by Janis Birkeland, London, Earthscan, 2008, 432 pp., £90 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-84407-578-2
This book made me think. It will be a book that I will come back to on many occasions as it questions the conventional approach to sustainable development and goes far beyond, offering advice towards positive development. I will keep it to hand in order to stimulate thinking and to provoke debate.
The concept of positive development raises the bar with respect to the design of the built environment from component through building, regional and global implications. It shifts us from designing for the ‘pareto optimum’ where good decisions make individuals better off without harming anyone else to the ‘green optimum’ which works towards the situation that makes everyone better off without harming individuals. It defines Positive Development as ‘design that reverses the impact of current systems of development, increases the ecological base and public estate, and improves life quality’.
The author provides a reader's map which is essential to the user friendliness of this book and facilitates the reader in getting to grips with the enormous breadth of material that is included within the book. I was appreciative also of the ‘boxes’ included effectively as the appendices which expanded the detail and provided contributions from other specialists in the field.
I was initially put off by the style of presentation where every paragraph is headed by a question, a practice from which I regularly discourage students in the writing of their dissertations. However, the author has used the style in a positive way which encourages the reader to tackle the subject in manageable sections. There were however occasions where a summative section would also have been of help.
The book develops the philosophy of ‘positive development’ through five sections:
| • | Redefining the problem and goals. | ||||
| • | Critique of methods, tools and processes in building design. | ||||
| • | Critique of methods, tools and processes in environmental management. | ||||
| • | Critique of trends in strategies, incentives and planning. | ||||
| • | A framework for eco-governance and management. | ||||
The final chapter of the book introduces the ‘smartmode process’ which has been developed to reverse the current negative approach to environmental management. It identifies 12 basic steps required to move to apply the process towards positive development. The author uses these steps to produce a summary of the book cross referencing the reader to the section in the book where the concepts and theories have been introduced. I am tempted to suggest that readers new to the subject should start with this chapter and then work their way back into the earlier chapters when directed or when further support is required.
This book offers food for thought for the casual reader but also provides a logical, well argued vision towards positive development. The issues raised, the evaluation of current practice, the proposal of an improved approach and the breadth of supporting references should also make this book highly recommended for all students of the built environment.