Placed within an urban context or on previously developed land, a Living Building is takes advantage of existing infrastructure and community networks. Moreover, it respects sensitive ecological habitats, minimizing human intrusion into the natural environment.

The ideal is to stop the seemingly never-ending outward growth of human settlement and focus it into compact, connected communities--an inherent conservation tool for the natural resource systems that support human health. As degraded land is restored, the trend is reversed and nature's functions are invited back into a healthy interface with the built environment.

Sessions

S01: Origins and response to sprawl    Available Winter 2009 

S02: The science of site    Available Winter 2009

S03: Urban restoration ecology    Available October 20, 2008

S04: Ecosystem services    Available Winter 2009