Can a City Be Sustainable? (State of the World)
448 pages, 6 1/2 x 8 19/50
35 photos, 35 illustrations
Paperback
Release Date:10 May 2016
ISBN:9781610917551
Can a City Be Sustainable? (State of the World)
By The Worldwatch Institute
SERIES:
State of the World
Island Press
Cities are the world’s future. Today, more than half of the global population—3.7 billion people—are urban dwellers, and that number is expected to double by 2050. There is no question that cities are growing; the only debate is over how they will grow. Will we invest in the physical and social infrastructure necessary for livable, equitable, and sustainable cities? In the latest edition of State of the World, the flagship publication of the Worldwatch Institute, experts from around the globe examine the core principles of sustainable urbanism and profile cities that are putting them into practice.
State of the World first puts our current moment in context, tracing cities in the arc of human history. It also examines the basic structural elements of every city: materials and fuels; people and economics; and biodiversity. In part two, professionals working on some of the world’s most inventive urban sustainability projects share their first-hand experience. Success stories come from places as diverse as Ahmedabad, India; Freiburg, Germany; and Shanghai, China. In many cases, local people are acting to improve their cities, even when national efforts are stalled. Parts three and four examine cross-cutting issues that affect the success of all cities. Topics range from the nitty-gritty of handling waste and developing public transportation to civic participation and navigating dysfunctional government.
Throughout, readers discover the most pressing challenges facing communities and the most promising solutions currently being developed. The result is a snapshot of cities today and a vision for global urban sustainability tomorrow.
State of the World first puts our current moment in context, tracing cities in the arc of human history. It also examines the basic structural elements of every city: materials and fuels; people and economics; and biodiversity. In part two, professionals working on some of the world’s most inventive urban sustainability projects share their first-hand experience. Success stories come from places as diverse as Ahmedabad, India; Freiburg, Germany; and Shanghai, China. In many cases, local people are acting to improve their cities, even when national efforts are stalled. Parts three and four examine cross-cutting issues that affect the success of all cities. Topics range from the nitty-gritty of handling waste and developing public transportation to civic participation and navigating dysfunctional government.
Throughout, readers discover the most pressing challenges facing communities and the most promising solutions currently being developed. The result is a snapshot of cities today and a vision for global urban sustainability tomorrow.
What is embraced throughout the pages...is our future: not a doom and gloom snapshot of terrible things to come, but a positive look toward what we, as a species, can accomplish if we work at it. Can a City Be Sustainable? brings exciting ideas to our attention in an accessible way...[it] does exactly what it sets out to in its first sentence: give us hope.
Provides an excellent coverage of urban sustainability, establishing the necessary linkages between the urban climate challenges and the other, equally problematic, environmental excesses of urban civilization...[The book] is undoubtedly a solid contribution and bound to be a reference for some years to come.
informed and informative
Through research and outreach that inspire action, the Worldwatch Institute works to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world that meets human needs. The Institute’s top mission objectives are universal access to renewable energy and nutritious food, expansion of environmentally sound jobs and development, transformation of cultures from consumerism to sustainability, and an early end to population growth through healthy and intentional childbearing.
Acknowledgments
Foreword \ Garrett Fitzgerald
Foreword \ Eduardo Paes
World's Cities at a Glance \ Gary Gardner
Part I. Cities as Human Constructs
Chapter 1. Imagining a Sustainable City \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 2. Cities in the Arc of Human History: A Materials Perspective \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 3. The City: A System of Systems \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 4. Toward a Vision of Sustainable Cities \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 5. The Energy Wildcard: Possible Energy Constraints to Further Urbanization \ Richard Heinberg
