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This urgent book brings our cities to the fore in understanding the human input into climate change. The demands we are making on nature by living in cities has reached a crisis point and unless we make significant changes to address it, the prognosis is terminal consumption. Providing a radical new argument that integrates global understandings of making nature and making cities, the authors move beyond current policies of mitigation and adaption and pose the challenge of urban stewardship to tackle the crisis. Their new way of thinking re-orients possibilities for environmental policy and calls for us to reinvent our cities as spaces for activism.
This urgent book brings our cities to the fore in understanding the human input into climate change. The demands we are making on nature by living in cities has reached a crisis point and unless we make significant changes to address it, the prognosis is terminal consumption. Providing a radical new argument that integrates global understandings of making nature and making cities, the authors move beyond current policies of mitigation and adaption and pose the challenge of urban stewardship to tackle the crisis. Their new way of thinking re-orients possibilities for environmental policy and calls for us to reinvent our cities as spaces for activism.
Global urbanization promises better services, stronger economies, and more connections; it also carries risks and unforeseeable consequences. To deepen our understanding of this complex process and its importance for global sustainability, we need to build interdisciplinary knowledge around a systems approach. Urban Planet takes an integrative look at our urban environment, bringing together scholars from a diverse range of disciplines: from sociology and political science to evolutionary biology, geography, economics and engineering. It includes the perspectives of often neglected voices: architects, journalists, artists and activists. The book provides a much needed cross-scale perspective, connecting challenges and solutions on a local scale with drivers and policy frameworks on a regional and global scale. The authors argue that to overcome the major challenges we are facing, we must embark on a large-scale reinvention of how we live together, grounded in inclusiveness and sustainability.
The Earth Transformed answers the need for a concise, non-technical introduction to the ways in which the natural environment has been and is being affected by human activities. It is simply and engagingly written, and illustrated with maps, diagrams, figures and photographs. Among the subjects described and considered by the authors are desertification, deforestation, wetland management, biodiversity, climatic change, air pollution, the impact of cities on climate and hydrology, erosion, salinization, waste disposal, sea level rise, marine pollution, coral reef degradation and aquaculture. The book is organized around 45 case studies taken from all parts of the globe and chosen for their intrinsic interest and representative nature. Further features of the book include guides to further reading, suggestions for debate and study, and a glossary of terms. The book is aimed to meet the needs of students beginning courses on environmental science and geography.
Life on the moon under anything less than optimal conditions had always been a nightmare, and as Joe Kenmore and his colleague, Moreau, drove back to the City On The Moon on that day the Earth shuttle was due to land, the nearby mountain supporting critical elements of the shuttle's landing mechanisms crumbled causing an avalanche and resulting in chaos. Optimal conditions were no where in sight that day and as Kenmore and Moreau's investigations lead to their conclusion that explosions had been responsible for the avalanche. Now they realized that they were in a race against the clock to restore the landing beam before the shuttle had reached it's point of no return prior to landing. Kenmore had more than strictly humanitarian reasons for wanting to prevent a mishap aboard the shuttle that day, because on this particular mission, Arlene Gray was aboard. Kenmore had been anxiously awaiting her arrival, and now his love's life might hang in the balance.
King Darius gave Myrcinus that is on the river Strymon, in the land of Thrace, to Histiæus, lord of Miletus, for a reward; for Histiæus had done him good service in his warfare against the Scythians. But when the man began to build a wall about the place, one said to the King, "O King, what is this that thou hast done, giving this city in Thrace to a man that is a Greek, and wise moreover and crafty? For in that country is great store of timber for ship-building, and mines also of silver and there are many inhabitants, both Greeks and barbarians, who will take this fellow for a leader, and will do what he shall bid them, working day and night. Do thou therefore stay him in this work; but stay him with soft words. Bid him come to thee, and when he is come, take good care that he never go among the Greeks any more." This counsel seemed good to the King. Wherefore he sent a messenger to Histiæus, saying, "Thus saith the King, I am persuaded that there is no better man disposed to me and to my kingdom than thou. Come therefore to me, for I have great matters in hand and would fain ask thy counsel about them." So Histiæus, taking these words to be true, and counting it a great thing to be the King's counselor, came to Sardis to Darius. And when he was come, Darius said to him, "Hear now the cause wherefore I have sent for thee. Since the day that thou didst depart from me I have desired nothing so much as to see thee and talk with thee; for in my judgment there is nothing so precious as a friend that is both faithful and wise; and this I know thee to be. Leave now thy city of Miletus, and that also which thou art building in Thrace, and come with me to Susa, for all that I have is thine, and thou shalt live with me, and be my counselor."
A penetrating take on how our planet would respond without the relentless pressure of the human presence
This book reviews a series of new urban ideas or themes designed to help make cities more liveable, sustainable, safe and inclusive. Featuring examples drawn from cities all over the world, the various chapters provide critical assessments of each of the various approaches and their potential to improve urban life. New Urbanism: creating new areas based on a more humane scale with neighbourhood cohesion Just Cities: creating more fairness in decision-making so all residents can participate and benefit. Green Cities: helping places become greener with environmental rehabilitation and protection Sustainable Cities: avoiding the waste of resources and harmful pollution in settlements Transition Towns: developing local initiatives for more sustainable actions Winter Cities: making cities in cold climates more comfortable and enjoyable Resilient Cities: strengthening cities to better enable them to withstand natural hazards Creative Cities: supporting cultural industries and attracting talented individuals Knowledge Cities: creating, renewing and spreading knowledge and innovation Safe Cities: ensuring that citizens are better protected against criminal actions Healthy Cities: making improvements in the health of people in cities Festive Cities: rediscovering the utility of festive events in settlements Slow Cities: enhancing locally unique activities, such as local cuisines and community interactions This volume offers a host of approaches designed to give a new direction and focus to planning policies, helping readers to fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of each potential idea. It seeks to solve the many current problems associated with urban developments, making it a valuable resource for university and college students in urban geography, urban planning, urban sociology and urban studies as well as to planners and the general public.
According to many authorities the impact of humanity on the earth is already overshooting the earth’s capacity to supply humanity’s needs. This is an unsustainable position. This book does not focus on the problem but on the solution, by showing what it is like to live within a fair earth share ecological footprint. The authors describe numerical methods used to calculate this, concentrating on low or no cost behaviour change, rather than on potentially expensive technological innovation. They show what people need to do now in regions where their current lifestyle means they are living beyond their ecological means, such as in Europe, North America and Australasia. The calculations focus on outcomes rather than on detailed discussion of the methods used. The main objective is to show that living with a reduced ecological footprint is both possible and not so very different from the way most people currently live in the west. The book clearly demonstrates that change in behaviour now will avoid some very challenging problems in the future. The emphasis is on workable, practical and sustainable solutions based on quantified research, rather than on generalities about overall problems facing humanity.