• Explores the strategies employed by innovative architects and designers that make both the residential environment and the community as a whole smart
• Includes several critical and informative essays by noted scholar and academic, Professor Avi Friedman
• Illustrates the themes in rich photographic detail, with detailed diagrams and explanatory commentaries that illuminate a large range of case studies from around the globe
• Discusses in great depth five key pillars that are critical to sustainable development and sound urban planning principles
• Applies critical investigative prowess across sustainable residential and environmental design principles and urban planning, and how the confluence of these aspects and their interrelationships relate to the broader perspective
• Provides a detailed account of the range of advanced information technologies assist to increase the standards of liveability in the domestic environment and make the community more sustainable, while using less resources at the same time
The term "smart" in reference to homes and communities describes places whose function is related to or affected by information technology. In the wake of the ongoing digital revolutions of the 21st century, designers and planners are paying significant attention to the design of dwellings and neighborhoods and are considering new economic realities, by integrating innovative digital appliances, which are also helping to foster economic sustainability for future generations. In this important book, Avi Friedman, Professor of Architecture at McGill University in Montreal, examines these concepts and their applications through several revealing essays, which are illustrated with lavish full-colour photography, detailed diagrams, and technological insight through a selection of case studies from around the globe. The text comprehensively investigates several key topics, namely the correlations between the built and the natural environments and their ecological attributes; issues of mobility and transportation; the mixing of amenities and residences; district heating and other energy efficiencies; planning for green open space while considering the residents' lifestyle; edible landscapes and novel urban agriculture practices and their implementation; reducing a community footprint with regards to the evolution of high-density living; the principles of heritage conservation within communities, where social, economic, and environmental issues are all present, where old is mixed with new; how sustainability is achieved when dwellings are designed for and equipped with advanced "green" technologies, for adaptable homes, multi-generational dwellings, add-in and add-on units, and plug and play, among others.