Amazon.com
"Venice is in trouble," writes John Keahey. The city is sinking into the sea. It has lost six feet over the last millennium and soon will lose more. The problem has become so bad that hotel concierges routinely distribute rubber boots to guests, and tourists cross historic squares on elevated boardwalks. Long-time residents flee not only the rising water, but also the rising cost-of- living and the rising industrial pollution. Venice, according to Keahey, "is evolving into a crumbling museum." Once, of course, it was an economic powerhouse with global reach; later it became the repository of some of the finest art and architecture in the world. Now it's sinking, largely due to the remorseless facts of geography, but also because the city's residents have abused their underground water resources. In Venice Against the Sea, Keahey offers a detailed description of what's gone wrong--and explores how the city might be saved, at least temporarily, through innovative engineering. This is a book anybody who has fallen in love with Venice will want to read, yet it issues a stark warning for people in coastal cities all over the world. If sea levels continue to rise, Venice's bleak fate may also be their own. --John Miller
Book Description
Venice is sinking - six feet over the past 1,000 years.The reasons for this are many.Although there is a natural geologic tendency for some sinking, humans have exacerbated the problem by exploiting on a massive scale underground water resources for industrial purposes.Coupled with these events - and perhaps most significant - are climatic changes all over the globe.The heating of the atmosphere after the last ice age, dramatically speeded up by humans, has led to a steady, continuing rise in sea level.This global warming is likely to persist beyond human control for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.Venetians, other Italians, and many in the world community are locked in debate over Venice's plight. Venice Against the Sea explains how the city and its 177 canals were built and what has led up to this long-foreseen crisis.It explores the various options currently being considered for "solving" this problem and chronicles the ongoing debate among scientists, engineers, and politicians about the pros and cons of each potential solution.Through extensive research and interviews, award-winning journalist John Keahey has written the definitive book on this fascinating problem. No matter what the experts decide to do, one thing is for certain - Venice's art, its buildings, and its history are too important to the planet's cultural identity to let it slip beneath the rising waters of the Adriatic.AUTHORBIO: John Keahey, a veteran newspaper journalist, is an Idaho native raised in Nampa, Idaho. He has degrees from the University of Utah, and lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, book designer Connie Disney.He is also the author of A Sweet and Glorious Land.
Customer Reviews:
Very good, gets a little technical towards the end.......2002-07-24
The first three-quarters+ of the book is excellent. It provides a good overview of Venetian history and explains how/why the city is essentially sinking. The author then gets into a TREMENDOUS amount of depth (no pun intended) concerning funding for a proposed gate project, various changes of Italian government, etc.-- probably more than you need to know, certainly more than I needed. Overall, though, the book was very good, even for someone who knows Venice as well as I do.
Average customer rating:
|
An International Sourcebook of Automobile Dependence in Cities, 1960-1990
Jeffrey R. Kenworthy ,
Felix B. Laube ,
Tamim Raad ,
Chamlong Poboon , and
Benedicto Guia
Manufacturer: University Press of Colorado
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Industry
| Automotive
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Traffic & Safety
| Automotive
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Urban
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Transportation
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Urban Planning & Development
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Conservation
| Environment
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Conservation
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Transportation & Highway
| Civil
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Transportation
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0870815237 |
Book Description
A large, reliable digest of urban data about land use, transportation, and energy use, An International Sourcebook of Automobile Dependence in Cities, 19601990, provides government agencies, consulting firms, academics, and community and conservation groups with the kind of detailed information that they need to improve their planning, teaching, and researching in these fields. The book sets out detailed data on land use, private and public transportation, energy, environment, and economics in forty-six metropolitan areas in the United States, Australia, Canada, western Europe, and Asia for 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1990.
An International Sourcebook provides a multitude of tables and diagrams so readers can quickly access key data on their own cities and easily gain a global perspective on how different cities perform according to various factors. For cities that are not included in the book, a comprehensive methodology chapter is provided, describing how to develop comparative data for other locations.
