Sustainability and Cities

Overcoming Automobile Dependence

Peter Newman, Jeffrey Kenworthy

• Publisher: Island Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781559636605
• eBook ISBN: 9781597262590
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Sustainability and Cities examines the urban aspect of sustainability issues, arguing that cities are a necessary focus for that global agenda. The authors make the case that the essential character of a city's land use results from how it manages its transportation, and that only by reducing our automobile dependence will we be able to successfully accommodate all elements of the sustainability agenda.
 
The book begins with chapters that set forth the notion of sustainability and how it applies to cities and automobile dependence. The authors consider the changing urban economy in the information age, and describe the extent of automobile dependence worldwide. They provide an updated survey of global cities that examines a range of sustainability factors and indicators, and, using a series of case studies, demonstrate how cities around the world are overcoming the problem of automobile dependence. They also examine the connections among transportation and other issues—including water use and cycling, waste management, and greening the urban landscape—and explain how all elements of sustainability can be managed simultaneously.
 
The authors end with a consideration of how professional planners can promote the sustainability agenda, and the ethical base needed to ensure that this critical set of issues is taken seriously in the world's cities.
 
Sustainability and Cities will serve as a source of both learning and inspiration for those seeking to create more sustainable cities, and is an important book for practitioners, researchers, and students in the fields of planning, geography, and public policy.

Table of contents

• About Island Press
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 - The Concept of Sustainability and Its Relationship to Cities
• Chapter 2 - The Problem of Automobile Dependence at the End of the Twentieth Century
• Chapter 3 - The Pattern of Automobile Dependence and Global Cities
• Chapter 4 - A Vision of Reduced Automobile Dependence
• Chapter 5 - Greening the Automobile-dependent City
• Chapter 6 - Promoting Sustainable Urban Change
• Chapter 7 - Ethics, Spirituality, and Community in the Sustainable City
• Chapter 8 - Summary and Conclusions
• Appendix 1 - Data and Methodology for the Thirty-seven-city Study for the World Bank
• Appendix 2 - Growth Management Approaches and Guidelines
• Appendix 3 - A Checklist for City Sustainability Using Economic efficiency, Social Equity, Environmental Responsibility, and Human Livability Criteria
• Appendix 4 - An Economic Impact Statement for Urban Development
• Appendix 5 - Guidelines for New Urbanism Development (The Ahwahnee Principles)
• Appendix 6 - A Guide to the Provision of Better Transit and Land Use Integration in Auto Cities
• References
• Index
• Island Press Board of Directors