The objective of Sustainable Communities Design Handbook is to ensure a better quality of life for everyone, both now and for generations to come. This means creating a better and safer environment internationally through the sustainable use of natural resources, encouraging sustainable development which supports a strong economy, and ensuring a high quality environment that can be enjoyed by all.

Sustainable Development Partnerships brings together in one reference today's most cutting edge technologies and methods for creating sustainable communities. With this book, Environmental Engineers, Civil Engineers, Architects, Mechanical Engineers, and Energy Engineers find a common approach to building environmental friendly communities which are energy efficient. The five part treatment starts with a clear and rigorous exposition of sustainable development in practice, followed by self-contained chapters concerning applications.

• Methods for the sustainable use of natural resources in built communities
• Clearly explains the most cutting edge sustainable technologies
• Provides a common approach to building sustainable communities
• Coverage of sustainable practices from architecture to construction

Chapter 1: The Tools for Sustainable Development
Chapter 2: Global Warming and Climate Change: The Mechanisms for Community Cases Toward Solutions
Part One: Architectural Design and Building in Communities
Chapter 3: Public Policy: Leadership at the local, state, national and international levels
Chapter 4: Government: The Case of Sustainable College Communities
Chapter 5: Green Buildings: standards and codes that provide environmentally sound technologies and returns on investments
Part Two: Agile Sustainable Infrastructure Systems
Chapter 6: Smart Communities: the public and private sectors integration of infrastructures, technologies and buildings
Chapter 7: Technologies, Engineering and Science
Chapter 8: The Environment, Land Use, Natural Resources Today and the Future
Part Three: Economic, Legal and Accounting Mechanisms
Chapter 9: Economics and Accounting: Life Cycle Analysis, Externalities, Markets and ROI (return on investment)
Chapter 10: Legal contracts and Power Purchase Agreements
Chapter 11: Corporate Governance and Responsibility
Model Sustainable Communities, Regions and Nation States
Chapter 12: Global Cases of Sustainable Communities
Chapter 13: Conclusions: the next generation, life styles and beyond
APPENDIX A: Sustainable Development
APPENDIX B: Greenhouse Gas Analysis
APPENDIX C: Demand Side Management
APPENDICE E: Case of Legal Mechanism: The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
APPENDIC F: References and Web Site Data Sources