Each city represented in the book has its own set of color maps showing the various territorial boundaries and shape of the metropolitan area, the urbanized areas of the region, the freeway system and all the fixed track rail and bus transit systems. These maps--together with the detailed data, correlation analyses between city characteristics, and key trends between 1980 and 1990--make the book an essential tool for policy development, presentations, teaching, and further research.
Outstanding in its detail and its extensive coverage of cities, An International Sourcebook is a valuable source of information for anyone concerned with the impact of the automobile on urban environments and the role of planning in helping shape better cities.
The cities covered are: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington (U.S.); Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney (Australia); Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg (Canada); Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich (Europe); Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo (wealthy Asian cities); Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Surabaya (developing Asian cities).
Book Description
Sustainability may seem like one more buzzword, and cities and towns like the last places to change, but The Natural Step for Communities provides inspiring examples of communities that have made dramatic changes toward sustainability, and explains how others can emulate their success.
Chronicled in the book are towns like Ã-vertorneÃ¥, whose government operations recently became 100 per cent fossil fuel-free, demonstrating that unsustainable municipal practices really can be overhauled. Arguing that the process of introducing change -- whether converting to renewable energy or designing compact development -- is critical to success, the authors outline why well-intentioned proposals often fail to win community approval, and why an integrated approach -- not "single-issue" initiatives -- can surmount challenges of conflicting priorities, scarce resources, and turf battles.
The book first clarifies the concept of sustainability, offering guiding principles -- the Natural Step framework -- that help identify sustainable action in any area. It then introduces the sixty-plus eco-municipalities of Sweden that have adopted changes to sustainable practices throughout municipal policies and operations. The third section explains how they did it, and outlines how other communities in North America and elsewhere can do the same. Key to success is a democratic "bottom-up" change process, and clear guiding sustainability principles such as the Natural Step framework.
The book will appeal to both general readers wishing to understand better what sustainability means and practitioners interested in introducing or expanding sustainable development in their communities.
Customer Reviews:
Sustainability.......2007-05-05
My participation in a local "sustainable cities" study circle included reading and studying this book. The book is a study of the renewal that has taken place in Sweden. Faced with a collapsing economy, cities, with collective cooperation from businesses, the government and their citizens brought prosperity back to Sweden. What we mean by "sustainable cities" is a community that is self-supportive--an equilibrium. And this brings about a cleaner, more efficient way of life.
Sweden can be an example for us to follow, especially their developments and the sense of community. The U.S. is not Sweden, nor do we want it to be. Sweden is a socialistic country. That means the government controls more than it should. That's why it needs to start at the bottom, with each individual--a new mindset or outlook. There are things cities can do to bring themselves closer to sustainability without damaging their economy. In fact, with incentives, there may be new growth never before seen.
The book has many positives and negatives. Planning starts with the local municipalities, not the federal or state government. We need to be careful when we try and solve one environmental problem only to create a whole new problem. The book is rife with socialistic thinking. The authors would have been better off leaving "global warming" and politics out.
America is prosperous, it took Sweden a meltdown to come to grips with its future as a nation. In a democracy, with God as its foundation, we will stay strong. There are amazing things that Sweden has done, we should take a look at them.
Wish you well
Scott
How to foment sustainable revolution.......2006-02-13
In the 1980s, Lahti's hometown of Overtornea, Sweden was dying. The worldwide recession left the village in an inhospitable climate with no major industry and a declining population. Lahti organized community residents and developed a plan to revitalize Overtornea using principles of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Thus was born the sustainability revolution in Sweden that is taking hold in Europe and spreading to other parts of the world. This is not a story, but a how-to manual. The king of Sweden has endorsed Lahti's methods and seen a resurgence of vital business throughout the country while reducing waste and fossil fuel consumption.
