by Laura Kozak
Peter Calthorpe (Island Press, 2011)
With a methodology that is both academic and practical, Berkley
scholar and designer Peter Calthorpe, a founder of the Congress for New
Urbanism, establishes a powerful argument for the future of cities,
citing transportation and urban design as the most significant
opportunities for simultaneously improving quality of life and reducing
carbon emissions. Calthorpe provides a big-picture snapshot of current
and projected trends in global and American fuel consumption, carbon
emissions and land use, with a tone that is decidedly absent of a
dooms-day inevitability. Instead, we are offered an optimistic
championing of urbanism; principles that harken back to the urban
planning of pre-automobile America, with the added benefit of 21st
century technology. The book also articulates a 21st century imperative:
the world is urbanizing, and the organization of cities will be a key
tool in addressing climate change.
Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change takes an
interdisciplinary though non-holistic approach, both in its exploration
of the problems cities face, and in its offering of solutions.
Prioritizing quantitative analysis - that is, statistics and studies
that look at the spatial organization of the city, measurable
performance aspects and human statistics - Urbanism does not take an in-depth look at economics or socio-political factors, or their impact on the conditions of urban life.
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