The City as Fulcrum of Global Sustainability
A practical response to some of this century’s global woes, with proposals for long- and short-term solutions to issues of sustainability around the world.
Imprint: Anthem Press
ISBN 9780857287724 Hardback
September 2011
| 318 Pages
| 229 x 152mm / 9 x 6
| 36+ images, figures and tables
| PRICE: £60.00 / $99.00 |  |
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About This Book
‘This book is timely, well referenced and comprehensive, presenting the Sustainable Area Budget of a city and its hinterlands as the decision space within which to foster interaction and collaboration in designing an as-yet-untold future.’ —Professor Robert Koester, Director of the Center for Energy Research/Education/Service, Ball State University, Indiana
‘Yanarella and Levine argue that discrete programs of sustainable development – particularly those that target the “low-hanging fruit” – may not lead to ecological or social sustainability, and may in fact simply perpetuate “less unsustainable” development. The alternative they lay out is comprehensive and measurable: a participatory path to sustainable urban development that does not export problems beyond the territory or into the future.’ —Professor Joan Fitzgerald, Northeastern University, Boston
‘It is irrefutable that cities are the glue that holds together any civilization – in fact they often are the civilization. This insightfully clear text demonstrates the necessity of acknowledging this role for the city – the world will depend on it.’ —Pliny Fisk III, Co-director, The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
‘This book stands almost alone in the literature on sustainability in correctly proclaiming the role of our built environment – cities, towns and villages – as the lifestyle-defining, energy- and transport-solving, climate-stability-achieving foundation of any structure – physical or strategic – we might hope to build and live in and through. How to get there? Read it and get busy.’ —Richard Register, Founder and President of Ecocity Builders
Outlining a robust strategy for sustainable city-regions that has emerged from over two-and-a-half decades of theoretical and practical work, ‘The City as Fulcrum of Global Sustainability’ cuts through the received wisdom and popular misunderstanding surrounding sustainability to demonstrate how global problems can best be addressed at the local-regional scale. Featuring an array of case studies – focusing on both strong and weak examples of sustainable cities – the text delivers a bold message to the urban planners of tomorrow: only the road less traveled holds real promise of creating sustainable city-regions, with this journey requiring the balanced guidance of ecological and technological conviviality.
Readership:
This book will be of interest to undergraduates studying environmental policy, activists of environmental and sustainability movements, and concerned citizens seeking a better world.
Author Information
Ernest J. Yanarella is Professor of Political Science and Richard S. Levine is Professor of Architecture at the University of Kentucky. Together, they cofounded the university’s Center for Sustainable Cities (CSC), whose aim is to study and advance the theory and practice of sustainability.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments; List of Tables and Figures; Introduction; Part I: Strategic Considerations; 1. Does Sustainable Development Lead to Sustainability?; 2. The Sustainable Cities Manifesto; 3. Variations on a “Green” Theme: Overcoming Semantics in the Sustainability Debate; 4. Don’t Pick the Low-hanging Fruit?; 5. From the City to the City-Region: The Sustainable Area Budget, Rural Partnerland and Sustainability Engine; 6. The Sustainable City Game as a Game and a Tool of Urban Design; Part II: Sustainable Cities Around the World; 7. Urban Dreams of Global Sustainability; 8. The Promise and Pitfalls of Chattanooga’s Entrepreneurial “Sustainability” Strategy; 9. Sustainability Comes to Okotoks, Alberta; 10. Vienna’s Westbahnhof Sustainable Urban Implantation − The City-as-a-Hill; 11. The Success of SUCCESS: The Chinese Village as Catalyst of Future Chinese Sustainable Cities; 12. The Long March to Sustainability in China; Closing Thoughts; Conclusion: Taking the Road Less Traveled; Appendix; Appendix A: Charter of European Cities and Towns Towards Sustainability; Appendix B: Emerald City: A Roleplaying Sustainability Game; References; Index
