Island Press began with a simple idea: knowledge is power—the power to imagine a better future and find ways for getting us there. Founded in 1984, Island Press’ mission is to provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems.
Showing 121-135 of 329 items.
Five Rules for Tomorrow's Cities
Design in an Age of Urban Migration, Demographic Change, and a Disappearing Middle Class
Island Press
As urban designers respond to the critical issue of climate change they must also address three cresting cultural waves: the worldwide rural-to-urban migration; the collapse of global fertility rates; and the disappearance of the middle class. In Five Rules for Tomorrow’s Cities, planning and design expert Patrick Condon offers five rules to help urban designers assimilate these interconnected changes into their work: (1) See the City as a System; (2) Recognize Patterns in the Urban Environment; (3) Apply Lighter, Greener, Smarter Infrastructure; (4) Strengthen Social and Economic Urban Resilience; and (5) Adapt to Shifts in Jobs, Retail, and Wages.
Five Rules for Tomorrow’s Cities provides grounded and financially feasible design examples for tomorrow’s sustainable cities, and the design tools needed to achieve them.
Five Rules for Tomorrow’s Cities provides grounded and financially feasible design examples for tomorrow’s sustainable cities, and the design tools needed to achieve them.
A New Coast
Strategies for Responding to Devastating Storms and Rising Seas
Island Press
“This is a timely book… [It] should be mandatory reading..." — Minnesota Star Tribune
More severe storms and rising seas will inexorably push the American coastline inland with profound impact on communities, infrastructure, and natural systems. In A New Coast, Jeffrey Peterson presents the science behind predictions for coastal impacts and explains how current policies fall short of what’s needed to prepare for these changes. He outlines a framework of bold, new national policies and funding to support local and state governments. Peterson calls for engagement of citizens, the private sector, as well as local and national leaders in a “campaign for a new coast.” This is a forward-looking volume offering new insights for policymakers, planners, business leaders preparing for the changes coming to America’s coast.
More severe storms and rising seas will inexorably push the American coastline inland with profound impact on communities, infrastructure, and natural systems. In A New Coast, Jeffrey Peterson presents the science behind predictions for coastal impacts and explains how current policies fall short of what’s needed to prepare for these changes. He outlines a framework of bold, new national policies and funding to support local and state governments. Peterson calls for engagement of citizens, the private sector, as well as local and national leaders in a “campaign for a new coast.” This is a forward-looking volume offering new insights for policymakers, planners, business leaders preparing for the changes coming to America’s coast.
The Power of Existing Buildings
Save Money, Improve Health, and Reduce Environmental Impacts
Island Press
In The Power of Existing Buildings, academic sustainability expert Robert Sroufe, and construction and building experts Craig Stevenson and Beth Eckenrode, explain how to realize the potential of existing buildings and make them perform like new. This step-by-step guide will help readers to: understand where to start a project; develop financial models and realize costs savings; assemble an expert team; and align goals with numerous sustainability programs. The Power of Existing Buildings will challenge you to rethink spaces where people work and play, while determining how existing buildings can save the world.
The insights and practical experience of Sroufe, Stevenson, and Eckenrode, along with the project case study examples, provide new insights on investing in existing buildings for building owners, engineers, occupants, architects, and real estate and construction professionals.
The insights and practical experience of Sroufe, Stevenson, and Eckenrode, along with the project case study examples, provide new insights on investing in existing buildings for building owners, engineers, occupants, architects, and real estate and construction professionals.
Wildlife Law, Second Edition
A Primer
Island Press
Ten years ago, Wildlife Law: A Primer was the first-ever published survey of wildlife law for lay readers. Since its publication, the legal terrain has increased in complexity and the stakes are higher than ever. As humans encroach further into wildlife habitat, unwanted human-wildlife interactions are occurring more frequently, sometimes with alarming and tragic outcomes.
