"A slim 166 pages, the book is rich in ideas and well-articulated arguments for those ideas. It frames the problems of our existing urban forms clearly and proposes solutions. The writing is organized and well illustrated with examples. It is very accessible to the casual reader and well suited to policy-makers, elected officials, and the public at large. This is the book to hand to elected officials to help them understand the issues and possible solutions for making their communities more sustainable...Fundamentally, Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities is about the design of cities. While it gives a comprehensive review of many strategies and techniques for achieving sustainability, its real value is the provision of an intelligent framework for integrating them into comprehensvie designs and master plans. The book sets a direction that the discipline of landscape architecture would do well to pursue as part of its research agenda."
"Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities is a compact, informative handbook to one of the most profound and intricate planning challenges of our time... Condon prescribes very specific and useful solutions ... Condon has assembled a concise, cogent plea to search for design strategies for the post-carbon world in our own backyards—as well as our streets, sidewalks, driveways, roods, houses, blocks, parks, waterways, and the planning policies we devise together to govern them"
Journal of Planning Education and Research
"For Condon, climate change is a fact, not a debate, and one (along with unsustainable dependence on cars and increasingly unaffordable infrastructure maintenance costs) that demands a response. Although it's clear that he's passionate about the impact of our current lifestyle on the natural world, he makes his points with data and lessons from the field, not emotion or aesthetic critiques. Issues are framed in terms of how they affect people's lives, not in abstractions about atmospheric temperature changes. Reading this book, you can just about believe a retrofit is possible."
Landscape Architecture Magazine
"Condon's intimate understanding of his neighborhood—of how a series of different elements work together to make Kitsilano a satisfying human habitat—ogives depth and persuasiveness to his Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities , one of the best books I've read on urban planning in the era of climate change."
"Seven Rules is worthy of our attention because it improves our understanding of how urban form affects greenhouse gas production. In referring to an imminent 'planetary meltdown' (p. 10), Condon sounds an alarm bell about global warming. Yet, he brings the discussion down to the level of designing individual sites, building neighborhoods, retrofitting cities, and promoting smart growth in regions. Planners who want to respond to the warning bell but have not yet deciphered exactly what can and should be done at local and regional (rather than national and global) levels will benefit greatly from Seven Rules ."
"Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities builds on reflective practice to suggest better ways to design communities. In doing so, Professor Condon puts forth the essential building blocks for constructing the post-carbon city."
Dean, School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin - Frederick Steiner
"While some of this has been said before, Condon offers a fresh take on the material. He starts with an uncompromising view of the reality and menace of climate change. His thesis is that urban areas are responsible for 80 percent of all greenhouse gases and that, therefore, fixing cities must be a priority...The shift in thinking Condon calls for is sizeable and has barely begun. 'No responsible planner, architect, landscape architect, politician, or developer,' he writes, 'can escape the moral imperative to change the way he or she does business.'"
"Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities is a must-read. It is exhaustively researched and empirically grounded in the unknown or forgotten histories of real examples. Condon's manual presents a compelling and detailed vision for how cities can be transformed and contribute to planetary survival."
Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, University of California at Berkeley - Harrison Fraker
"Professor Condon's deep familiarity and engagement with the Vancouver model of city-building, and many other models from across North America, lends practical credibility to this much-needed book. With clear rules and real solutions, this is the kind of book practitioners and engaged citizens need to read."
Director of City Planning, Vancouver, British Columbia - Brent Toderian
"Professor Condon sums up the opportunities well: 'If we change the way cities are built and retrofitted, we can prevent the blackest of the nightmare scenarios from becoming real and can create the conditions for a livable life for our children and grandchildren. It is not apocalyptic to say we can save their lives.'"
"Professor Patrick Condon uses his impressive knowledge of urban planning and his years of research and teaching at the University of British Columbia to create a comprehensive set of rules that may help to secure our future on this planet. His rules are simple and realistic, and are supported by extensive data. Although the rules themselves are not new ideas, Condon's ability to simplify and apply them to current urban design situations is impressive and inspiring...Well-written, concise, and thorough, this should not only be a required reading for students, but should be on the shelves of every planner, developer, architect, landscape architect and engineer in the city...Condon should be highly-praised for his ability to take the world's most complex problem and outline a set of realistic, and exciting solutions."
Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities is a compact, informative handbook to one of the most profound and intricate planning challenges of our time... Condon prescribes very specific and useful solutions ... Condon has assembled a concise, cogent plea to search for design strategies for the post-carbon world in our own backyards - as well as our streets, sidewalks, driveways, roods, houses, blocks, parks, waterways, and the planning policies we devise together to govern them"
Journal of Planning and Education Research
Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities is about the design of cities. While it gives a comprehensive review of many strategies and techniques for achieving sustainability, its real value is the provision of an intelligent framework for integrating them into comprehensvie designs and master plans. The book sets a direction that the discipline of landscape architecture would do well to pursue as part of its research agenda."
Landscape Journal - Robert Sykes
Landscape Architecture Magazine - Linda McIntyre
Re:place Magazine - Ellen Zeigler
Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities , one of the best books I've read on urban planning in the era of climate change."
New Urban News - Philip Langdon
"Seven Rules is worthy of our attention because it improves our understanding of how urban form affects greenhouse gas production. In referring to an imminent 'planetary meltdown' (p. 10), Condon sounds an alarm bell about global warming. Yet, he brings the discussion down to the level of designing individual sites, building neighborhoods, retrofitting cities, and promoting smart growth in regions. Planners who want to respond to the warning bell but have not yet deciphered exactly what can and should be done at local and regional (rather than national and global) levels will benefit greatly from Seven Rules .
I offer four other observations in recommending Seven Rules . First, I applaud Condon for appropriately denigrating decade-old minimum school parcel size standards, which set acreage provisions so high that they make small schools within walking distance of neighborhoods impossible. Second, Condon also alludes to reasons why conventional zoning needs to be overhauled. He points out that because 'most new jobs don't smell bad' (p. 87) we no longer need to separate most industries from our homes. Further, he remarks that the 'zoning habit has not caught up with the changing nature of jobs' (p. 87). His indictment of zoning, however, is stronger in other parts of the book, particularly with regard to socially 'heinous' patterns of densities that result from most zoning codes (p. 102). Third, his blending of historical perspectives of planning (with references to Jane Jacobs, Ian McHarg, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the like) adds increasing value to urban designers and academics alike. Fourth, Condon demonstrates keen understanding of infiltration, natural processes, and nature-based infrastructure. He is adept at comparing performance of natural systems with conventional 'pipe' drainage systems.
Seven Rules is well-illustrated and well-substantiated in terms of the literature. It is convenient to read because literature references are provided in footnotes on the same page as the narrative. He advances green infrastructure and green building concepts beyond what the literature has offered to date. Sufficient attention is paid to the social equity perspective, especially with regard to housing issues. Finally, Seven Rules is a source of inspiration for local planners and urban designers. We can make a huge difference in bringing about more sustainable development practices."
Practicing Planner - Jerry Weitz
