Sustainable Urban development

In a report prepared for the Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy, Nigel Richardson, a consultant, compares strategies for their sustainability or lack of sustainability.

More Sustainable	Less Sustainable
Compact forms of residential Development.	Low-density, spread-out residential development
Mixed land use; homes, jobs and shopping in close proximity/TD	Segregation of land uses: homes, jobs and shopping separated into uniform tracts or concentrations.
Employment based primarily on education and skills.	Employment based primarily on environment polluting or non-renewable resource based industry.
Movement on foot and by bicycle and transit.	Heavy dependence on private cars
Wind and solar energy.	Thermal and nuclear energy
Tertiary treatment of sewage; use of natural means of sewage treatment.	Discharge of sewage into water bodies or water-courses untreated or with low level of treatment.
Protection and use of natural hydrologic systems.	Hard surfaces preventing infiltration; channeling natural water-courses.
Natural open space; protection of wetlands, woodlands, stream valleys, habitat, etc.; use of manure, compost, integrated pest management, etc.	Destruction of natural landscape; "manicured" parkland with exotic species; heavy use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides.
Reduction of waste; recovery, re-use and recycling of waste materials.	Landfills, incinerators.

- Nigel Richardson. Prepared for by the Ontario Round Table on Environment and Economy.

Source: Sustainable Communities Resource Package

Source:
http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/Sustainablecities/Characteristics.html