UNEP’s The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) calls on local policymakers to understand the value of their natural capital and the services it provides, and to apply a focus on nature’s benefits to local policy areas such as urban management, spatial planning, and protected areas management.

(BIODIVERSITY AND CITIES * ECOSYSTEM ECONOMICS AND CITIES * CITIES AND ECOSYSTEM ECONOMICS )

Encourages designing waste collection systems based on local information and focuses on municipal solid waste, which includes waste from households, business and institutions, construction and demolition waste, general solid wastes from hospitals, waste from smaller industries not classified as hazardous, and wastes from streets, public areas and open drains. It is not concerned with wastes from agriculture, larger industries, or mining, which normally handle their own.

(CITIES * ENVIRONMENT * MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE * WASTE AND CITIES)

People who live in compact traditional towns have far smaller environmental footprints than those who live in sprawling suburbs. Is urban sprawl inevitable? America—the country that embraced urban sprawl and car dependency on a far grander scale than the UK ever did, suggests the right answer. Its “Smart Growth” movement successfully argues for compact cities, rail-based transit systems, and restoring communities decayed by decades of self-centered suburban life. Urban sprawl is unsustainable in an age of climate change and peak oil; the author challenges the UK to develop a “Smart Growth’ approach to improve the quality of life on the island.

(CITIES * SUSTAINABILITY * SMART GROWTH)

In the wake of the global economic crisis, policy makers are aware of the need for innovative policy and governance “toolkits” to generate economic growth. Such sources of growth, which enhance social inclusion and environmental sustainability, are expressed in the OECD’s agenda of a smart, inclusive and environmentally sustainable economy. Explores OECD’s “New Regional Paradigm” and how regional policies can contribute to aggregate performance, in terms of not only economic growth but equity and environment protection (with emphasis on synergies between these three goals). Chapter topics: 1) the relevance of sub-national policy to the challenge of strong, sustainable, and equitable growth; 2) regional responses to the jobs crisis; 3) sub-national finances under strain; 4) innovation for increasing long-term job creation and economic growth; 5) green growth for regional development (on the potential for urban policies, renewable energy development, and multi-level governance of water); 6) place-based vs. spatially-blind development models (arguing that the latter are rarely neutral, and typically end up as capital-city promotion policies: “place-based approaches” are better able to harness untapped potential in all regions in a co-ordinated way). Concludes with notes on the 34 OECD member countries.

(CITIES * SUB-NATIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH * REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT * GREEN GROWTH IN REGIONS)

Rules like zoning and subdivision regulations are primary determinants of urban form. While many contemporary codes encourage sprawl and even urban blight, that hasn’t always been the case – and it shouldn’t be in the future. Makes complex regulations understandable, demystifies zoning, illustrates how written rules translate into real-world consequences, and proposes changes to these rules that will enhance communities’ freedom to develop unique spaces.

(CITIES * REGULATIONS AND CITIES * ZONING * SPRAWL)

Low income communities in the global south are subject to numerous environmental burdens and have proven to be resilient and innovative. This research shows how to harness their potential to improve the quality of their own habitat and contribute to the development of healthy and productive cities.

(CITIES * SUSTAINABLE CITIES)

When concrete was rediscovered in the late 18th century, it was viewed as an interesting novelty or, at best, a specialized building material suitable for a narrow range of applications. Towards the end of the 19th century, the use of concrete exploded. It is now recognized that modern concrete, unlike its Roman predecessor, disintegrates with age and its manufacture is a major contributor to global warming. While we have made improvements to cement formulations and concrete building materials, “the world we have built over the last century is still decaying at an alarming rate.” Steel-reinforced concrete is hardly the “everlasting” building materials it was once touted to be; indeed, its lifespan is probably less than that of wood. So we will have to keep rebuilding our roads, buildings, bridges, sewer pipes, and sidewalks “every couple of generations, adding more pollution and expense for our descendants to bear.” However, use of green cements and stainless steel rebar can double the lifespan of reinforced concrete buildings.

(CITIES * CONCRETE: DEVELOPMENT AND USE)

Presents climate adaptation and flood risk problems and solutions in coastal cities – including an independent investigation of adaptation paths and problems in Rotterdam, New York, and Jakarta. Besides coastal flooding, cities also experience impacts that occur away from the coast. The New York City Water Supply System, for example, stretches as far as 120 miles upstate, an area which will be affected by rising temperatures, droughts, inland flooding, and water quality changes. Examines several key questions: 1) Are current city plans climate proof or do we need to fine-tune our ongoing investments? 2) Can we develop a flood proof subway system? 3) Can we develop new infrastructure in such a way that it serves flood protection, housing, and natural values?

(CLIMATE CHANGE * CITIES * COASTAL CITIES * FLOOD RISK)

Explores the difficulties that are created for people by cities organized for profit, and the existing trends, struggles, and movements that might change their course to construct alternative forms of urbanism. The financial crisis has given new impetus to the struggles of oppositional urban social movements that have long emphasized the injustice, destructiveness and unsustainability of capitalist forms of urbanization. Topics include critical urban theory, gentrification and displacement, solving the housing problem, socialist cities, what is to be done, and who is going to do it.

(CITIES * SOCIALIST CITIES * CAPITALIST CITIES QUESTIONED)

Tama New Town is a planned community outside Tokyo that faces a range of challenges, such as an aging population, the deterioration of homes and buildings, and economic stagnation; this community is at the center of the collaborative research project at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, and Japan’s Sekisui House LTD. The authors 1) put forth an innovative vision of “performative design and planning” for low-carbon sustainable development; 2) illustrate practicable strategies for balancing environmental systems with urban infrastructure and new housing prototypes; and 3) focus on the retrofitting and adaptation of existing environment – an increasingly common problem, given the extent of the world’s already-built infrastructure between the 1960s and the early 1980s. Prototypical solutions for designing, building, and retrofitting neighborhoods could be applied to similar urban conditions around the world.

(CITIES * TAMA NEW TOWN * LOW-CARBON COMMUNITIES * RETROFITTING CITIES)