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"Auto-Free Development: In Scotland,
the Edinburgh Council has approved a $13 million housing development
where no one owns a car, trees replace pavement, water is recycled,
and heating and lighting are free. A landscaped garden will surround
more than 100 homes on the site of an old railway yard near the
city center. There will be no roads, no parking spaces, and no
garages. Residents will sign an agreement not to own a car but
to use one from the 'pool.' Residents will pay about $320 to
join a council-run car club that will maintain and insure a fleet
of vehicles in an on-site garage. They will be able to reserve
cars at any time of the day or night at an hour's notice and
will pay mileage and rental charges for each journey. Heating
will be free all year since steam from factories will be used
to heat homes and water, while solar panels on the roof of each
home will provide electricity for lighting. Household utility
bills are expected to be up to 25 percent below the U.K. average.
Grey water from sinks and baths will be filtered and purified
in reed beds before being reused; rainwater will be collected
to be used in bathrooms; and all household waste will be recycled
(Roseland 1998: 138)."
"Auto-Use Reduction: Partly as a result
of Portland's energy-efficient land-use planning, the number
of jobs in downtown Portland has increased by 30,000 since the
1970s, with only a scant increase in traffic; in addition, 40
percent of commuters to the downtown area use public transportation.
The number of days per year on which carbon monoxide levels violated
federal health standards has dropped from 100 to zero. By encouraging
high-density development along transit routes and limiting urban
sprawl, Portland is showing that at least some reductions in
car use are possible (Roseland 1998: 139)."
Source: Roseland, Mark. 1998. Towards Sustainable
Communities: Resource for Citizens and Their Governments. Gabriola
Island: New Society Publishers.
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Waste
Reduction and Recycling
Energy
Efficiency and Renewables
Transportation
Planning and Traffic Management
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