Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change

From the beginning of his career, Peter Calthorpe has been a leading innovator in sustainable building projects, sustainable development, and walkable communities. A leader in the New Urbanism Movement, he is an important resource for solutions to current problems of urban sprawl, suburban isolation, and the related problems of outsized energy consumption and an outsized share of world emissions. According to Ecological Urbanism, relentless and thoughtless development have created a way of living that brings us to a point of reckoning regarding energy, climate change and the way we shape our communities. The answer to these crises is Sustainable Development, a thoughtful combination of good Urbanism with renewable energy sources, state of the art conservation techniques, new green technologies, and integrated services and utilities. Sustainable Urbanism, the most recent result of Calthorpe's forward thinking, provides all the inherent benefits of Urbanism amplified by a new generation of ecological design, smart grids, climate responsive buildings, electric cars, and next-generation transit systems.This clearly written (and clearly provocative) work emerges from Calthorpe's belief that, just as the last fifty years have produced massive changes in our culture, economy and environment, the next fifty will generate changes of an even more profound nature. The book, enhanced by its superb graphic design, is an exploration of the challenges and potential shifts in each of these arenas, and how they can affect the future of our communities.

"...the book is a strong consolidation of facts and figures to connect planners, environmentalists, and social change-makers. It clearly articulates a theory, action plan, and historical data to bring a vision to life." -- "Global Site Plans", "Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change is a thoughtful and enlightening read, enthusiastically recommended."-- "Midwest Book Review", "Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change should be the basis for any energy policy or climate change discussion. The stakes are high. After all, we'll either succeed at this or die trying (or die sooner not trying). But Mr. Calthorpe's vision is actually quite sunny and entirely achievable if we think it through and move forward."-- "Joe Urban blog", "In Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change, Peter Calthorpe makes a concise and thorough case for urbanism as an essential part of any strategy to combat global climate change and resource depletion...the book shows what's wrong with the nonurbanist design that has prevailed for the past half-century and offers solutions for fixing it at a number of different scales."-- "Planning", "The argument...is clear and convincing. ...it is an important work with a critical, timely message. It does not provide easy answers, but it describes viable possibilities and accordingly deserves a wide audience." -- "CHOICE"

Peter Calthorpe is an architect and planner and a founding member of the Congress for New Urbanism, a Chicago-based advocacy group formed in 1992 to promote sustainable building practices. He is the author of The Regional City (Island Press, 2001). He won the 2006 Urban Land Institute's J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development for his work in walkable communities and land preservation.