In order to affect change in the way the built environment is created, one must first understand the relationships that exist between the governing elements that control how the built environment comes together. In looking at these governing elements it helps to visualize the connections of these elements by placing them at the points of a triangle. These elements are:
The Transect of the Human Habitat is divided into six Context Zones. Each zone is defined by very specific rules that set it apart from the others. Transect based designs find a place for just about everything and everyone, letting you be yourself more intensely than unrestrained suburbia ever could.
Subsidiarity is a principle of both social and political organization which, by definition, means that decisions are best made by the most competent group (closest to the impacts of the decision), at the most local level, and at the latest practical moment possible. In doing this, a system for decision making can ultimately be undertaken which can directly account for both WHO makes particular decisions and WHEN those decisions are made based on their need and timing.
The Plat of the City of Zion, as it was called, had carefully written notes in its margins describing the principles associated with the implementation of the plan. There were instructions about such things as community size (area), population, its layout, type, size of lots and streets, the architecture and materials to be used to construct buildings, and its associative landscaping.
