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192 The immediate benefits of participation were substantial and, it seems to this reviewer, understated in the book. It showed that participation broadened and improved technical analysis, generated fresh options and produced under- standings benefiting both political and planning processes. The Boston Experience implicitly and explicitly shows that a well devised open planning process provides rational discussion of conflicting interests leading to better trade-offs and solutions, sufficient consensus within a recognised plurality of interests, good scrutiny of technical bias or assumptions, and a learning process within which change of direction is possible. In a democratic community it provides an important avenue for the active exercise of responsible citizenship without divesting elected officials of power. Its risks are that the end results are unpredictable and its major problem is to continually devise the most varied possible means for inclusion of all groups within the community. Improvements to participatory programmes will come with the develop- ment of techniques which increase their penetration among less powerful and less articulate groups, provide more subtle evaluation methods, and engage citizen involvement in global policy planning. In no respect definitive, this book is an account of a landmark in trans- portation planning of interest to planner, social scientist and citizen. On the basis of this reviewer’s professional experience of public participation in urban planning, in Canberra, Australia, the processes and discussion presented by Sloan have practical and theoretical value. ANGELA SANDS (Canberra, A. C. T., Australia) ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO URBAN GROWTH Energy and Form, An Ecological Approach to Urban Growth. R.L. Knowles. M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1975, 198 pp., 11 tables, 215 figures, % 13.75. The context for the book Energy and Form, An Ecological Approach to Urban Growth is reasonably straight forward. All things within nature have evolved structurally and functionally in response to changes in the environ- ment, specifically to the recurring interaction of the sun, wind, and water. Man reacts to these forces by conceiving and constructing building forms and structures designed for both physical and psychological shelter. The premise of the text is that modern man’s approach to shelter has resulted in the conception of built shells that have created a schism between

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Page 1: Energy and form, an ecological approach to urban growth

192

The immediate benefits of participation were substantial and, it seems to this reviewer, understated in the book. It showed that participation broadened and improved technical analysis, generated fresh options and produced under- standings benefiting both political and planning processes. The Boston Experience implicitly and explicitly shows that a well devised open planning process provides rational discussion of conflicting interests leading to better trade-offs and solutions, sufficient consensus within a recognised plurality of interests, good scrutiny of technical bias or assumptions, and a learning process within which change of direction is possible.

In a democratic community it provides an important avenue for the active exercise of responsible citizenship without divesting elected officials of power. Its risks are that the end results are unpredictable and its major problem is to continually devise the most varied possible means for inclusion of all groups within the community.

Improvements to participatory programmes will come with the develop- ment of techniques which increase their penetration among less powerful and less articulate groups, provide more subtle evaluation methods, and engage citizen involvement in global policy planning.

In no respect definitive, this book is an account of a landmark in trans- portation planning of interest to planner, social scientist and citizen. On the basis of this reviewer’s professional experience of public participation in urban planning, in Canberra, Australia, the processes and discussion presented by Sloan have practical and theoretical value.

ANGELA SANDS (Canberra, A. C. T., Australia)

ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO URBAN GROWTH

Energy and Form, An Ecological Approach to Urban Growth. R.L. Knowles. M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1975, 198 pp., 11 tables, 215 figures, % 13.75.

The context for the book Energy and Form, An Ecological Approach to Urban Growth is reasonably straight forward. All things within nature have evolved structurally and functionally in response to changes in the environ- ment, specifically to the recurring interaction of the sun, wind, and water. Man reacts to these forces by conceiving and constructing building forms and structures designed for both physical and psychological shelter.

The premise of the text is that modern man’s approach to shelter has resulted in the conception of built shells that have created a schism between

Page 2: Energy and form, an ecological approach to urban growth

193

the container-nature and the contained-man. Insofar as man conceives of these shells as disassociated from the natural environment, continued and increasing demands on the non-renewable store of energy must be anticipated.

The objective of the series of studies presented is to illustrate ways in which principles of energy conservation can be integrated into the study of the built environment inherent to the process of future urban growth. These studies are organized in three distinct, yet linked, parts.

Part I deals with natural adaptations of plants, animals and the older cul- tures of man to their immediate environment and the functional differen- tiations which resulted from these adaptations. An historical analysis of the indigenous shelter of the Acoma, pueblo indians in the south-western United States, illustrates progressive adaptations of their shelter expressed as built form designed for protection from the sun during the summer while deriving maximum benefit through solar penetration in the winter.

Part II describes techniques used in measuring natural site variations in Owens Valley, California. These variations result from the north-south orientation of the valley, and present rather drastically different environments on east and west slopes. Recurring forces such as solar radiation, winds, the water regime, and slope orientation are analyzed with respect to potential built forms and their surface : volume ratio. The analysis stresses coefficients that may be considered adapted to these prevailing environmental conditions. Throughout, the author concentrates on built form and emphasizes the process of integration and diversification of these forms to their natural con- text as a way of conserving energy.

Part III stresses insulation as a growing factor in energy conservation. Shape, structure, and scale are studied as means of establishing equilibrium within a building under the stress of the multiple cyclic forces of nature.

The author readily admits that “energy conservation cannot be the sole criterion for design of an urban environment. . . that built form is not only made in response to cyclic forms of nature. . .” nor does he deal with the problem of developing communities and the analysis processes advocated in the text.

One cannot help but notice that the urban environment is encroaching upon the “natural” environment at an alarming rate. It would have been instructive if the text had addressed the issue of the integration of the author’s approach within an existing urban fabric, and discussed some of the problems inherent to this integration.

Although the use of the term “ecological” is somewhat misleading for the type of research outlined in the study, the text does deal with basic relation- ships of man with at least a portion of his abiotic surroundings. Even then, the study focuses on the building as a shell and one is only rarely reminded that the object of these shells is to mediate between man and environment.

PETER JACOBS (Montr6a1, Que., Canada)