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Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously, second edition

Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously, second edition
Author: Kent E. Portney
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2013-01-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0262518279

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A theoretically driven comparison of sustainability programs in American cities, updated with the latest research and additional case studies. Today most major cities have undertaken some form of sustainability initiative. Yet there have been few systematic comparisons across cities, or theoretically grounded considerations of what works and what does not, and why. In Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously, Kent Portney addresses this gap, offering a comprehensive overview and analysis of sustainability programs and policies in American cities. After discussing the conceptual underpinnings of sustainability, he examines the local aspects of sustainability; considers the measurement of sustainability and offers an index of “serious” sustainability for the fifty-five largest cities in the country; examines the relationship between sustainability and economic growth; and discusses issues of governance, equity, and implementation. He also offers extensive case studies, with separate chapters on large, medium-size, and small cities, and provides an empirically grounded analysis of why some large cities are more ambitious than others in their sustainability efforts. This second edition has been updated throughout, with new material that draws on the latest research. It also offers numerous additional case studies, a new chapter on management and implementation issues, and a greatly expanded comparative analysis of big-city sustainability initiatives. Portney shows how cities use the broad rubric of sustainability to achieve particular political ends, and he dispels the notion that only cities that are politically liberal are interested in sustainability. Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously draws a roadmap for effective sustainability initiatives.


Sustainability

Sustainability
Author: Kent E. Portney
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2015-10-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262331411

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A concise and accessible examination of sustainability in a range of contemporary contexts, from economic development to government policy. The word “sustainability” has been connected to everything from a certain kind of economic development to corporate promises about improved supply sourcing. But despite the apparent ubiquity of the term, the concept of sustainability has come to mean a number of specific things. In this accessible guide to the meanings of sustainability, Kent Portney describes the evolution of the idea and examines its application in a variety of contemporary contexts—from economic growth and consumption to government policy and urban planning. Portney takes as his starting point the 1987 definition by the World Commission on Environment and Development of sustainability as economic development activity that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” At its heart, Portney explains, sustainability focuses on the use and depletion of natural resources. It is not the same as environmental protection or natural resource conservation; it is more about finding some sort of steady state so that the earth can support both human population and economic growth. Portney looks at political opposition to the promotion of sustainability, which usually questions the need for sustainability or calls its costs unacceptable; collective and individual consumption of material goods and resources and to what extent they must be curtailed to achieve sustainability; the role of the private sector, and the co-opting of sustainability by corporations; government policy on sustainability at the international, national, and subnational levels; and how cities could become models for sustainability action.


Sustainability and Cities

Sustainability and Cities
Author: Peter Newman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 476
Release: 1999-02
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

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Our dependence on cars is a huge problem - but the authors argue that it can be overcome and a new form of urban organisation developed. They examine the trends which shape global cities and establishes transport priorities within this framework.


Sharing Cities

Sharing Cities
Author: Duncan McLaren
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 461
Release: 2015-11-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0262029723

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The future of humanity is urban, and the nature of urban space enables, and necessitates, sharing -- of resources, goods and services, experiences. Yet traditional forms of sharing have been undermined in modern cities by social fragmentation and commercialization of the public realm. In Sharing Cities, Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman argue that the intersection of cities' highly networked physical space with new digital technologies and new mediated forms of sharing offers cities the opportunity to connect smart technology to justice, solidarity, and sustainability. McLaren and Agyeman explore the opportunities and risks for sustainability, solidarity, and justice in the changing nature of sharing. McLaren and Agyeman propose a new "sharing paradigm," which goes beyond the faddish "sharing economy" -- seen in such ventures as Uber and TaskRabbit -- to envision models of sharing that are not always commercial but also communal, encouraging trust and collaboration. Detailed case studies of San Francisco, Seoul, Copenhagen, Medellín, Amsterdam, and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) contextualize the authors' discussions of collaborative consumption and production; the shared public realm, both physical and virtual; the design of sharing to enhance equity and justice; and the prospects for scaling up the sharing paradigm though city governance. They show how sharing could shift values and norms, enable civic engagement and political activism, and rebuild a shared urban commons. Their case for sharing and solidarity offers a powerful alternative for urban futures to conventional "race-to-the-bottom" narratives of competition, enclosure, and division.


Sustainable Cities in Developing Countries

Sustainable Cities in Developing Countries
Author: Cedric Pugh
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2013-12-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1134191545

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This text addresses the difficulties of balancing the imperatives of sustainability with the pressing challenges facing some of the world's most underdeveloped areas. Various perspectives are brought to bear on issues from economics and theories of health through to the foundations of sustainability. All the key contemporary developments are dealt with; the growth in international law and agreements on controlling greenhouse gases; the effect of reforms in finance, governance and methods of appraisal on the areas of waste management; and the theoretical advances in the community development aspects of health and the neighbourhood environment guided by the experiences of the World Bank, WHO and UNEP. The text is intended as a guidebook for those responsible for re-shaping cities in the 21st century.


