Sustainable Sites Handbook

Get the definitive resource guide for sustainable site design, construction, and management. The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) is transforming land design, development, and management practices across the United States with the first national rating system for sustainable landscapes. The Sustainable Sites Handbook features comprehensive and detailed information on principles, strategies, technologies, tools, and best practices for sustainable site design. Contributors to this book are some of the same experts that carefully shaped the SITES rating tool, ensuring thorough coverage of the broad range of topics related to sustainable site design. The Sustainable Sites Handbook offers in-depth coverage of design, construction, and management for systems of hydrology, vegetation, soils, materials, and human health and well-being. Focusing primarily on environmental site design and ecosystem services, this wide-ranging guide also covers issues of social equity, economic feasibility, and stewardship, which are crucial to the success of any sustainable site. Equally useful as a handbook for obtaining SITES credits or for the independent development of sustainable sites, The Sustainable Sites Handbook is an indispensible resource for practicing professionals in landscape architecture, landscape design, architecture, civil engineering, land planning, horticulture, ecology, environmental engineering, landscape contracting, and parks and recreation management.

Auteur
MEG CALKINS, ASLA, LEED AP, is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Ball State University. As an officer of ASLA's Sustainable Development Professional Practice Network, Meg was part of a small team that approached ASLA about forming the effort that eventually grew into the Sustainable Sites Initiative. Today, Meg is a member of the SITES Technical Core Committee. She served for many years on the LEED Sustainable Sites Technical Advisory Group. Meg is the author of Materials for Sustainable Sites and is an editorial advisory board member of and contributor to Landscape Architecture Graphic Standards, both published by Wiley. She holds master's degrees in both landscape architecture and architecture from the University of California at Berkeley.

Contenu

Foreword ix

Michael Van Valkenburgh

Letter from SITES Partners xi

Chapter 1 - Introduction 1

Meg Calkins

Sustainable Site Design Defined 2

The Contents and Structure of This Book 27

Chapter 2 - Predesign: Site Selection, Assessment, and
Planning 33

Heather Venhaus

Site Selection 33

Understanding the Site 41

Team Development and Planning Strategies 54

Developing Project Direction: Principles, Goals, and Performance
Targets 58

Chapter 3 - Site Design: Water 65

Alfred Vick, John Calabria, Stuart Echols, Michael Ogden, and
David Yocca

Sustainable Stormwater Management 72

Stormwater Design Approaches 104

Water Conservation 148

Onsite Wastewater Treatment, Disposal, and Reuse 166

Chapter 4 - Site Design: Vegetation 197

Steve Windhager, Mark Simm ons, and Jacob Blue

Vegetation and Ecosystem Services 202

Vegetation Protection Techniques 213

Sustainable Planting Design and Management 216

Chapter 5 - Site Design: Soils 247

Nina Bassuk and Susan Day

Integrating Soil into the Design Process 249

Soils in the Site Assessment 251

Soil Characteristics and Associated Tests 265

Managing Soils for a Sustainable Site 295

Soil Replacement and Specialized Soils 310

The Soil Management Plan 316

Chapter 6 - Site Design: Materials and R esources
323

Meg Calkins

The Lifecycle of Construction Materials and Products 327

Environmental Impacts of Materials and Products 331

Human Health Impacts of Materials 344

Evaluating Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Materials
348

Inventory and Analysis for Materials 358

Resource Efficiency 360

Low-VOC Materials and Products 390

Materials to Minimize Heat Island Impacts 390

Concrete 396

Aggregates and Stone 398

Asphalt 401

Brick Masonry 403

Earthen Materials 404

Plastics 407

Metals 409

Bio-Based Materials 413

Wood 416

Site Lighting 421

Chapter 7 - Human Health and Well-Being for Sustainable Sites
429

Robert Ryan

Assessing the Site's Social Setting 432

Sustainability Awareness and Education 436

Social Equality in Site Development, Construction, and Use
440

Site Accessibility 445

Site Wayfinding 449

Site Safety 454

Design for Physical Activity 458

Restorative Settings 462

Design for Social Interaction and Community Building 466

Preserving Historic and Cultural Features 470

Chapter 8 - Operations, Maintenance, Monitoring, and
Stewardship 479

Amy Belaire and David Yocca

Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Sustainable Site
Operations, Maintenance, and Monitoring 480

Incorporating Operations, Maintenance, and Monitoring
Considerations into Site Design 482

Monitoring to Inform Active and Adaptive Stewardship 519

Resources 521

Index 535