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Although the lives we lead today are really great on so many levels, there are a lot of things which are not so great which stem from our unsustainable lifestyles; air pollution and dominance of traffic, obesity and rising energy bills to name but a few.
We are polluting and consuming at such a rate, that if everyone lived like we do in Europe, we would need three planets to support us. And yet in so many parts of the world, people don't have enough.
That's why we talk about aiming for "one planet living" where people everywhere can lead happy, healthy lives within the natural limits of the planet. You might think this is a pipe dream, but what we have started to see, as we work with developers, local authorities and business to implement sustainable communities, products and services, is that it can be done. We can make our businesses and communities more cost efficient and resilient as we face the challenge of a resource constrained world. And what's more, people report that they have a better quality of life and better health.
BedZED eco-village in south London, a 100 home and workspace project built in 2002, was our first attempt at designing for greener lifestyles. When we outgrew our rented office space in 1997 we wanted to build an eco-office. Then when we found a large site locally we thought great, we can live there too! Housing Association Peabody backed it because they wanted to tackle their resident's fuel poverty. Bill...