This revised and expanded second edition retains basic legal concepts from the first edition while offering new chapters that cover new controversial topics such as private wildlife reserves, game ranches, and nuisance species. It also includes expanded coverage of the Endangered Species Act. This is a groundbreaking reference for students in wildlife programs, land owners, and wildlife professionals.
This revised and expanded second edition retains basic legal concepts from the first edition while offering new chapters that cover new controversial topics such as private wildlife reserves, game ranches, and nuisance species. It also includes expanded coverage of the Endangered Species Act. This is a groundbreaking reference for students in wildlife programs, land owners, and wildlife professionals.
Better Buses, Better Cities
How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit
Island Press
"Better Buses, Better Cities is likely the best book ever written on improving bus service in the United States." — Beyond Chron
"The ultimate roadmap for how to make the bus great again in your city." — Spacing
"The definitive volume on how to make [the] bus frequent, fast, reliable, welcoming, and respected..." —Streetsblog
Imagine a bus system that is fast, frequent, and reliable—what would that change about your city?
Buses can and should be the cornerstone of urban transportation. They offer affordable mobility and can connect citizens with every aspect of their lives. But in the US, they have long been an afterthought in budgeting and planning.
Transit expert Steven Higashide uses real-world stories of reform to show us what a successful bus system looks like. Higashide explains how to marshal the public in support of better buses and argues that better bus systems will create better cities for all citizens.
With a compelling narrative and actionable steps, Better Buses, Better Cities describes how decision-makers, philanthropists, activists, and public agency leaders can work together to make the bus a win in any city.
"The ultimate roadmap for how to make the bus great again in your city." — Spacing
"The definitive volume on how to make [the] bus frequent, fast, reliable, welcoming, and respected..." —Streetsblog
Imagine a bus system that is fast, frequent, and reliable—what would that change about your city?
Buses can and should be the cornerstone of urban transportation. They offer affordable mobility and can connect citizens with every aspect of their lives. But in the US, they have long been an afterthought in budgeting and planning.
Transit expert Steven Higashide uses real-world stories of reform to show us what a successful bus system looks like. Higashide explains how to marshal the public in support of better buses and argues that better bus systems will create better cities for all citizens.
With a compelling narrative and actionable steps, Better Buses, Better Cities describes how decision-makers, philanthropists, activists, and public agency leaders can work together to make the bus a win in any city.
Food Town, USA
Seven Unlikely Cities That are Changing the Way We Eat
By Mark Winne
Island Press
Look at any list of America’s top foodie cities and you probably won’t find Boise, Idaho or Sitka, Alaska. Yet they are the new face of the food movement. Healthy, sustainable fare is changing communities across this country, revitalizing towns that have been ravaged by disappearing industries and decades of inequity.
What sparked this revolution? To find out, Mark Winne traveled to seven cities not usually considered revolutionary. He broke bread with brew masters and city council members, farmers and philanthropists, toured start-up incubators and homeless shelters. What he discovered was remarkable, even inspiring. The cities of Food Town, USA remind us that innovation is ripening all across the country, especially in the most unlikely places.
What sparked this revolution? To find out, Mark Winne traveled to seven cities not usually considered revolutionary. He broke bread with brew masters and city council members, farmers and philanthropists, toured start-up incubators and homeless shelters. What he discovered was remarkable, even inspiring. The cities of Food Town, USA remind us that innovation is ripening all across the country, especially in the most unlikely places.
Rainforest
Dispatches from Earth's Most Vital Frontlines
By Tony Juniper
Island Press
Rainforests have long been recognized as hotspots of biodiversity—but they are crucial for our planet in other surprising ways. Not only do these fascinating ecosystems thrive in rainy regions, they create rain themselves, and this moisture is spread around the globe. Rainforests across the world have a powerful and concrete impact, reaching as far as America’s Great Plains and central Europe. In Rainforest: Dispatches from Earth’s Most Vital Frontlines, a prominent conservationist provides a comprehensive view of the crucial roles rainforests serve, the state of the world’s rainforests today, and the inspirational efforts underway to save them.
