the
of jobs and housing and affordability to needs of workers income distribution and family size of those working in the downtown
in major regional employment core and Broadway corridor)
centres
4. Provide attractive 5. Increase the convenience of public 100% of residential stock (Percentage within 350m of transit service)
alternatives to automobile transit
travel for trips outside the
neighbourhood
5. Maximize sustainable and 6. Reduce non-renewable energy 288 kWh/m2/year (Non-renewable energy used by Multi-unit
ENERGY efficient us e of energy consumption Residential Buildings)
resources 284 kWh/m2/year (Non-renewable energy used by Office Buildings)
7. Increase neighbourhood generation 5% of energy consumption (Renewable energy generated within
of renewable energy Southeast False Creek)
8. Increase the diversity of energy 90% of all buildings (Percentage of buildings connected to a District
sources used in SEFC Energy System)
6. Minimize need to expand 9. Reduce peak loads placed upon 33 W/m2 (Peak electrical power demand for buildings)
energy infrastructure energy infrastructure
7. Minimize harmful emissions 10. Reduce concentrations of ground 3392 km/year (Automobile kilometers traveled by residents of SEFC)
AIR in the air level ozone (smog)
EMISSION
11. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 1498 kg (CO2 emissions from energy used for transportation)

12. Reduce chemical and biological 25% of dwelling unit (Percentage of buildings designed and built with
contaminant emissions indoors basic features that minimize indoor pollutant levels)
8. Minimize the health and 13. Increase the comprehensiveness of Minimum seven (Number of key strategies included in a Soils
SOIL environmental risks from soil remediation options analyses Options Analysis)
contaminated soils
9. Maximize the productivity of 14. Increase soil productivity 0 kg (Quantity of leaves and organic debris transported from
local soil Southeast False Creek)

12.5% of produce consumed (Amount of produce grown within

10. Maximize the efficient use
WATER of fresh water
11. Minimize water pollution
12. Minimize need to expand
existing water infrastructure
13. Maximize site biodiversity
GREEN
SPACES
14. Maximize vegetative cover
and biological productivity
Southeast False Creek neighbourhood)
15. Increase the efficient use of 100 litres / person / day (Average residential municipal potable water
municipal water indoors and use)
outdoors
16. Reduc e / manage surface run-off 54% (Average imperviousness of the total site area)
flows
17. Reduce loadings and flows to 25% (Percentage of sewage treated within SEFC
Wastewater Treatment Plants
18. Increase the quality and quantity of Min. 30 (Number of bird species surveyed in SEFC)
habitat provided for a range of
appropriate species 60% (Amount of open space with significant habitat value)
19. Increase vegetative cover on the 25% (Percentage of total neighbourhood roof area designed to carry
site plant life)

15. Maximize restoration of
aquatic environments
16. Optimize street layout and
BUILDING building placement
17. Maximize the efficient use
of material resources
20. Increase quality and availability of
marine and foreshores habitats
21. Increase the presence of naturalized
freshwater ecosystems
22. Increase appropriate siting of
buildings to contribute to community
energy efficiency
23. Increase the useful life of buildings
and materials
80% of foreshore (Percentage with habitat value)
Daylight Columbia Creek (Daylighting of stream courses)
75% (Percentage of dwelling units and commercial spaces with good
solar orientation)
30% (Percentage use of salvaged and / or recycled materials,
components, systems)

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 12 of 19

Analyse the end-uses at finer scales
Increasingly it is possible to change the nature of city infrastructure and urban
form by addressing building scale technology. Radical changes in housing
design such as autonomous housing, or green housing, or work -at-home
housing, or co-housing or flexible housing, can impact transit design, parks and
green space, potential for district energy, demand for community centres and so
on. Eco-city designs must therefore include finer scale worked-out examples as
part of urban master plans, and analyse their relationship to the larger features of
the city plan.

Minimise risk of technical failures

A number of techniques may be used to facilitate the acceptance of unfamiliar
technologies that may be proposed as part of the design concept. The basic
strategy is to reduce the perceived risk, by:
1. Including pilot tests, so that significant changes are introduced in stages,
and are carefully evaluated befo re widespread adoption.
2. Including contingency plans for new systems, that clearly outline the
approach to resolving failures
3. Use of precedents, well documented, that ensure nothing is planned that
has not been proven to work well in another location.

