Description
Because this book is based on the authors’ weekly essays in Calgary’s Fast Forward Weekly between 2010 and 2015, it is written to be accessible to general readers, with enough depth for academics and students. The columns have been updated to reflect current realities and include further sources, including government and non-profit sources and peer-reviewed journals. Arguing that local issues are connected and can’t be separated from global issues like climate change, the authors use the Canadian city of Calgary as a case example to introduce theory and practice of urban sustainability. They look at problems as well as efforts to address them, discussing suburban sprawl, auto dependence, public transportation, social inclusion and cohesion, economic development, fossil fuel divestment, and taxation. B&w photos are included. Author Noel Keough is affiliated with the Sustainable Calgary Society. Author Geoff Ghitter is a researcher in systems theory and urban systems. Distributed by Longleaf Services, Inc. Annotation ©2022 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
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"Through close examination of one city's struggle for a just transition to a post-carbon world, Sustainability Matters argues for a global, holistic, and radical understanding of the importance of sustainability. Calgary, Alberta is a culturally diverse urban metropolis. Sprawling and car-dependent, fast-growing and affluent, it is dominated by the fossil fuel industry. For 30 years, Calgary has struggled to turn sustainability rhetoric into reality. Sustainability Matters is the story of Calgary's setbacks and successes on the path toward sustainability. Chronicling two decades of public conversations, political debate, urban policy and planning, and scholarly discovery, it is both a fascinating case study and an accessible introduction to the theory and practice of urban sustainability. A clear-eyed view of the struggles of turning knowledge into action, this book illuminates the places where theory and reality converge and presents an approach to municipal development, planning, and governance that takes seriously the urgent need to address climate change and injustice. Addressing a wide variety of topics and themes, including energy, diversity, economic development, and ecological health, Sustainability Matters is both a critique of current practice and a vision for the future that uses the city of Calgary as a microcosm to address issues faced by cities around the world. This is essential reading not only for every Calgarian working for a vibrant and sustainable future, but for all those interested in in the future of cities in a post-carbon world."--
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