Book Description
In 1980 a group of scientists censusing marine mammals in the Bay of Fundy was astonished at the sight of 25 right whales. It was, one scientist later recalled, "like finding a brontosaurus in the backyard." Until that time, scientists believed the North Atlantic right whale was extinct or nearly so. The sightings electrified the research community, spurring a quarter century of exploration, which is documented here.
The authors present our current knowledge about the biology and plight of right whales, including their reproduction, feeding, genetics, and endocrinology, as well as fatal run-ins with ships and fishing gear. Employing individual identifications, acoustics, and population models, Scott Kraus, Rosalind Rolland, and their colleagues present a vivid history of this animal, from a once commercially hunted commodity to today's life-threatening challenges of urban waters.
Hunted for nearly a millennium, right whales are now being killed by the ocean commerce that supports our modern way of life. This book offers hope for the eventual salvation of this great whale.
Book Description
Four-fifths of Americans now live in the nation's sprawling metropolitan areas, and half of the world's population is now classified as "urban." As cities become the dominant living environment for humans, there is growing concern about how to make such places more habitable, more healthy and safe, more ecological, and more equitable—in short, more "humane."
This book explores the prospects for a more humane metropolis through a series of essays and case studies that consider why and how urban places can be made greener and more amenable. Its point of departure is the legacy of William H. Whyte (1917-1999), one of America's most admired urban thinkers. From his eyrie high above Manhattan in the offices of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Whyte laid the foundation for today's "smart growth" and "new urbanist" movements with books such as The Last Landscape (1968). His passion for improving the habitability of cities and suburbs is reflected in the diverse grassroots urban design and regreening strategies discussed in this volume.
Topics examined in this book include urban and regional greenspaces, urban ecological restoration, social equity, and green design. Some of the contributors are recognized academic experts, while others offer direct practical knowledge of particular problems and initiatives. The editor's introduction and epilogue set the individual chapters in a broader context and suggest how the strategies described, if widely replicated, may help create more humane urban environments.
In addition to Rutherford H. Platt, contributors to the volume include Carl Anthony, Thomas Balsley, Timothy Beatley, Eugenie L. Birch, Edward J. Blakely, Colin M. Cathcart, Steven E. Clemants, Christopher A. De Sousa, Steven N. Handel, Peter Harnik, Michael C. Houck, Jerold S. Kayden, Albert LaFarge, Andrew Light, Charles E. Little, Anne C. Lusk, Thalya Parilla, Deborah E. Popper, Frank J. Popper, Mary V. Rickel, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Robert L. Ryan, Laurin N. Sievert, Andrew G. Wiley-Schwartz, and Ann Louise Strong.
Published in association with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Customer Reviews:
Perfect for classroom discussion.......2007-03-05
Essays and case studies consider why and how urban places can be made greener for those who live there, packing in a 22-minute film on DVD to accompany text examples of how more humane metropolises are built. College-level collections strong in urban studies will find this perfect for classroom discussion, assignment, and for college-level contemporary social issues reference libraries.
Book Description
Most of the world's population now lives in cities. So if we are to address the problems of environmental deterioration and peak oil adequately, the city has to be a major focus of attention.
EcoCities is about re-building cities and towns based on ecological principles for the long term sustainability, cultural vitality and health of the Earth's biosphere. Unique in the literature is the book's insight that the form of the city really matters - and that it is within our ability to change it, and crucial that we do. Further, that the ecocity within its bioregion is comprehensible and do-able, and can produce a healthy and potentially happy future.
EcoCities describes the place of the city in evolution, nature and history. It pays special attention to the key question of accessibility and transportation, and outlines design principles for the ecocity. The reader is encouraged to plunge in to its economics and politics: the kinds of businesses, planning and leadership required. The book then outlines the tools by which a gradual transition to the ecocity could be accomplished. Throughout, this new edition is generously illustrated with the author's own inspired visions of what such rebuilt cities might actually look like.