Part II. The Urban Climate Challenge
Chapter 6. Cities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Scope of the Challenge \ Tom Prugh and Michael Renner
Chapter 7. Urbanism and Global Sprawl \ Peter Calthorpe
-City View: Shanghai, China \ Haibing Ma
Chapter 8. Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Buildings \ Michael Renner
-City View: Freiberg, Germany \ Simone Ariane Pflaum
Chapter 9. Energy Efficiency in Buildings: A Crisis of Opportunity \ Gregory H. Kats
-City View: Melbourne, Australia \ Robert Doyle
Chapter 10. Is 100 Percent Renewable Energy in Cities Possible? \ Betsy Agar and Michael Renner
-City View: Vancouver, Canada \ Gregor Robertson
Chapter 11. Supporting Sustainable Transportation \ Michael Renner
Chapter 12. Urban Transport and Climate Change \ Cornie Huizenga, Karl Peet, and Sudhir Gota
-City View: Singapore \ Geoffrey Davison and Ang Wei Ping
Chapter 13. Source Reduction and Recycling of Waste \ Michael Renner
-City View: Ahmedabad and Pune, India \ Kartikeya Sarabhai, Madhavi Joshi, and Sanskriti Menon
Chapter 14. Solid Waste and Climate Change \ Perinaz Bhada-Tata and Daniel Hoornweg
-City View: Barcelona, Spain \ Marti Boada Junca, Roser Maneja Zaragoza, and Pablo Knobel Guelar
Chapter 15. Rural-Urban Migration, Lifestyles, and Deforestation \ Tom Prugh
Part III. Politics, Equity, and Livability
Chapter 16. Remunicipalization, the Low-Carbon Transition, and Energy Democracy \ Andrew Cumbers
-City View: Portland, Oregon, United States \ Brian Holland and Juan Wei
Chapter 17. The Vital Role of Biodiversity in Urban Sustainability \ Marti Boada Junca, Roser Maneja Zaragoza, and Pablo Knobel Guelar
-City View: Jerusalem, Israel \ Marti Boada Junca, Roser Maneja Zaragoza, and Pablo Knobel Guelar
Chapter 18. The Inclusive City: Urban Planning for Diversity and Social Cohesion \ Franziska Schreiber and Alexander Carius
-City View: Durban, South Africa \ Debra Roberts and Sean O'Donoghue
Chapter 19. Urbanization, Inclusion, and Social Justice \ Jim Jarvie and Richard Friend
Notes
Index
Foreword \ Garrett Fitzgerald
Foreword \ Eduardo Paes
World's Cities at a Glance \ Gary Gardner
Part I. Cities as Human Constructs
Chapter 1. Imagining a Sustainable City \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 2. Cities in the Arc of Human History: A Materials Perspective \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 3. The City: A System of Systems \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 4. Toward a Vision of Sustainable Cities \ Gary Gardner
Chapter 5. The Energy Wildcard: Possible Energy Constraints to Further Urbanization \ Richard Heinberg
Part II. The Urban Climate Challenge
Chapter 6. Cities and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Scope of the Challenge \ Tom Prugh and Michael Renner
Chapter 7. Urbanism and Global Sprawl \ Peter Calthorpe
-City View: Shanghai, China \ Haibing Ma
Chapter 8. Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Buildings \ Michael Renner
-City View: Freiberg, Germany \ Simone Ariane Pflaum
Chapter 9. Energy Efficiency in Buildings: A Crisis of Opportunity \ Gregory H. Kats
-City View: Melbourne, Australia \ Robert Doyle
Chapter 10. Is 100 Percent Renewable Energy in Cities Possible? \ Betsy Agar and Michael Renner
-City View: Vancouver, Canada \ Gregor Robertson
Chapter 11. Supporting Sustainable Transportation \ Michael Renner
Chapter 12. Urban Transport and Climate Change \ Cornie Huizenga, Karl Peet, and Sudhir Gota
-City View: Singapore \ Geoffrey Davison and Ang Wei Ping
Chapter 13. Source Reduction and Recycling of Waste \ Michael Renner
-City View: Ahmedabad and Pune, India \ Kartikeya Sarabhai, Madhavi Joshi, and Sanskriti Menon
Chapter 14. Solid Waste and Climate Change \ Perinaz Bhada-Tata and Daniel Hoornweg
-City View: Barcelona, Spain \ Marti Boada Junca, Roser Maneja Zaragoza, and Pablo Knobel Guelar
Chapter 15. Rural-Urban Migration, Lifestyles, and Deforestation \ Tom Prugh
Part III. Politics, Equity, and Livability
Chapter 16. Remunicipalization, the Low-Carbon Transition, and Energy Democracy \ Andrew Cumbers
-City View: Portland, Oregon, United States \ Brian Holland and Juan Wei
Chapter 17. The Vital Role of Biodiversity in Urban Sustainability \ Marti Boada Junca, Roser Maneja Zaragoza, and Pablo Knobel Guelar
-City View: Jerusalem, Israel \ Marti Boada Junca, Roser Maneja Zaragoza, and Pablo Knobel Guelar
Chapter 18. The Inclusive City: Urban Planning for Diversity and Social Cohesion \ Franziska Schreiber and Alexander Carius
-City View: Durban, South Africa \ Debra Roberts and Sean O'Donoghue
Chapter 19. Urbanization, Inclusion, and Social Justice \ Jim Jarvie and Richard Friend
Notes
Index
