One Planet Communities

There are several communities described by BioRegional and at oneplanetcommunities.org (see this map) that follow the One Planet living framework which adheres to the 10 principles detailed in the figure to the left. They are communities designed to maximize sustainable well-being, chiefly by reducing planetary impacts. The first One Planet community in the United States is Sonoma Mountain Village.

The Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) is one of the most studied of these communities. BedZED is a high-density (> 100 units/hectare) residential development inspired by Bill Dunster Architects and BioRegional with mixed income groups with 99 homes (220 residents) and 100 office workers [this post is a summary based on this article] designed essentially to maximize sustainable well-being. This community has reduced their CO₂ by 56% compared to the average UK home without compromising their quality of life. Their ecological footprint (see this post) of 4.67 global hectares (2.6 planets) is lower than the average lifestyle in Sutton of 5.32 global hectares (3 planets), but enthusiastic environmentalists at BedZED have a footprint that requires only 1.7 planets. The development was monitored and evaluated several times by BioRegional and the data are available online, resulting in this article looking at BedZED seven years after their start.