Consider Decentralized Systems

Eco-cities can often benefit from adopting decentralised systems for urban
services. The large centralised grids for electricity, gas, water, drainage and
communications are likely to be replaced during the 21 st century, with distributed
systems that will be more cost effective, adaptable and resource -efficient. A
decentralised infrastructure often presents opportunities for piggybacking
investments, and re-using resources. The widespread success of open, on-site
storm water management systems illustrates well the advantages. Capital costs
of open systems are about 30% less than conventional curb and gutter and piped
systems. At the same time the city benefits in multiple ways from the added
green space and water amenities.
Scenario Planning and Capacity Analysis
Tools for scenario planning are evolving but have not been used extensively for
eco-city planning. Most such tools are GIS and database software applicationsxi
that include layers of information on resource use and associated emissions.
These types of tools can be referred to as urban Forecasting Information
Systems (FIS). The underlying purpose of an Urban FIS is to enable designers
and planners to estimate the direct and indirect performance of buildings at
varying spatial scales and in a variety of futures. This is accomplished through
enabling the generation and comparison of any number of urban development
scenarios, complete with different building design options.

For example, imagine a designer who wish es to minimise the negative impacts of
energy emissions over the lifecycle of a housing development. Different design
scenarios occur by adding more or less energy-efficient envelopes, or by on-site
use of renewable energies, or by incorporating work-at-home facilities. Different
futures might include a change in economic conditions like the imposition of
carbon taxes, a change in demographics like an influx of immigrant families, or a
change in the surrounding infrastructure like the extension of a light rapid transit
system. Since all of these futures are plausible, and since they are also outside
of the control of the designer, the object is to use the FIS to identify the design
scenario which performs best in the largest number of ‘plausible’ futures. Without

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 13 of 19

FIS, such planning is impossibly expensive and time consuming. With FIS, it
becomes possible to creatively explore the relative performance of different
scenarios, and to use this feedback to optimise the design objectives.

Unlike two-dimensional GIS, Urban FIS is designed to create scenarios and

present data in “four” dimensions. If the first two dimensions are location, then
the third dimension is the dynamic performance of the objects (roads, buildings,
treatment plants), and the fourth dime nsion is the performance of these objects at
different points in time.

The next threshold in planning technology is the creation of a bottom-up urban

FIS model that can use a community database to predict in real time the actual
costs, resource consumption, and emissions associated with development plans.
Essentially the model of simulates the interaction of these elements, and
aggregates the net impacts on resource use, costs and emissions. This means
capturing dynamic relationships between sectors, between resources, and
between supply and demand systems. Models of this type developed by the
author have proved capable of predicting resource consumption and impacts with
a confidence of + 10%, for specific urban developments, or whole communities.

Unfortunately the current state of the art does not provide planners or designers
with access to a multi-resource, multi-sector model. Instead what has been
occurring is a slow evolution towards such a model, as a wide variety of more
specific applications are used for design and planning purposes.
Full Cost Accounting
Full cost accounting (FCA) is a technique for assigning all costs and benefits,
both internal and external, to all parties associated with a proposed development
strategy. The internal costs are those for which there is a direct expenditure; the
external costs are the social costs borne by third parties and/or society. FCA is a
technique to help accountants think ecologically. It has been applied by a number
of cities – with limited success - in an effort to create a simple and persuasive
economic justification for more sustainable investments.

An important benefit of FCA is that it provides a mechanism for allocating costs

on a fair and equitable basis by identifying subsidies and by reducing or
eliminating inappropriate subsidies. Subsidies can occur at any level of
accounting analysis and largely depend on who is paying the costs and who is
receiving the benefits.

FCA is typically compared with two other levels of accounting:

1. The first level is conventional accounting, which examines direct and indirect
financial costs as well as “recognised” contingent costs.
2. Total Cost Assessment (TCA) expands the analysis to include a broader
range of direct, indirect, contingent and less quantifiable costs. For example,
a city engineering department may choose to save costs by purchasing less
efficient and less costly aerators for sewage treatment. However from a TCA
perspective the savings are false, since another department will have to pay
extra costs in order to operate the aerators over the next 15 years.
FCA is, by comparison, the most broad form of accounting, because it expands
the analysis to include social costs borne by other groups for which there is no
direct transfer of funds.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 14 of 19

 Direct
and
Conventional Indirect
Accounting Financial Costs
Total Cost
Assessment
Full Cost "Recognized"
Accounting Contingent Costs

