While councils, government agencies and private business invest in a broad range of promotions offering discounts on sustainable products and services, uptake has been slow and the impacts marginal at a time when environmental stresses suggest that we must act fast. This book examines this pressing problem in a holistic way.

Sustainability has become the key challenge for urban planners, housing and infrastructure policy makers. Citizens are increasingly encouraged to live more compactly; in denser urban developments, to use less water and other natural resources and to choose public transport. While councils, government agencies and private business invest in a broad range of promotions offering discounts on sustainable products and services, uptake has been slow and the impacts marginal at a time when environmental stresses suggest that we must act fast. This book examines this pressing problem in a holistic way, discussing broad-scale sustainability policies and programmes for achieving sustainable urban futures. It brings together academics and practitioners to analyse the complexity and interdependence of principles, models, processes and practices of sustainability in a range of integrated sectors as well as the establishment and maintenance of sustainable physical infrastructure in cities.

Steering sustair lability: what, where and why. Part I Transforming Cities: A sustainable cities framework for housing
Ecopolis: concepts, initiatives and the purpose of cities
Permaculture: design principles for urban sustainability
Policy approaches incorporating life cycle assessment. Part II Collective Practices: Stationary energy
Sustainable transport in urban neighbourhoods
Indicators, audits, measuring success
Sustainable water systems and household practices
Sustainable waste management practices. Part III Community and Civil Society: Community action and engagement for sustainability
Westwyck: a case study
The role of leisure time in achieving sustainability
Local multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainability. Part III Transforming Suburbs: Innovating for sustainability in estate development
Who can afford sustainable housing?
Retrofitting the Australian suburbs for sustainability
Nurturing nature in the city
How smart id 'smart'? - smart homes and sustainability
Sustainable futures
Index.