‘This is a wonderful book that should be on the desk of every architect and planner. It shows how

Where do we begin to make the shift from vicious circles to virtuous cycles?
Creating planning systems that actively seek opportunities for Positive Development would reverse 
the ‘negativity’ of contemporary environmental politics, principles, plans, policies, programmes, 
procedures and prototypes. With the above redefinition of ‘environmental impacts’ as ‘systems design 
problems’ we, as a society, become accountable for the consequences of our behaviour. With this 
insight, it also becomes self-evident that problems created by design can be fixed by design. When we 
recognize that sustainability is a design problem, the possibility that future options could be increased 
without tradeoffs or additional costs becomes clearer. This is possible through eco-retrofitting our 
cities to expand the commons and natural environment in urban areas. It has been argued throughout 
this book that 
direct action
through design is needed to make the paradigm shift required. However, 
incentives systems could be better designed as well. Instead of, for example, giving star ratings to 
buildings that are less bad, we can assign negative stars to existing buildings that are less than resource 
autonomous and/or give credit for creating positive off-site impacts and eco-services. Every new or 
retrofitted development should be able to make positive contributions to future generations, nature 
and ecosystems, the poor, and the general public. In fact, systems re-design is possible in every sphere.
The four resource transfer areas identified by the diagrams and tables in Boxes 52 and 53 indicate 
priority areas where we can take actions in accordance with the Green Optimum. For example:
•
Economic sphere
: Wealth transfers from poor to rich (facilitated by mechanisms such as
‘piratization’, perverse subsidies and discounting) can be addressed by eco-innovations that
decouple economic growth from environmental impacts through eco-retrofitting
programmes, etc. 
• 
Planning sphere
: Transfers from future to present (eg loss of future social options and life
quality) through conventional development can be addressed by planning processes that seek 
the highest ecological use of land and expand future options.
•