A Broader Range of Direct, Indirect

Contingent and Less Quantifiable Costs

External Social Costs Borne by Society

The benefits of FCA and TCA for eco -city plans are often limited. It is rarely
possible to monetarise the external costs in an acceptable manner, and thus the
benefit cost equations do not change. Instead FCA simply becomes a formal
procedure for listing all of the indirect and external costs, and the payers,
associated with specific urban design choices. Such lists are useful for
discussion. However they may be less effective than other tools, such as
identification of indicators and targets
for the costs of greatest concern. Policies for Encouraging Lean and Mean
Management
4. Stage IV: Methods for 1. Focus on facilities communities and
ecosystems
Implementation 2. Emphasise multi-media, multi-stressor
Implementing eco-city plans is a very solutions
large subject area, with many policy 3. Base standards on required performance, not
tools and some excellent articles and design
books xii. For example, J. Atcheson, of 4. Emphasise continuous improvement, not
the USDOE, has established 10 bright-line fixed compliance
5. Expand the use of measurement and
excellent principlesxiii for designing
feedback
environmental regulations in the 21st 6. Increase community involvement in setting
century, as shown opposite. goals and evaluating progress
7. Provide different levels o regulation for
One method for implementing eco-city different levels of performance
policies that has proven especially 8. Use fiscal tools and market incentives
effective in the author’s experience, is whenever possible
to create a set of Green Building 9. Regulate at the lowest jurisdiction possible;
Guidelines: assign responsibilities to the jurisdiction best
able to carry them out
Green Building Design 10. Concurrent and coherent policies
Guidelines
Very few cities have specific regulations and guidelines that address the overall
environmental performance of buildings, despite the major impact of building
design on urban infrastructure and the quality of the environment. Without a set
of guidelines, it is probably impossible to achieve only half the targets in a typical
eco-city plan. Guidelines can be applied directly to all public sector projects.
They can also be enforced in the private sector as building by-laws. More
commonly the guidelines become part of a incentives package, wherein special
benefits are conferred to developers who comply. It is also possible to implement

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 15 of 19

a revenue-neutral fund, that collects money from developers that fail to implement
the guidelines, and distributes funds to those who do.

Guidelines can cover a broad range of topics and can address either the
development planning process, or the building design process. A recent
publication by
Sheltair Group for
the City of Santa
Monica contained 94
separate guidelines
for green buildings,
and included
everything from the
site and form of
buildings, to energy
control systems.
Each guideline
contains schematics,
references, technical
guidance and a
rating system. A
portion of the Santa
Monica guidelines
are mandated by
law.

Another set of
guidelines recently
prepared by the
Sheltair Group, in
consort with the
Korea Housing
Institute and the
Canadian Example of Green Building Guideline for Sanata Monica
government,
covered site
development issues
for Korean suburban development, and included 22 guidelines. Ideally cities
should prepare such guidelines for both inner city and suburban developments,
and include guidelines for both site development and building design.

Experience with implementation of guidelines suggests that they work most

effectively when they are objective-based, and linked to a framework of goals and
targets. Guidelines also work better if they include performance-based evaluation
procedures wherever possible, since this allows developers to adopt innovative
approaches as long as they still achieve the same intent. Finally, guidelines can
benefit from existing technical programs and rating systems developed by other
authorities. By referencing such ‘third party’ standards, it becomes possible to
simplify the guidelines, and adds support to larger initiatives that may provide
better technical support. For example, a number of cities have implemented
higher energy standards for buildings by simply specifying that developers
achieve a level of performance 30% or 50% better than the national energy
codes for buildings.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 16 of 19

Guidelines can sometimes incorporate targets from an eco -city plan. Such
‘action targets’ may need to be more specific, so they can be understood and
applied by designers and developers. For example a planning target related to
habitat creation, may be to increase the total number of bird species counted in
the neighbourhood. This target can be made into action targets by specifying:
? ? percentage of open space on the site with habitat quality, or
? ? Total length of connected green spaces.
Another example target for creating wildlife habitat is for the city to attract
spawning fish to the water body adjacent to development sites. This target can
also be broken down into action targets:
? ? average percentage impermeability on the site, or
? ? Percentage of the site employing best management practices for storm
water management.
In such ways it becomes possible to operationalize the city’s environmental
targets during the design and construction stages.

