University of California, Berkeley • College of Environmental Design

Ecological Planning, Management and Design (2003)
Richard L. Meier

PREFACE

Sustainability for human communities has become the principal goal for community planning and management, but all attempts fall far short of the goal. The ecosystem frame customary in these professions is (1) too limited, and (2) the number of participant species considered is too small. Also, new technology has appeared that (3) presents us with novel instruments. I started the quest for sustainable strategies long ago, and found that it led in unexpected directions. Applying futures studies, and found that the sustainability concept is due to lose significance, and will soon be displaced by more concrete concerns. This intellectual journey produced some fascinating insights. The introductory illustration portrays the contemporary ecological planning that allows virtually unlimited growth into surrounding cyberspace.

Taking futures studies into account made me realize that academic publishing is beginning a major transformation, which is fed by our new stream of undergraduates. If they want the latest information, they have already evolved efficient techniques for consulting the Internet. As they finish their own papers and dissertations, they are impatient with the lengthy delays in publishing their new findings. Therefore, this volume is also the initiation of a series in a new medium for contributions to knowledge. I imagine all research-oriented academic schools will contribute on the Internet nurturing streams of thinking propagated in its environs.

Progressing through a transition into a new kind of publishing requires that prevailing standards for quality be maintained, An earlier version of manuscript was cleared by the University of California Press, but they predicted was more perilous than could be imagined this long delay. Meanwhile the World Wide Web has been building up design standards for the new medium. An experienced friend, Elaine Winters, has guided me through the adaptations to the Web, which subdivided initial chapters into theme sections 500-1000 words in length, but expanding later. Readers new to this format will find the startup somewhat jumpy, but the ride is soon smoothed out.

Many kinds of feedback are desired. They range from helpful suggestions to a vision of a perfected future publication process to proposals for using the Internet as a lever for developing very poor communities, which are already being tried in a few places.

Richard L. Meier
Professor Emeritus of Environmental Design in City and Regional Planning, Architecture, and Environmental Planning

Read the manuscript of Ecological Planning, Management and Design:
Foreward • Table of Contents • Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Index • References