"Eco-Policies and Generative Programs for Sustainable Cities"

Sound eco-policies formulated by the federal, state and local governments are necessary to provide a framework for action and implementation. These policies may be informed by insight from historic cities and contemporary science. They constitute a top-down framework for the goal of achieving sustainable cities and must be formulated by consultation with experts and the public. Generative programs and systems must be employed to achieve dynamic vibrant neighborhoods and cities. They are a bottom-up system that relies on community and individual participation in shaping the built environment at the neighborhood level. Abundance experience and examples are available from historic cities around the world. Both strategies together are necessary for retrofitting the existing built environment and for new developments.

Besim S. Hakim, FAICP, AIA, is a consultant in urban design, an independent scholar and a former professor of architecture and urban planning. He is Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Member of the American Institute of Architects, and a Harvard graduate in Urban Design. He has been researching and writing about traditional cities from the Mediterranean region since 1975, concentrating on their features, management systems, customary practices and codes. The purpose of his studies is to provide lessons and models for contemporary and future architects, urban designers, city administrators and officials, and lawyers, who are involved in formulating or revising codes and related implementation strategies. He has practiced architecture and urban design and also taught those disciplines for over two decades, and has lectured widely in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

His publications include two books and numerous scholarly and technical studies spanning the period from the 6th to the 19th centuries of the Common Era. The results are published in scholarly journals, book chapters and encyclopedias. For a partial content, please visit: http://www.charrettecenter.net/Hakim.

Two recent studies that are relevant to the topic of this presentation:

• http://intbau.org/essay19.htm
• http://www.palgrave-journals.com/udi/journal/v13/n1/full/udi20084a.html