Why Sustainability ?Louis V. Mills, A.S.L.A., Ph.D

Dept. of Landscape ArchitectureTexas Tech University –

September 15, 2010

Origins- Resource Shortages• Energy conservation- 1972 Arab oil boycott• Water conservation- Since the 19th Century and John

Wesley Powell – water west of the 100 parallel• Food shortages- 1968 Population Bomb by Paul

Ehrlich(Stanford) and Norman Borlaug (Univ. of Minnesota) 1970 Nobel Prize Green Revolution

• Garbage/Landfill crisis- 1970’s• Environmental Crisis of 1969- Santa Barbara Oil Spill• Woodstock generation• Fear of Dick Cheney

Responses

• NEPA 1969- Environmental Review• Ian McHarg- 1969 Design With Nature• Whole Earth Catalog• Jerry Ford/Jimmy Carter Energy Conservation Plan-

USDA, EPA,• Hoover Dam- 1930’s• Coastal Zone Management Plan• National Land Use Planning early 1970’s• New Urbanism• Sustainability Initiative, Leeds, Breeam

Methodologies/Strategies/

• Environ. Impact Statements & Review• Recycling, Reduction, Reuse• Government Action• Cost Effectiveness- bottle returns 1971, and the 1920’s-1960’s

for returnables, milkman• Local gardening effort- WW2 and Woodstock generation• Fresh Food, American Nouveau Cuisine/North Californian

cooking school(Napa Valley)• Gates Foundation• Rockefeller Foundation

Professional Landscape /Environmental Planners response

• Call to action• Methodologies• Green industry• Recycling companies• Green design• Diverse Recycling plans

New Alchemy Institute Cape Cod

Mohonk Preserve- New Paltz, NY

Comparative Criteria for Sustainability

• Qualitative Frameworks- Andropogon Associates, Urban Design Foundation, Principles of Smart Growth:– Participatory design process– Preserve/reestablish landscape patterns– Natural infrastructure– Conserve resources– Biodiversity– Socially just– Beautiful– Walkable neighborhoods/mixed land use– Preserve open space

Sustainability Criteria- Quantitative Frameworks(Dinep & Schwab)

• LEED –New Construction v 2.2– Sustainable sites– Water efficiency– Energy and atmosphere– Materials and Resources– Innovation and Design process

• LEED- Neighborhood Development– Smart location– Neighborhood pattern– Green construction– Innovation and Design process

• ASLA Sustainable Sites Initiative– Water waste & pollution– Biodiversity– Resource waste– Energy– Soil– Air

Sustainable Sites Initiative

• ASLA partnership with Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and US Botanical Garden - 2007

ASLA Sustainable Sites Initiative Rating System(250 Points Total)

• * 100• **125• ***150• ***200+PREREQUISITES/ CREDITS

Site Selection 21 Human Health 32Pre-Design Assessment 4 Construction 21Water 44 Operation and Maintenance 23Soil & Vegetation 51 Monitoring and Innovation 18Materials 36

Breeam

• British Leeds System – most widely use environ. Assessment for bldgs. – over 100,000 bldgs.– Straightforward scoring– Influence design construction, and management– Robust technical standards, best practices,

scientifically based.

Sustainability in Action

• John Lyle’s Cal Poly- Regenerative Design Center -1992

• Vancouver Convention Center- 2008-2009• San Francisco California Museum of Science-

2009• Center for Appropriate Technology(David

Eisenberg) - Tucson

Lyle Center- Cal Poly Pomona, California

Center for Appropriate Technology

Vancouver Olympics & Convention Ctr

Vancouver Olympic Village Housing

California Academy of Sciences Museum- San Francisco- Architect Reinzo Piano

Why Sustainability ?

• Cool architecture and landscape design• Environmentally responsible• Cheaper in the long run• The right thing to do• Futuristic and optimistic theme• Working with Laws of Conservation of Energy• Political imperative• Economic vitality