Customer Reviews:
A pattern of urban design we will rediscover.......2007-04-09
EcoCities is a book I have returned to repeatedly and discovered new insights every time. Register is no utopian dreamer; he's addressing real problems in contemporary urban design and land use patterns that cannot be sustained in a lower-energy future. Register's personality comes through loud and clear in his writing--this is no dry treatment of the subject.
Through this book, Register helps us to envision with some specificity what urban landscapes light on automobiles but rich in biodiversity could look like. It's as if he's illustrating a series of before and after treatments of various spaces, but the before picture is now and the after is a future yet to be realized. Highly recommended reading for anyone who wants to help actively design their built environment towards sustainability.
One of the keys to Sustainability.......2007-01-12
Along with books like Natural Capitalism and Cradle to Cradle, Ecocities takes its place among the most important environmental tomes of our day. In a nutshell, Richard Register's vision (replete with a plan to get us there) could transform our world. In fact a structural response like ecocities (and smart growth) may be the best tools available to bring us to our only destination, sustainability. In his thoughtful book, Register waxes poetic on the environmental crisis we face, shares a grand vision for addressing the crisis -- while simultaneously improving our everyday lives -- and wraps it up with a road map for getting there. His many illustrations spark the imagination and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. If you haven't read it, just do. Buy this important book now.
moderate environmental views.......2006-09-24
Here is an ambitious remit. Register gives a history of the development of cities. And he offers suggestions for what he calls eco-modern designs. That attempt to minimise energy consumption and maximise biodiversity. The former is an obvious laudable aim for any city and its occupants. Rising energy costs, due in part to ever increasing global industrialisation, can adversely affect everyone in a city. Reducing consumption is shown to involve such trends as more energy efficient cars.
But he also advocates a greater biodiversity within cities. More gardens, including on rooftops. Multiple benefits are offered. A more pleasant recreational environment. And reduced cooling costs for buildings.
Register offers a light leftist approach. He does not seem anticapitalist, unlike some radical environmentalists.
Customer Reviews:
A Book Every Homeowner Should Have.......2003-04-12
If you own property in urban, suburban or rural settings, you should have this book. It's the definitive guide to understanding wildlife, common diseases, and problems they may cause, and how to effectively solve them.
The first few chapters explain how to prevent and identify wildlife problems - and the right questions you should ask before hiring a professional to help you. The book also explains what methods work - and ones that don't - to save you money. The most humane and effective methods are clearly explained.
The next 31 chapters each deal with specific animals: bats, crows, deer, mice, moles, pigeons, snakes, etc.
The definitive guidline to living with wildlife.......2000-07-05
This is an excellent description of methods and techniques to use for the most commonly-considered "nuisance" species of wildlife. John Hadidian, the author, is both a wildlife enthusiast and a gardener, and he has edited a very balanced set of explanations on how to discourage wildlife when it has become a problem for a homeowner. The solutions are humane and can leave the homeowner proud that the situation was resolved peacefully. I ran a wildlife hotline with 50 volunteers frequently dealing with the public on these very issues, and this book was the reference the volunteers found most helpful.
Fantastic.......2000-04-08
One of the most comprehensive wildlife books to date. Really gives a good inside look into urban wildlife problems and how to deal with them in a humane manner that even a novice could follow
Excellent practical solutions to urban wildlife "problems"........1999-02-07
This book offers a wide range of practical solutions for resolving conflicts between humans and urban wildlife in a humane manner. The recommended approaches (such as exclusion techniques) not only prevent innocent animals from being killed by unscrupulous trappers and pest control services, they are permanent solutions which cost next to nothing. Ideal for enlightening residents and city councils on alternatives to destroying animals unnecessarily and wasting tax dollars in the process.
