Land?EUR??,,????'??+use Planner Urges Environmentally Friendly Planning

After hearing Land-use Planner Randall Arendt speak at a previous lecture, David Hopman, assistant professor of architecture and environmental design and member of the ASLA, was so impressed by the techniques Arendt spoke of that he had him come and lecture to architecture students at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).

Arendt spoke of the importance of planning and designing spacious and environmentally friendly neighborhoods where conservation-subdivision design should be used instead of conventional design and zoning methods for the betterment of the community.

?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s much more important to look at more variables than the percentage of open space,?EUR??,,????'?? said Arendt. ?EUR??,,????'??Quality and configuration of open space are important.?EUR??,,????'??
Arendt feels that planning practices such as tree and nature preservation should be taken into consideration by landscape architects ?EUR??,,????'??? practices that could save thousands of dollars. He went on to say that changes in the planning process are needed such as extremely detailed site analysis and requiring the drawing of sketch plans. He went on to say that engineers should be properly trained in the basic techniques of rural design.

?EUR??,,????'??The secret of maintaining rural character is smaller lots,?EUR??,,????'?? said Arendt. ?EUR??,,????'??Smaller lots are really what neighborhoods are all about.?EUR??,,????'??

Hopman hopes that Arendt?EUR??,,????'???s techniques will become widely used.

?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???re also hoping that this will put UTA on the map,?EUR??,,????'?? said Hopman. ?EUR??,,????'??We want the architecture department to be at the forefront for best practices.?EUR??,,????'??

UTA architecture graduate student, Jake Baker, was familiar with Arendt and was surprised that the lecture applied to his thesis and was also geared toward a wider audience outside of the profession.

?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s learning from a master,?EUR??,,????'?? said Baker. ?EUR??,,????'??It gave me a new perspective on the subject, and that?EUR??,,????'???s what he?EUR??,,????'???s all about ?EUR??,,????'??? looking at things in a different way.?EUR??,,????'??

Source?EUR??,,????'??+The Shorthorn Online