| The history of the sustainability concept, from the industrial revolution to present, was researched and examined to isolate relevant quantifiable and measurable principles that would be useful in architectural, planning, and engineering design. Indicators of sustainability were also researched and found to often lack interelatedness between each other. A deeper analysis led to the realization that natural flows of nutrients and energy connected these indicators and that an understanding of these cycles and transformations would be necessary to begin to understand their connections.; Several seminal planners and architects that dealt with the challenge of incorporating technology and the environment are discussed and the work of one, Ebenezer Howard, is examined in detail. Howard's original schematics for Garden City showed that he established an order of community that was tightly integrated with the environment. While Howard's genius appeared directed largely at the urban development, less insight was evident in the open space that separated his proposed matrix of many such Garden Cities.; Even though a great body of knowledge has been created concerning countless ecological relationships, we do not, yet, have the knowledge to reproduce a healthy model that is sustainable. It is possible, however, to examine components of such a model, not in isolation or to see simply how it is held in balance by other components, but to determine how the cycles of nature and the naturally occurring flows of energy can be used to heal other damages to an ecosystem while sustaining its own health and growth.; Of the countless number of variables in the sustainability equation to analyze, nitrogen was chosen. By determining the amounts of this nutrient consumed per capita and setting out the goal of determining how much land is required to recycle that amount a method for establishing the size of a healthy open space is developed. Regional planning must emphasize the importance of open space in nutrient recycling and the containment and control of an ever expanding built environment into the living filter of the soil. |
