Sustainable Phoenix: Lessons from the Dutch model. Knowledge transfer of policy and design elements.

摘要

In only fifty years, the Phoenix metropolitan area has expanded from a small desert town into one of the largest urban areas in the United States. Today, it has one fastest rates of growth in the nation with an annual population growth rate of 4.5%. This area has grown during a period of urban development that largely ignored local topography, climate, culture and history. As a result residents have a sprawling metropolitan area with an ever increasing ecological footprint and with a standardized urban design and infrastructure that works against its environmental setting rather than with it. Currently, the city of Phoenix is going through a process of urban revitalization with an increasing demand for urban living and commerce. It is said that Phoenix has most of the major building blocks to become the heart of a new regional economy. Learning from the Netherlands, this dissertation explores the concept of the sustainable urban design and its applications in the context of Phoenix through the investigation and the transfer of knowledge from the Dutch model. The Dutch have successfully dealt with sustainable urban design approaches and their practices represent an unusual learning opportunity for Phoenix. The Netherlands' experience suggests three strategies/themes for rendering Phoenix more sustainable urban form. These include the strategic planning and development of "urban extensions," "compact infill," and "modernizing infrastructure." The goal of this dissertation is not to duplicate the Dutch model, but to transfer the knowledge form the Dutch strategies and provide suggestions of how these strategies might occur in Phoenix.