Allowing for Diversity

The diversity of the built environment refers to factors like the mix, tenure and age
of housing, and the variety ofmaterials and systems used in a given area. These
factors influence the resilience and adaptability of the stock to future situations.
In a similar fashion to natural ecologies, some degree of redundancy and
diversity is important as a means of surviving changes at acceptable costs. A
diversity of housing types, for example, may permit a neighbourhood to house
people of all ages and incomes, and thereby contribute over time to a healthier
and more sustainable environment. The stock is also may capable of resonding
to changes in family size, income, ethnicity and lifestyle. Because of the need for
some diversity, there is by definition no “best” design for buildings in a region.
Even if one design strategy clearly achieves lowest lifecycle costs, it may be
necessary to select a higher cost option in the interests of creating diversity.

Applying the principle of diversity is problematic because the effect depends upon
the scale chosen for measurement. What is diverse within a neighbourhood, for
example, may be extremely homogenous at the larger scale of the city. The
appropriate scale depends upon how connected and fluid are the effects of
concern are. A diversity of housing types at the city scale obviously doesn’t help
if the purpose is to create a mix of housing opportunities within an average
walking distance.

5. Conclusions
This paper has reviewed a variety of new methods and principles for creating
eco-cities. It has concluded that whatever methods are selected, it is important to
take advantage of opportunities to increase the planning and management
capabilities of city planning departments. It is also wise for cities to join
campaigns, and collaborate with other eco -city planners.

Eco-city planning involves a number changes in emphasis and approach, relative

to what is now considered best urban planning practice. In particular, new
concepts and software tools can be used to help cities enliven the public process,
and develop longer term, ecological visions. The use of a conceptual framework
can help guide the public process, and can also guide some of the research
efforts by defining specific indicators of concern. Cities need to take more
leadership in such technical areas as energy planning, industrial ecology and
watershed management. The creation of urban Environmental Management
Systems is a difficult undertaking, but one that promises to provide cities with the

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 17 of 19

data management and feedback systems needed to fully integrate environmental
objectives into ongoing city policy-making.

The eco-city design process can benefit from a target setting exercise, and from
using tools and databases for scenario analysis. Special attention is required by
researchers and planners in order to understand capacity constraints, both for the
natural and the built environment. New tools are evolving that can assist in this
activity.

Concept engineering is especially crucial to include in the design process, and

may be used to explore opportunities for increasing integration of systems, for
leapfrogging outdated technology, for mitigating risk, and for decentralising
infrastructure in ways that encourage re -use of resources and multiple use of
capital investments. Adaptability and diversity are also important concepts for
consideration during urban design and concept engineering.

An especially effective strategy for implementing eco-city plans and achieving

environmental targets is to create objectives-based Green Guidelines for the
design and construction of buildings and urban development sites. Guidelines are
required for both the inner city and suburban areas. The adoption of guidelines
can benefit from a flexible approach.

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 18 of 19

i
Moffatt, S. Campbel, E. Holland, M. Green Buildings in a Green Context:
Specifying Environmental Performance at the Community Scale, Proceeding
of the Green Building Challenge, Vancouver, 1999
ii ii
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, The Local Agenda 21
Planning Guide, 1996, City Hall, Toronto, Canada
iii
Hawken, P., Natural Step Program, In Context #41, Summer 1995…
iv
The Potential for District Energy in Metro Toronto , Metro Toronto Works
Dept., CANMET NRCan, Ontario Hydro, 1995
v
Guide to Watershed Planning and Management, Economic and Engineering
Services Inc., for the Association of Washington Cities, et al, 1999
vi
Wackernagel, M., Rees, W. Our Ecological Footprint, Reducing Human
Impact on the Earth New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C. 1996
vii
Quest report
viii
Sheltair Group, Environmentally Sustainable Development Guidelines for
Southeast False Creek, A Policy Development Tool Kit, 1988, for City of
Vancouver
ix
Whistler Environmental Strategy, Resort Municipality of Whistler, September,
1999
x
Pagani, Freda PhD Thesis, UBC
xi
Web pages exist for Smart Places software, from EPRI, and for Index software,
from Criterion Planners and Engineers,
xii
A good reference on policy implementation is Young, M.D. (1992) Sustainable
Investment and Resource Use, Equity, Environmental Integrity and
Economic Efficiency, Man and the Biosphere Series,
xiii
Atcheson, J. Management Systems: Getting Lean, Getting Green in the USA,
in Environmental Management Systems and Cleaner Production , R. Hillary,
1997, John Riley & Sons

Creating an Eco-City: Methods and Principles Page 19 of 19