Introduction

Whole Systems Approach to Ecological Design

Appropriate Technology: Water

Organic Agriculture and Local Food

Appropriate Technology: Energy

Green Building & Retrofitting

Scale and decentralised

Scale is particularly important when selecting technologies.  A large ecovillage is necessary to make a CHP plant economical, while solar thermal works for a single house.  In the past, typical designs adopted a centralised approach to infrastructure.  There are key advantages to adopting a decentralised strategy with projects designed in districts.  For new urban towns, a typical district will be designed for 5,000 people or 2,000 houses, along with commercial and industrial concerns.  The districts will be interlinked.  These subjects are well described in the book Designing Ecological Settlements by Declan Kennedy.

• Scale and decentralised
• Relocalization

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