The movement for low impact development, or the one-planet life, puts huge challenges on the current planning system. This practical book describes methods for planning professionals and citizens alike to face up to and respond to those challenges. You can use this book to move towards sustainable living.

Foreword by Pooran Desai Foreword by Jane Davidson Part One: A Call for Change 1. We have only one planet Part Two: Steps Towards the One Planet Life 2. Finding Land, Finding Finance, Gaining Skills 3. Crafting a Management Plan Part Three: Practical Guidance 4. Land Management 5. Water 6. Energy 7. Building 8. Food 9. Transport Part Four: Exemplary Examples 10.1 Hockerton Housing Project 10.2 The lessons of BedZED 10.3 The Triangle, Swindon 10.4 Rachel Shiamh’s frameless straw bale home 10.5 Lammas 10.6 Hoppi Wimbush: Growing flowers to sell 10.7 Hoppi and Paul Wimbush: Dairy farming 10.8 Cornerwood: Coppicing as a business 10.9 Cornerwood: Shiitake production 10.10 The Ecological Land Co-operative 10.11 John Hargreaves: top fruit grower 10.12 Phil Corbett: Edible wild flowers and nitrogen-fixing clovers 10.13 Nant y Cwm farm: livestock management 10.14 Jay Andrews: Wetland Ecosystem Treatment 10.15 A modular studio 10.16 Ty Solar 10.17 Calon Cymru 10.18 One Planet City – Brighton and Hove 10.19 One planet living in Freiburg, Germany 10.20 The road ahead to real sustainability Afterword by Jane Davidson

"David Thorpe’s new book is a timely reminder that we have only one planet to live on – and that this fact needs to be reflected how we live, and everything we do. But as well as making the irrefutable case for ‘one planet living’, it provides a wealth of practical detail on how to actually do it, and this is surely where the book’s greatest value lies for a new generation of one planet pioneers determined to lead the transition to new ways of living, that tread lightly upon the Earth and sustain her natural riches." – Oliver Tickell, editor, The Ecologist magazine and author of Kyoto2: How to Manage the Global Greenhouse."David Thorpe outlines, in fastidious detail, the journey to a new life that is not only lower impact, but is also delightful and fun – and he is quite prepared to fully address the multiple bureaucratic and technical challenges and along the way. This book is an excellent and immensely practical step by step guide, illustrated with copious examples, for everyone ready to make that change." – George Marshall, founder of the Climate Outreach Information Network and author of Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change."Over the last 30 years economists have had to reassess how improvements to human welfare are measured. Unfettered growth in household demands causes local and global problems. Measures such as the ecological footprint seek to assess the ‘planet’ consequences of our consumption activities. Practically what it means to live a ‘one-planet’ lifestyle is rarely considered in terms of the benefits and challenges, and this book is therefore a welcome reckoning. A key theme is the fact that maximising consumption activity should not be confused with maximising human welfare." - Professor Max Munday, Director of the Welsh Economy Research Unit, Cardiff Business School."The book is a rich source of information on land acquisition, planning, finance, sustainable building techniques, food self-reliance, renewable energy technologies, zero-carbon transportation, water efficiency and waste treatment. It is, above all else, a ‘how-to’ book with a strong emphasis on the choices that we all need to make to bring our lifestyles in line with the ability of life on earth to continue." - Herbert Girardet"Rating: 5 out of 5. A very well written book that covers every conceivable aspect. Should be in the armory and on the bookshelves of those of us who work on the creation of a new society. What we need are one planet living communities and individual developments, and not just in the countryside. This book, I am sure, can help all of those of us who are working on creating such changes in the minds of planners and government." – Michael Smith, Green (Living) Review (incorporating The HOMESTEADER, Forestry Review, Ethical Living Review, Parks & Open Spaces, and Allotment Garden & Smallholding Review)