Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
more sustainable life, while a fulltime 'housemaster' or custodian helps residents
take care of any problems and offers advice on adoption of more sustainable prac-
tices and life-styles.
A third example of more sustainable practices in a new area development comes
from North America, one which has focused on the use of renewable energy in a
housing complex. This is a solar development in part of a residential community in
a rapidly growing satellite town of 25,000 people in 2011 located 20 km miles from
Calgary. The 52 housing unit development completed in 2007 is part of the com-
munity of Drake's Landing, Okotoks. It represented a breakthrough in the applica-
tion of new solar technologies by claiming to be the first large development in the
world to fulfil 90 % of the space-heating needs of its houses from solar energy (DLC
2012
). As such it claims to be more efficient than the earlier and pioneering solar
settlement of Freiberg's Solarsiedlung (Solar Settlement)
,
whose objective is to re-
duce energy needs by trapping heat and soaking up sunlight (SSF
2012
). Figure
6.4
shows the plan and operation of this development. The estate was completed with
Fig. 6.4
Solar Community in Drake's Landing, Okotoks, Alberta. (Sources: Revised from http://
www.disc.ca; http://www.unitedcommunities.com)
