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Design for Human Ecosystems: Landscape, Land Use, and Natural Resources

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John Lyle continues his seminal work presented in "Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development". Any one interested in designing deep structures of urban spaces into sustainable environments would benefit greatly from reading this book. This book also covers rural development as well. Propagation of water flows for maximum beneficial inter-relationships is one particula r topic of interest for me.

I highly recommend this book!

After reading Design for Human Ecosystems, I wished I could have attended one of Professor Lyle's lectures. Lyle is one of the pioneers of the regenerative design approach which advocates forms of human development that restore and renew landscapes. This book presents principles, methods, and examples of ecosystem design.

Major topics discussed in this book are scale dynamics, ecological diversity, and the design of productive landscapes. The book is also a user's manual that bridges principles to practice through the presentation of procedures, techniques, and case studies.

I knew little about regenerative design and was daunted by the complexity of the subject. However Lyle's years of didactic experience shine through in this book which is well structured and written impeccably. Scientific and theoretical concepts are presented clearly and allowed me to learn more about biology, landscape architecture, and environmental planning. This is not a dry, boring book. Lyle's style is at times humorous and philosophical. The author presents his ideas in an optimistic way giving mankind a prominent role in mending our relationship with nature. Lyle also comes across as a pragmatic environmentalist. He acknowledges human needs and desires and the role played by money, politics, and time. The case studies illustrate well this pragmatism and show the ecosystem design approach adapted to a variety of situations -rural and urban; economically privileged and disadvantaged. This is an essential read for anyone interested in how to reconcile nature and human development in a realistic way.