The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Cities


Book Description

The last five years have brought an enormous growth in the literature on how urban development can meet human needs and ensure ecological sustainability. This collection brings together the most outstanding contributions from leading experts on the issues surrounding sustainable cities and urban development. The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Cities is fully international in scope and coverage. It will be the basic introduction to the subject for a wide range of students in urban geography, planning and environmental studies, and is essential reading for professionals involved with the successful running and development of cities.




The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Consumption


Book Description

First Published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.




The Earthscan Reader in Rural-Urban Linkages


Book Description

With accelerating urbanization and growing inter-dependence of rural and urban dwellers on the markets and resources they each offer, rural urban linkages have become a very important focus in recent years for research and policy relating to local and national economic development, poverty reduction and governance. The emergence of new livelihoods based on diversified income sources and mobility reflects profound social, cultural and economic transformations, and new forms of resource allocation and use. This volume collects the key contributions in the field, covering the conceptual background, the key issues and the current debates, locating different approaches in their wider intellectual and historical contexts. It also includes important recent empirical work from all the relevant geographical regions that that will be the basis for future thinking. Fifteen papers are clearly organized around the principal themes and accompanied by a valuable editorial introduction clearly setting out the issues, the arguments and the evidence. Suggestions for further reading and additional information sources are also included. Published with IIED.




Adapting Cities to Climate Change


Book Description

This volume brings together, for the first time, a wide-ranging and detailed body of information identifying and assessing risk, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in urban centres in low- and middle-income countries. Framed by an overview of the main possibilities and constraints for adaptation, the contributors examine the implications of climate change for cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and propose innovative agendas for adaptation. The book should be of interest to policy makers, practitioners and academics who face the challenge of addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation in urban centres throughout the global South. Published with E&U and International Institute for Environment and Development




Sustainable Communities


Book Description

With a foreword written by Senator Bernie Sanders What is a durable economy? It is one that not only survives but thrives. How is it created, and what does it take to sustain over time? Sustainable Communities provides insight and answers to these questions. Citing Burlington, Vermont's remarkable rise to award-winning status, this book explores the balance of community planning, social enterprise development, energy and environment, food systems and cultural well-being. Aimed at policymakers, development practitioners, students, and citizens, this book describes which and how multiple influences facilitate the creation of a local, durable and truly sustainable economy. The authors hope to inspire others by sharing this story of what can be done in the name of community economic development.




The Earthscan Reader on World Transport Policy and Practice


Book Description

"Transport is now a critical problem throughout the world, and it is set to get worse. Whether it is traffic congestion, crashes (10 million killed and injured each year), noise, air pollution, landscape destruction, or greenhouse gas emissions (of which transport is the fastest-growing source), the damage and the costs from our current forms of transport are dangerously high and getting worse. Policies and practical measures that can reduce and eliminate these problems are urgently needed. This Reader contains 16 important contributions on how to improve transport globally. They are based on sound science, sound people-centred analysis, and a strong awareness of equity and human rights. And they have been selected for their originality, the importance of the issues they focus on, the quality of their insight and their practical relevance. A further 7 commissioned chapters provide informative overviews of the transport problems specific to each region of the world, while the editors' Introduction and Conclusion frames the discussion and lays out the scale of the challenges we face. As a whole, the Reader demonstrates what steps can be taken to improve both transport provision and use, in both the developed and the developing world, while reducing environmental and health impacts. It will serve as an invaluable sourcebook for anyone researching or attempting to address the issues associated with world transport policy and practice, whether students, planners, business people or policy-makers."--Publisher's description.







Human Settlement Development - Volume I


Book Description

Human Settlement Development is a component of Encyclopedia of Institutional and Infrastructural Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Human Settlement Development deals, in nine parts and four volumes , with a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: Urban Sustainability and the Regional City System in the Asia Pacific; Peri-Urbanization: Zones of Rural - Urban Transition; Urban Sustainability: Theoretical Perspectives on Integrating Economic Development and the Environment; Rural Sustainability; Using Foreign Direct Investment to Improve Urban Environmental Infrastructure and Services- The Case of Hanoi, Vietnam; The Long Road Towards Sustainable Cities: The Dutch case; Urban Dimensions of Sustainable Development; Rural Development: Participation and Diversity for Sustainability; The Cities, the State and the Markets: In Search of Sustainability These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.




Environmental Problems in an Urbanizing World


Book Description

New edition of Environmental Problems in Third World Cities Cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America contain some of the world's most life- and health-threatening human environments. Environment-related diseases and injuries cause millions of preventable deaths each year. In many squatter settlements, children are 40 to 50 times more likely to die before the age of five than they would be in Europe or North America and most such deaths are environment-related. Many cities also cause serious environmental degradation to their surroundings and increasingly contribute to global warming. This updated and much expanded edition of the classic Environmental Problems in Third World Cities describes environmental problems and their effect on human health, local ecosystems and global cycles. It points to the political causes that underpin many of these problems - including ineffective, unaccountable governments, and aid agencies' reluctance to work with the urban poor. It also highlights innovative solutions such as: * High-quality, low-cost homes and neighbourhoods developed by urban poor groups working with local non-governmental organizations * Local Agenda 21s developed by municipal governments in partnership with community organizations.* In their analysis, the authors show that cities can meet sustainable development goals. There are practical, affordable solutions to their environmental problems, but most of these depend on more competent and accountable city governments and on more support for low-income households and their organizations. The book also outlines the changes needed international aid agencies to support this. PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION 'It's rare to encounter a work as authoritative and accessible as this. It is a mine of useful information from cities in every corner of the Third World, which does not shy away from the immensity of the problems, but says as much about the solutions to them as about the problems themselves' Jonathon Porritt 'Well written and very accessible' The Geographical Journal 'Of value to students, teachers, practitioners, policy makers and aid agencies' Third World Planning Review 'A valuable resource for understanding the underlying problems[this book offers] practical alternatives' Cities International.




Sustainable Development Policy


Book Description

Sustainable Development Policy: A European Perspective uses a variety of multidisciplinary perspectives to explore the ways in which sustainable infrastructures can play a more prominent and effective role in international development policy. Building on a solid introduction to sustainability and development policy, this book discusses ways in which viable reform can be promoted through coherent governing, the design of social security systems, education systems and the possibilities of fair trade as an alternative trading concept . Sustainable Development Policy generates a platform on which to encourage constructive dialogue on issues surrounding sustainability in the wake of the global scarcity of natural and economic resources. This edited collection will be of great interest to all students and lecturers of development studies and development policy, as well as researchers from other disciplines looking for an introduction to sustainable development policy and its practical applications.