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

Question key flows [Chapter 9]
MFAs can identify flows of materials and energy but seldom, if ever, do they look at emotional and 
social resources, let alone the ecology (again, nature as a living, as opposed to a dead, resource). An 
exception here may be instructive. An Australian charity found people eager to go from homeless 
shelters in cities to work on farms where there was a labour shortage. Many of these ‘no hopers’ 
later found rural jobs with their new skills. So their resources were utilized, but in a way that they 
felt benefited them. Of course, not every aspect of complex systems can be traced and analysed, 
however, so it is necessary to select key stocks and flows. Some examples of flows that might be 
considered include:
•
Basic materials (cement)
• 
Elements (phosphorus) 
• 
Dust (toxins, microbes)
• 
Wealth (money) 
• 
Substances (water)
• 
Pollination (partner plants and insects) 
• 
Food (nutrients)
• 
Energy (embodied, operational)
• 
Space (volume)
• 
Timber (on public or private land)
• 
Migration
• 
Time (effort) 
Ecological transformation (ET) analysis [Chapter 10]
Given diminished carrying capacity, mass extinctions and biodiversity losses, land-use planning 
decisions should begin from the best ecological use of the land. Paradoxically, forward thinking 
requires looking back to original ecological benchmarks. Mapping indigenous conditions can provide 
insights into better future land use or non-use. We usually just start from the present situation. Where 

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Positive Development
such analyses are used, they usually measure progress from the current (degraded) condition, so 
any project that appears ‘relatively’ harmless is good enough. Instead, by comparing the biophysical 
impacts of existing development to pre-developed or natural conditions, specific ideas for eco-
restoration and eco-retrofitting may also be inspired (ie biomimicry on a regional scale). ET analysis 
would, among other things:
•
Map the original biodiversity of the bioregion to ensure that new or retrofitted developments
contribute to the restoration of appropriate ecological communities, as well as enhancing 
environmental flows in general.
• 
Determine the optimal use of land and preserve areas for positive ecological functions in 
urban areas – as opposed to just keeping development off unstable or flood-prone land, or
only protecting ecosystems where land is unsuitable for development.
• 
To set planning targets that are net positive, compare environmental flows in existing
development to initial, indigenous conditions. That is, use the original ecology as the
baseline – not relative standards, like improvements over ‘typical’ buildings.