Environmental Governance Reconsidered, second edition

Environmental Governance Reconsidered, second edition
Author: Robert F. Durant
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 545
Release: 2017-08-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0262338726

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Key topics in the ongoing evolution of environmental governance, with new and updated material. This survey of current issues and controversies in environmental policy and management is unique in its thematic mix, broad coverage of key debates, and in-depth analysis. The contributing authors, all distinguished scholars or practitioners, offer a comprehensive examination of key topics in the continuing evolution of environmental governance, with perspectives from public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, sustainability theory, environmental economics, risk analysis, and democratic theory. The second edition of this popular reader has been thoroughly revised, with updated coverage and new topics. The emphasis has shifted from sustainability to include sustainable cities, from domestic civic environmentalism to global civil society, and from global interdependence to the evolution of institutions of global environmental governance. A general focus on devolution of authority in the United States has been sharpened to address the specifics of contested federalism and fracking, and the treatment of flexibility now explores the specifics of regulatory innovation and change. New chapters join original topics such as environmental justice and collaboration and conflict resolution to address highly salient and timely topics: energy security; risk assessment, communication, and technology innovation; regulation-by-revelation; and retrospective regulatory analysis. The topics are organized and integrated by the book's “3R” framework: reconceptualizing governance to reflect ecological risks and interdependencies better, reconnecting with stakeholders, and reframing administrative rationality. Extensive cross-references pull the chapters together. A broad reference list enables readers to pursue topics further. Contributors Regina S. Axelrod, Robert F. Durant, Kirk Emerson, Daniel J. Fiorino, Anne J. Kantel, David M. Konisky, Michael E. Kraft, Jennifer Kuzma, Richard Morgenstern, Tina Nabatchi, Rosemary O'Leary, Barry Rabe, Walter A. Rosenbaum, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Paul Wapner


Governing Sustainable Cities

Governing Sustainable Cities
Author: Bob Evans
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2013-06-17
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1136564551

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Urban governance and sustainability are rapidly becoming key issues around the world. Currently three billion people - half the population of the planet - live in cities, and by 2050 a full two-thirds of the world's population will be housed in ever larger and increasingly densely populated urban areas. The economic, social and environmental challenges posed by urbanization on such a large scale and at such a rapid pace are staggering for local, regional and national governments working towards sustainability. Solutions to the myriad problems plaguing the quest for sustainability at the city-level are equally as diverse and complex, but are rooted in the assumptions of the 'sustainability agenda', developed at the Rio Earth Summit and embodied in Local Agenda/Action 21. These assumptions state that good governance is a necessary precondition for the achievement of sustainable development, particularly at the local level, and that the mobilization of local communities is an essential part of this process. Yet until now, these assumptions, which have guided the policies and programmes of over 6000 local authorities around the world, have never been seriously tested. Drawing on three years of field research in 40 European towns and cities, Governing for Sustainable Cities is the first book to examine empirically the processes of urban governance in sustainable development. Looking at a host of core issues including institutional and social capacity, institutional design, social equity, politics, partnerships and cooperation and creative policy-making, the authors draw compelling conclusions and offer strong guidance. This book is essential reading for policy-makers, politicians, activists and NGOs, planners, researchers and academics, whether in Europe, North America, Australasia or transitional and developing countries, concerned with advancing sustainability in our rapidly urbanizing world.


Sustainable Cities

Sustainable Cities
Author: Kimberly Etingoff
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2017-03-16
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1315342251

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This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Two trends come together in the world’s cities to make urban sustainability a critical issue today. First, greater and greater numbers of people are living in urban areas—and are projected to do so for the foreseeable future. Additionally, cities contribute to climate change in a significant way and must make systemic changes to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects. Urban planners face serious challenges in enhancing sustainability but also have an important set of tools available for creating innovative solutions. This book adds to the conversation about the place of urban planning in the creation and maintenance of sustainable cities.


Planning Sustainable Cities and Regions

Planning Sustainable Cities and Regions
Author: Karen Chapple
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2014-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317655087

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As global warming advances, regions around the world are engaging in revolutionary sustainability planning - but with social equity as an afterthought. California is at the cutting edge of this movement, not only because its regulations actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also because its pioneering environmental regulation, market innovation, and Left Coast politics show how to blend the "three Es" of sustainability--environment, economy, and equity. Planning Sustainable Cities and Regions is the first book to explain what this grand experiment tells us about the most just path moving forward for cities and regions across the globe. The book offers chapters about neighbourhoods, the economy, and poverty, using stories from practice to help solve puzzles posed by academic research. Based on the most recent demographic and economic trends, it overturns conventional ideas about how to build more livable places and vibrant economies that offer opportunity to all. This thought-provoking book provides a framework to deal with the new inequities created by the movement for more livable - and expensive - cities, so that our best plans for sustainability are promoting more equitable development as well. This book will appeal to students of urban studies, urban planning and sustainability as well as policymakers, planning practitioners, and sustainability advocates around the world.


The Key to Sustainable Cities

The Key to Sustainable Cities
Author: Gwendolyn Hallsmith
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2003-09-01
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781550923971

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Most of the world’s population now live in cities, but despite wide agreement on the core values of sustainable societies, municipalities are so busy solving current problems, they don’t have the time or resources to plan effective action for sustainability. The Key to Sustainable Cities uses the principles of system dynamics to demonstrate how today’s problems were yesterday’s solutions. The book points to a new approach to city planning that builds on assets as a starting point for cities to develop healthy social, governance, economic, and environmental systems. Gwendolyn Hallsmith has worked to build sustainable communities for over twenty years as a municipal manager, a regional planning director, and with the Institute for Sustainable Communities. She lives in Marshfield, Vermont.