Book Description
Chinese production of automobiles rose from 42,000 cars per year in 1990 to 2.3 million in 2004; the number of passenger vehicles on the road doubled every two and a half years through the 1990s and continues to grow. In China Shifts Gears, Kelly Sims Gallagher identifies an unprecedented opportunity for China to "shift gears" and avoid the usual problems associated with the automobile industry--including urban air pollution caused by tailpipe emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and high dependence on oil imports--while spurring economic development. This transformation will only take place if the Chinese government plays a leadership role in building domestic technological capacity and pushing foreign automakers to transfer cleaner and more energy-efficient technologies to China. If every new car sold in China had the cleanest and most energy-efficient of the automotive technologies already available, urban air pollution could be minimized, emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases would be lower than projected, and the Chinese auto industry would continue to flourish and contribute to China's steady economic development. But so far, Gallagher finds, the opportunity to shift gears has been missed.
Gallagher looks in detail at three U.S.-Chinese joint ventures: Beijing Jeep, Shanghai GM, and Chang'An Ford. These case studies are based on original research, including interviews with 90 government officials, industry representatives, and experts in both countries. Drawing from the case studies, Gallagher explores the larger issues of the environmental and economic effects of technology transfer in the automobile industry and the policy implications of "leapfrogging" to more advanced technology.
Book Description
A family.
A house.
A neighborhood.
A place to play.
A place to feel safe.
Little by little, baby Tracy grows. She and her neighbors begin to rescue their street. Together, children and adults plant grass and trees and bushes in the empty spaces. They paint murals over old graffiti. They stop the cars. Everything begins to blossom.
In Jeannie Baker's striking, natural collages, an urban community reclaims its land. A drab city street becomes a living, thriving neighborhood -- a place to call home.
Customer Reviews:
Unique concept, beautiful pictures.......2007-06-18
Jeannie Baker is no novice to this kind of subtle-changes-on-each-page book. However, her book "Window" --quite similar in approach-- left me feeling quite down and thwarted by urban overdevelopment and the loss of rural life. Quite opposite, "Home" bolsters one's spirits by depicting an area of urban decay turning gradually, over the period of some 20+ years, into a lovely urban oasis, complete with many trees, flowers, and shrubs and the reappearance of birds and animals. What's even better - it shows a family growing and thriving in the same environment and taking an active role in the neighborhood's change.
My four year old has asked for this book every day since we checked it out of the library, and I love it, too. A book that can appeal to multiple generations is a hands-down winner in my eyes.
Home was a good book.......2005-08-28
A very good book to read on the subject. Well written and informative.
Pictures Worth Thousands of Words!.......2005-01-22
Jeannie Baker's "Home" is a model for a book without text: The pictures are compelling, the story flows easily, and there's enough intrinsic narrative to stimulate discussion. Although much of the material is relevant to social and economic issues, the gorgeous collages and everyday scenes will appeal to infants and toddlers, as well as older siblings and adults. Publisher Greenwillow displays its usual excellent production values.
Baker shows the progression of a rundown neighborhood to the small city equivalent of a town square, as well as the maturation of the female protagonist ("Tracy") from newborn to mother. Baker cleverly shows this--"Rear Window"-like-through Tracy's upper floor apartment window. From this perspective, we view the changing interior (a window ledge and some of the wall), the adjoining backyards, and the stores and dwellings at the intersection. When Tracy is born, the backyards and large apartment building are run-down, and graffiti ("DAMAGE," "PAIN ") reveals residents' frustration and anger. You get the feeling that the people, too, are neglected objects.
As the young girl grows, she and her environment begin to change. It starts small: The girl plants some flowers, a wall is fixed, and eventually someone puts up a sign: "Reclaim Your Street." Gradually, more and more people enact the spirit of that sign as they rebuild their houses and yards. Residents make a small common area in a former driveway/vacant lot, and newer buildings replace old ones. On a larger scale (one that may be appreciated by grade- and middle-school kids), economic and perhaps political forces begin to shape the neighborhood: The apartment building is renovated, the streets are lined with plants, and a large complex in the background is torn down-revealing a beautiful lake that was previously hidden from view. Meanwhile, the young girl makes friends, goes to school, and later falls in love, marries, and has a baby.
