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

Government sphere
: Transfers of power from public to private (eg privatization of resource 
control) can be addressed by a constitution for decision-making based on deep sustainability 
principles, due process and community engagement. 
• 
Physical design
: Impact transfers (eg pollution and waste) from nature to industrial
development can be addressed by the integration of natural systems into the built 
environment, the conversion of wastes to resources, and reversible, adaptable design. 

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Positive Development
Given new criteria for eco-innovations, where do we get the design ideas? 
If the environmental costs of the status quo outweigh the environmental benefits, then it makes 
sense to invest in fixing things now, rather than later. There is currently an excess of venture capital.
Alternatively, we could divert both funds and manpower from the military towards constructive 
purposes. There is no shortage of work to be done or people to do it. There are millions of poor 
people seeking employment in most regions of the world and thousands of square miles of dreary, 
dilapidated structures in urban areas in both ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ nations to be upgraded.
‘Charity’ and ‘aid’ are somewhat politically unpopular, as is spending on healthcare, the environment 
and education (judging by how tax money is spent). However, eco-retrofitting would save society 
resources and money, and leave the urban poor better off than they are now – without aid or money 
being directly allocated to the poor. This could be done, for example, through a form of international 
performance contracting supported by an eco-service credit (as opposed to offset) trading scheme 
[Chapter 11]. Small loans to people in poor nations have proven remarkably successful as well.
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To 
identify potential projects on different scales, indicators of ‘design failure’ can be used. The main 
indicator of poor systems design, of course, is what is often called market failure. Again, the term 
‘market failure’ implies that no one is responsible. However, when the hand of the market is invisible, 
it is usually in the cookie jar. Market failure is a subset of political failure. Both are manifestations 
of poor systems design [Figure 17].
Figure 17 Design failure
Market failure
Political failure
Systems design failure