Toward Sustainable Communities: Solutions for Citizens and Their Governments: Solutions for Citizens and Their Governments-Fourth Edition - Softcover

Roseland, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0865717117 ISBN 13: 9780865717114

Publisher: New Society Publishers, 2012

Synopsis

The single most useful resource out there on how to build and grow sustainable places

The need to make our communities sustainable is more urgent than ever before. Toward Sustainable Communities remains the single most useful resource for creating vibrant, healthy, equitable, economically viable places. This comprehensive update of the classic text presents a leading-edge overview of sustainability in a new fully illustrated, full-color format.

Compelling new case studies and expanded treatment of sustainability in rural as well as urban settings are complemented by contributions from a range of experts around the world, demonstrating how "community capital" can be leveraged to meet the needs of cities and towns for:

• Energy efficiency, waste reduction, and recycling
• Water, sewage, transportation, and housing
• Climate change and air quality
• Land use and urban planning.

Fully supported by a complete suite of online resources and tools, Toward Sustainable Communities is packed with concrete, innovative solutions to a host of municipal challenges. Required reading for policymakers, educators, social enterprises, and engaged citizens, this "living book" will appeal to anyone concerned about community sustainability and a livable future.

Mark Roseland is director of the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University and professor at SFU's School of Resource and Environmental Management. He lectures internationally, advises communities and governments on sustainable development policy and planning, and has been cited as one of British Columbia's "top fifty living public intellectuals."

About this title

Review:

" Toward Sustainable Communities represents the best kind of resource in this time of rapidly evolving approaches to making our cities and towns resilient, healthy and just. By providing both strong frameworks for understanding community sustainability and pragmatic information on current best practice, this book is a treasure for policymakers, planners, thought leaders and anyone working to shape the future of our communities."
― Tom Osdoba, Chair, Portland Sustainability Institute

" In the global era, sustainability as much as ever needs strong community anchoring, to create spaces for local innovation and engender civic engagement. Mark Roseland's powerful and far-reaching work provides both the intellectual arguments and practical guidance to enable sustainable communities to flourish. A must-read for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners alike."
― Professor Simon Joss FRSA, International Eco-Cities Initiative, University of Westminster

" This new and revised edition of Toward Sustainable Communities demonstrates how local government and communities are leading the transition towards a sustainable future. Complete with numerous creative ideas, practical examples and stories from around the world, it's a must read for anyone working to help communities thrive in these uncertain times. Mark Roseland has also taken his research and work to the next level by creating a new on-line community called "Pando | Sustainable Communities", which will serve as an invaluable source of information and network for researchers, policy makers and community sustainability professionals from around the world."
― John Purkis, Senior Advisor and Senior Manager, Sustainable Communities, The Natural Step Canada

" Over successive iterations of this seminal text, Roseland has deepened our understanding by combining theory and practice in increasingly elegant ways. Now we also have a new tool, the Community Capital Scan to assess proposals and plans for their contribution to sustainable development, and Pando, an online community for local sustainability-focused researchers and practitioners. The path toward sustainable communities just got much clearer."
― Julian Agyeman, Chair, Department of Urban + Environmental Policy + Planning (UEP), Tufts University

" In the absence of global governance institutions that can meet the historic challenge of transitioning the world towards sustainability, the new edition of Mark Roseland's book, Toward Sustainable Communities , shines an important light on the impressive accomplishments and transformational potential of local action. Building on his 20 years of scholarship in the field, Roseland deftly situates community sustainability efforts in the broader policy arena and introduces the 'community capital framework' to advance a systems perspective that enhances our understanding of the complexities involved. The book provides a wealth of real-world examples and tools aimed at mobilizing citizens as well as governments. It is an invaluable resource for practitioners and policymakers alike."
― James Goldstein, Director, Sustainable Communities Program, Tellus Institute

" This fourth edition is a tour de force, a marvelous up-to-date amalgam of history, theory, and examples reinforced with a comprehensive description of tools that we can use to establish truly sustainable communities. And while Dr. Roseland does not shy from recognizing the scale of the challenge, his sense of optimism runs through the volume like an unbroken thread, right to the final sentence: "Sustainable communities will not... merely 'sustain' the quality of our lives ― they will dramatically improve it." Those words cogently capture why every community, arrondissement, county, province, state and national leader ― worldwide ― should read and absorb this book."
― Thomas F. Pedersen, PhD, FRSC, FAGU, Executive Director, Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, Canada

" As any sustainability professional knows, the battle for sustainability will be won― or lost ― in cities. After all, the way cities are designed and governed determines over 80 percent of its residents' resource demand. There is no better guide than Mark Roseland, for showing us what's possible so we can win this battle. Please give this book to every local official you know."
― Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D., President, Global Footprint Network

" In a world where despair comes too easily, Toward Sustainable Communities awakens our collective creativity. Mark Roseland calls on us to imagine our communities as vibrant, healthy places where we connect with our neighbours, work with the natural world and live well. He recognizes the increasingly crucial role for local governments in leading the way to this vision and provides many examples of practical actions to get us there."
― Josha MacNab, Director, Sustainable Communities Group, Pembina Institute

" For practitioners and interested members of the public alike, figuring out the true meaning of sustainability remains a challenge. Mark Roseland's book provides many practical insights that will help put the complexities of sustainable development into a meaningful perspective."
― Glenn Miller, Vice President, Education & Research, Canadian Urban Institute

" Toward Sustainable Communities is an excellent guide to the ways that cities and towns, both urban and rural, are pursuing strategies for long-term growth and viability that does not impinge on the resources available to future generations. It is very well organized and comprehensive in its coverage. I especially commend the author for including lots of case studies as well as practical information on how to work toward sustainability. This book is an important reference for anyone working to promote community sustainability."
― Andre Shashaty, President, Partnership for Sustainable Communities

Book Description:

The single most useful resource out there on how to build and grow sustainable places

About this edition

• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0865717117
• ISBN 13: 9780865717114
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 384