The changes are gradual and believable: They apparently spring from residents' desire to fashion a better place to live. A couple of times, Baker "cheats" just a bit by painting the sky overcast on one page, and then a clear light blue as the intersection improves. For the most part, however, the book doesn't take the easy way out-not everything is perfect in the end, nor is everything simply a "slum" in the beginning. Neighborhood improvement is not necessarily equivalent to "neat and tidy" either: By the end of the book, large, varied, and somewhat overgrown foliage blocks the view.
"Home" is a beautiful picture book with exceptional composition and colors. It is bright and pleasant to look at and it's fun to compare the subtle on each page. It is also heartfelt, as Ms. Baker, in an afterward, discusses how the term "home" once encompassed the entire neighborhood. This is a superb book that with appeal to many different age groups, each of which will experience it in a different way. That quality makes "Home" a small treasure.
What a fabulous book!.......2005-01-12
Wow, wow, wow! Another reviewer said this was the best picture book of 2004 and I'm inclined to agree: it's simply a fabulous book, beautifully produced and rich in meaning (even without text!) The book takes us through a neighborhood in transition, from a slum to a service area to a vibrant, tree-filled paradise. Through it all, the story of a young girl growing up weaves it together and provides a timeline that is easy for small children to comprehend. It's a simple story but eloquently presented to viewers through the incredible collages of paper, fabric, and pressed plant materials that are rich in detail and meticulously arranged. The author closes the book with a beautiful passage, "People are discovering the need to nurture and to be nurtured by the unique character of the places where they live. It takes time, as this book shows. But the choice is ours to make - having simply a place to live or, by understanding the land and caring for it, belonging to a living home." While this book would be read and read again by young children, it would also be a useful addition to art curriculum for older youth.
The best picture book published in 2004. No debate........2004-11-22
Without question, the most beautiful picture book of 2004. No other contenders come half so close. Author/illustrator Jeannie Baker has somehow managed to create a deeply moral book without placing even a sentence of dialogue or text into her tale. "Home" is a simple story that follows the circular nature of life and regeneration by paralleling the growth of a single young girl with the restoration of an urban neighborhood. What follows is a gorgeous story about what we owe the places where we live, and how best to interact with our environments. All that and it's still a fun book for Kindergartners to flip through repeatedly.
Almost every page of this book is the exact same shot again and again and again. We are initially looking out of a house's window onto a grimy city street. In the first picture, a mother and a father cuddle their new baby daughter within their enclosed yard. The scene is gritty but, because of the couple and their daughter, touching as well. The next two page spread takes place two years later. It's clear that the couple have recently put down new sod, though the neighborhood still hasn't changed much around them. Next door, an old man works on his garden. With every turn of the page, another 2 years passes. Right before our eyes we watch the girl, whether she's in the yard working on her bike or in the house waving to some approaching friends. She's getting older and more mature. Soon it becomes clear that there's a concentrated "Reclaim your street" effort on the part of the other people in the neighborhood. A dingy old lot across the way starts getting painted and given new green trees. The street itself looks nicer and before you know it a megamall has been torn down, giving the house a beautiful view of a nearby lake. The girl, Tracy, gets older and eventually marries in a ceremony in the street. And before you know it, she has a new baby of her own, and a job as a local native plant specialist where once a used car lot used to be.
The story in this book is told entirely through complex collaged images. I referred to Jeannie Baker at the beginning of this review as an "illustrator" but I think that term does her an injustice. She would more rightly be called an artist of the finest pedigree. I do not know how you go about creating full images like this from just snips and spots of paper and cloth. Yet every single picture in this book is filled with hundreds of delicate details. Baker gives these scenes a great deal of depth, both literally and figuratively. If you've ever seen a book by Anno or spent some delightful hours with a kid while they attempted to locate a tiny detail on an enormous image, this book will not fail to impress.
