Inside the Civano Project (GreenSource Books)

Overview

A First-Hand Look at the High-Performance Civano Development

This GreenSource book offers a complete survey of Civano, the largest high-performance mixed-use community in the United States. Located in Tucson, Arizona, Civano encompasses high standards of resource conservation, sustainability, and solar energy use.

Inside the Civano Project features insider information on the planning, funding, building, and management of this development, which integrates residential communities with shopping, workplace, school, and civic facilities, as well as parks and natural open spaces. The book discusses the zoning and building code guidelines, sustainable building materials, energy standards, and water conservation technologies that make Civano ahead of its time.

Inside the Civano Project covers:

• Behind-the-scenes preconstruction discussions
• Site analysis, planning, and zoning
• Insights from members of the Civano development team
• The Congress for the New Urbanism
• The LEED-Neighborhood Development program
• Public/private land development strategies
• The Urban Lands Act
• The Integrated Method of Performance and Cost Tracking (IMPACT) System
• Energy and water use monitoring
• Photographs of Civano
• Challenges, pitfalls, and lessons learned throughout Civano's development

Table of contents

Chapter 1. A Seed is Planted: The Early Stages of Land Planning
Chapter 2. The Public/Private Partnership: A Balancing Act
Chapter 3. Guiding Growth: Master Planning and Analysis
Chapter 4. Impacts and Adjustments: The Basics of High Performance, a.k.a. Green
Chapter 5. Germination
Chapter 6. Tug of War: Rediscovery
Chapter 7. Ground Breaking: Neighborhood One
Chapter 8. A Middle Ground--Phase II: The Costs and Benefits of Production Housing
Chapter 9. Civano's DNA: Leading the Evolution
Chapter 10. The Future Neighborhoods: Phase III, IV, the Commercial Center, and Beyond
Epilogue
Glossary
Appendix A: Civano Impact System Memorandum of Understanding on Implementation and Monitoring Processes: Signed June 26, 1998
Appendix B: Revised Sustainable Energy Standard
Bibliography
Index

Biographical note

C. Alan Nichols, P.E., LEED AP, established Al Nichols Engineering in 1995. He has served as Project Engineer at Western Electric, Process Engineer for W. L. Gore, and Project Engineer for Tierney Manufacturing. Nicols has over 30 years' experience in heating, air conditioning energy systems, and plumbing. As a member of the Tucson Metropolitan Energy Commission, he was instrumental in writing the sustainable energy standard (SES) for Civano. Additionally, Nichols was part of a volunteer group that led the development of the building code guidelines that have resulted in Civano's 60% reduction of heating and cooling energy and 55% reduction in potable water usage. In 2002, he received the Energy Users News Award, Best Mixed-Use Facility for the Civano project and is Past-Chairman of the Tucson/Pima County Metropolitan Energy Commission.Jason A. Laros is Project Manager with Al Nichols Engineering. In his capacity as building superintendent at the University of Idaho, he managed the maintenance crews and contract construction projects for over 300,000 ft. of university apartments and related building systems and acquainted staff and administration with material and energy saving concepts and practices.