This landmark publication examines the need for establishing a universal framework for assessing the sustainability of a place that can be used for any place, in any part of the world.

Using two case studies of two towns (San Gimignano, Italy and Ludlow, England) as a backdrop, the book examines their distinctive features and develops a framework for assessing their energy and environmental capabilities in light of their social, economic, political and cultural prerequisites. Discussion includes such key aspects of sustainability as geological formation, climate, external dependencies, communication and infrastructure, historical heritage, community and permanence of population.

• Includes the author's own annotated drawings that complement the text.
• Examines the background and current state of sustainability and provides practical examples of assessments of specific localities
• Based on the author's own research

CHRISTINE PHILLIPS is an artist and writer living in Gloucestershire, England. She trained as an architectural perspectivist with Terence Cotterell in 1985. She was Visiting Architectural Perspective Artist in Cape Town in 1990–3, working on major projects such as the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront redevelopment and environmentally sensitive housing on Lion’s Head, Table Mountain, before completing her PhD thesis in the AA Environment & Energy Studies Programme in 1995–8.