I loved the lesson of this story as well. As Baker herself explains in an afterword to the text, "In some cities...communities are finding ways their streets can once again become part of people's sense of home and play a part in their sense of belonging". In these situations, people will act similarly to the characters in this book. They'll reintroduce native plants and animals. They'll spend a lot of time revitalizing run down areas. They'll create safe spaces for kids to play and for old folks to sit and relax in the afternoons. "Home" is the ultimate fantasy. One in which a dirty city area becomes tamed by the efforts of the people who know how to love it.
Which leads to the inevitable will-kids-enjoy-this-book question. The answer is a resounding yes. They'll love it. They'll try to find the old lady in the purple dress on every page, or try to figure out exactly when that tree was planted and that highway was rerouted. Best of all, they'll look at the cover of this book and realize that it is actually the moral of the story. High above, you can see the neighborhood as the book leaves it at the end. There are green things growing, childress playing in the streets, and a young woman relaxing in a hammock. And not that far away, where the used car lot used to stand, is a building entitled, "Tracy's Forest". You can't read this book and not be impressed by it. I couldn't read this book and not love it immediately. The most impressive book created in years and years.
Book Description
For more than 30 years, John Tillman Lyle (1934-1998) was one of the leading thinkers in the field of ecological design. Design for Human Ecosystems, originally published in 1985, is his classic text that explores methods of designing landscapes that function in the sustainable ways of natural ecosystems.The book provides a framework for thinking about and understanding ecological design, along with a wealth of real-world examples that bring to life Lyle's key ideas. Lyle traces the historical growth of design approaches involving natural processes, and presents an introduction to the principles, methods, and techniques that can be used to shape landscape, land use, and natural resources in an ecologically sensitive and sustainable manner. Lyle argues that careful design of human ecosystems recognizes three fundamental concerns: scale (the relative size of the landscape and its connections with larger and smaller systems), the design process itself, and the underlying order that binds ecosystems together and makes them work. He discusses the importance of each of these concerns, and presents a workable approach to designing systems that effectively accounts for all of them. The theory presented is supported throughout by numerous case studies that illustrate its practical applications.This new edition features a foreword by Joan Woodward, noted landscape architecture professor and colleague of Lyle, that places the book in the context of current ecological design thinking and discusses Lyle's contributions to the field. It will be a valuable resource for landscape architects, planners, students of ecological design, and anyone interested in creating landscapes that meet the needs of all an area's inhabitants-human and nonhuman alike.
Customer Reviews:
Another classic for future generations.......2001-04-02
John Lyle continues his seminal work presented in "Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development". Any one interested in designing deep structures of urban spaces into sustainable environments would benefit greatly from reading this book. This book also covers rural development as well. Propagation of water flows for maximum beneficial inter-relationships is one particula r topic of interest for me.
I highly recommend this book!
Books:
- Water and Power: The Conflict over Los Angeles' Water Supply in the Owens Valley
- Water Encyclopedia, Five-Volume Set
- Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to the Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World
- Wetland Indicators: A Guide to Wetland Identification, Delineation, Classification.........
- Wetlands
- Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
- Wilderness and the American Mind, Fourth Edition
- Zen Shorts (Caldecott Honor Book)
- 104 Activities That Build: Self-Esteem, Teamwork, Communication, Anger Management, Self-Discovery, Coping Skills
- African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs: Official Companion Book to the Exhibition sponsored
- The Great Domaines of Burgundy: A Guide to the Finest Wine Producers of the Cote D'or
- The Artemisia Files: Artemisia Gentileschi for Feminists and Other Thinking People
- The Key to The Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages
- The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue
- Table of Isotopes, 8th Edition
- The Slumber of Christianity : Awakening a Passion for Heaven on Earth
- International Tax Agreements. Vol 9, Suppl 44
- Selecting Investments for Your Retirement Account
- Born to Blush Unseen
Venice, A Maritime Republic
The Travels of Marco Polo
Niccolo's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli
The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (Penguin Classics)
Selected Letters of Alessandra Strozzi, Bilingual edition (Biblioteca Italiana, 9)