In Rainforest, Tony Juniper draws upon decades of work in rainforest conservation, bringing readers along on his journeys, from Costa Rica to Indonesia. Rainforest provides a detailed and wide-ranging look at the health of these vital ecosystems. Throughout this evocative book, Juniper argues that in saving rainforests, we save ourselves, too.
In Rainforest, Tony Juniper draws upon decades of work in rainforest conservation, bringing readers along on his journeys, from Costa Rica to Indonesia. Rainforest provides a detailed and wide-ranging look at the health of these vital ecosystems. Throughout this evocative book, Juniper argues that in saving rainforests, we save ourselves, too.
Green Growth That Works
Natural Capital Policy and Finance Mechanisms Around the World
Island Press
Rapid economic development has been a boon to human well-being, but comes at a significant cost to the fertile soils, forests, coastal marshes, and farmland that support all life on earth. If ecosystems collapse, so eventually will human civilization. One solution is inclusive green growth—the efficient use of natural resources. Its genius lies in working with nature rather than against it.
Green Growth That Works is the first practical guide to bring together pragmatic finance and policy tools that can make investment in natural capital both attractive and commonplace. Pioneered by leading scholars from the Natural Capital Project, this valuable compendium of proven techniques can guide agencies and organizations eager to make green growth work anywhere in the world.
Green Growth That Works is the first practical guide to bring together pragmatic finance and policy tools that can make investment in natural capital both attractive and commonplace. Pioneered by leading scholars from the Natural Capital Project, this valuable compendium of proven techniques can guide agencies and organizations eager to make green growth work anywhere in the world.
Soft City
Building Density for Everyday Life
Island Press
In Soft City David Sim, partner and creative director at Gehl, shows how cities with well-designed density can result in a higher quality of life. He presents ideas and graphic examples from around the globe. He draws from his vast design experience to make a case for a dense and diverse built environment at a human scale, which he presents through a series of observations of older and newer places, and a range of simple built phenomena, some traditional and some totally new inventions.
Soft City offers inspiration, ideas, and guidance in a highly visual package, for anyone interested in city building. Sim shows how to make any city more efficient, more livable, and better connected to the environment.
Soft City offers inspiration, ideas, and guidance in a highly visual package, for anyone interested in city building. Sim shows how to make any city more efficient, more livable, and better connected to the environment.
My Kind of City
Collected Essays of Hank Dittmar
By Hank Dittmar
Island Press
In My Kind of City, Dittmar has organized his selected writings into ten sections with original introductions. His observations range on scale from local (“My Favorite Street: Seven Dials, Covent Garden, London”) to national (“Post Truth Architecture in the Age of Trump”) and global (“Architects are Critical to Adapting our Cities to Climate Change”). Andrés Duany writes of Hank in the book foreword, “He has continued to search for ways to engage place, community and history in order to avoid the tempting formalism of plans.”
The range of topics covered in My Kind of City reflects the breadth of Dittmar’s experience in working for better cities for people. Common themes emerge in the engaging prose including Dittmar’s belief that improving our cities should not be left to the “experts”; his appreciation for the beautiful and the messy; and his rare combination of deep expertise and modesty. As Lynn Richards, CEO of Congress for the New Urbanism expresses in the preface, “Hank’s writing is smart without being elitist, witty and poetic, succinct and often surprising.”
My Kind of City captures a visionary planner’s spirit, eye for beauty, and love for the places where we live.
The range of topics covered in My Kind of City reflects the breadth of Dittmar’s experience in working for better cities for people. Common themes emerge in the engaging prose including Dittmar’s belief that improving our cities should not be left to the “experts”; his appreciation for the beautiful and the messy; and his rare combination of deep expertise and modesty. As Lynn Richards, CEO of Congress for the New Urbanism expresses in the preface, “Hank’s writing is smart without being elitist, witty and poetic, succinct and often surprising.”
