Abstract:
Urban development policies and practices have a significant and often adverse impact on environmental quality in urban areas. Chronic ecological degradation typically results from conventional approaches to urbanisation. This thesis investigates the application of Low Impact Urban Design and Development (LIUDD) as an alternative approach to current development practices. It defines LIUDD in the context of strategic and policy considerations and integrated catchment management. A principles and methods framework is developed, which is tested for implementation and examined for ecological efficacy through a comparative study of selected sub-catchments.
