“Planning Sustainable Cities: An infrastructure-based approach providing an analytical framework for urban sustainability, focusing on the services and performance of infrastructure systems” was the message conveyed from the authors of the book when it was released during the summer of 2016. The latest Zofnass Program publication, the second since its inception, approaches infrastructure as a series of systems that function in synergy and are directly linked with a sustainable urban plan.
The Zofnass Program was founded in 2008 by Paul and Joan Zofnass and operates out of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. It aims to “facilitate the adoption of sustainable solutions for infrastructure projects and systems, and expand the body of knowledge for sustainable infrastructure”.
Golder Associates was invited as a member of the Sustainable Industry Advisory Board for the Zofnass Program in the early days of its establishment and has financially supported the development of this particular publication as well as provided technical insights and expert commentary as the book was being written. There have been several Golder contributors working on various chapters of the book, who have all shared a professional perspective related to the research carried out by students and researchers at Harvard University.
Roberto Mezzalama, Principal and Global ESIA Technical Community Leader, based in the Turin, Italy, is one of the book’s contributors and has authored the chapter about planning considerations for energy infrastructure. Roberto argues that the act of planning sustainable energy infrastructure is dependent on a strong vision for the future – linked to a set of physical, ecological, economic, cultural and political determinants and constraints that include both people’s expectations and their aspirations.
He emphasizes that in planning for energy systems, there are a number of dimensions to consider, such as geographic scale, time scale, interrelations between demand and supply and the interrelations with other systems. Incorporating sustainability objectives when planning energy systems offers many opportunities to achieve sustainable development goals, particularly for new cities or cities that are under pressure to expand to accommodate the anticipated population growth of the next 50 years.
“Developing sustainable solutions is truly at the heart of Golder and is embedded into our consulting services and tools. As a global company committed to sustainability, we are proud to be part of the advisory board for Zofnass Program and see this book being published. With this analytical framework for urban sustainability we have taken a step further to create long term solutions for the use and enjoyment of future generations”, says Roberto Mezzalama.
The book ‘Planning Sustainable Cities. An Infrastruture-based Approach’ is available to order here.
Join Golder at the Planning Sustainable Cities Conference, hosted by Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure on 3-4 November in Cambridge [MA], click here for more details.
For more information, please contact:
Golder Associates
Roberto Mezzalama, Global ESIA Technical Community Leader, Torino office
Tel: +39 011 23 44 211
Email: Roberto_Mezzalama@golder.com