My Kind of City captures a visionary planner’s spirit, eye for beauty, and love for the places where we live.
Climate Action Planning
A Guide to Creating Low-Carbon, Resilient Communities
Island Press
Climate Action Planning is designed to help professionals working at local levels to develop and implement plans to mitigate a community's greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of communities against climate change impacts. This fully revised and expanded edition goes well beyond climate action plans to examine the mix of policy and planning instruments available to every community.
Climate Action Planning is the most comprehensive book on the state of the art, science, and practice of local climate action planning. It should be a first stop for any local government interested in addressing climate change.
Climate Action Planning is the most comprehensive book on the state of the art, science, and practice of local climate action planning. It should be a first stop for any local government interested in addressing climate change.
True Roots
What Quitting Hair Dye Taught Me about Health and Beauty
Island Press
Like 75% of American women, Ronnie Citron-Fink colored her hair. Yet as an environmental journalist, she knew all those unpronounceable chemical names on the back of the hair dye box were far from safe.
So Ronnie decided to ditch the dye and go in search of answers. What are the risks of hair dye? Are there safer alternatives? Will I still feel like me when I have gray hair?
True Roots follows her journey from dark dyes to a silver crown of glory, from fear of aging to embracing natural beauty. Along the way, women of all ages can learn to protect themselves from dangerous products and discover a new hair story—one built on individuality, health, and truth.
So Ronnie decided to ditch the dye and go in search of answers. What are the risks of hair dye? Are there safer alternatives? Will I still feel like me when I have gray hair?
True Roots follows her journey from dark dyes to a silver crown of glory, from fear of aging to embracing natural beauty. Along the way, women of all ages can learn to protect themselves from dangerous products and discover a new hair story—one built on individuality, health, and truth.
The Heart of the City
Creating Vibrant Downtowns for a New Century
Island Press
In The Heart of the City, distinguished urban planner Alexander Garvin shares lessons on how to plan for a mix of housing, businesses, and attractions; enhance the public realm; improve mobility; and successfully manage downtown services. Garvin opens the book with diagnoses of downtowns across the United States, including the people, businesses, institutions, and public agencies implementing changes. In a review of prescriptions and treatments for any downtown, Garvin shares brief accounts—of both successes and failures—of what individuals with very different objectives have done to change their downtowns. The final chapters look at what is possible for downtowns in the future, closing with suggested national, state, and local legislation to create standard downtown business improvement districts to better manage downtowns.
This book will help public officials, civic organizations, downtown business property owners, and people who care about cities learn from successful recent actions in downtowns across the country, and expand opportunities facing their downtown. Garvin provides recommendations for continuing actions to help any downtown thrive, ensuring a prosperous and thrilling future for the 21st-century American city.
This book will help public officials, civic organizations, downtown business property owners, and people who care about cities learn from successful recent actions in downtowns across the country, and expand opportunities facing their downtown. Garvin provides recommendations for continuing actions to help any downtown thrive, ensuring a prosperous and thrilling future for the 21st-century American city.
Vacant to Vibrant
Creating Successful Green Infrastructure Networks
By Sandra Albro
Island Press
Vacant lots, so often seen as neighborhood blight, have the potential to be a key element of community revitalization. Sandra Albro offers practical insights through her experience leading the five-year Vacant to Vibrant project, which piloted the creation of green infrastructure networks in Gary, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York. Vacant to Vibrant provides a point of comparison among the three cities as they adapt old systems to new, green technology. Albro offers insights from every step of the Vacant to Vibrant project, including planning, design, community engagement, implementation, and maintenance successes and challenges of creating a green infrastructure network from vacant lots in neighborhoods.
Landscape architects and other professionals whose work involves urban greening will learn new approaches for creating infrastructure networks and facilitating more equitable access to green space.
Landscape architects and other professionals whose work involves urban greening will learn new approaches for creating infrastructure networks and facilitating more equitable access to green space.
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