Urbanism for a difficult future: practical responses to the climate crisis

"Urbanism for a Difficult Future: Practical Responses to the Climate Crisis is a much-needed guide for launching the next generation of land use planning and urbanism that will enable us to adapt to and survive through the consequences of climate change. The book offers strong and straightforward measures for creating a landscape of resilience via pockets of self-sufficiencies. It demonstrates how to secure systems that sustain life (energy, water, food, waste, and production of essential goods) as well as political and social protocols enabling agile decisions in managing these systems effectively at the local scales. It also provides the design principles for creating the kind of built environment that will enable the kind of localization we need for adaptation. The book explores how it is possible to create a life that does not depend on large-scale regional sustenance systems which are likely to be disrupted or fail. This book uncovers how to enable people to be creative, productive, and supportive at local scales, so that we can achieve strong and diverse local economies that can sustain life. It will appeal to students, planners, and policy makers working in environmental studies, environmental engineering, urban and regional planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism"--

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- 1 The Approach -- 2 Why Adaptation? -- Global Warming Effects -- A Fuller Picture -- Waiting for a Miracle -- 3 The Adaptation Village: A Development Model -- Self-Sufficiency Within the Walking Shed -- Size and Density -- Locations -- Overview of the Adaptation Village -- Neighborhoods -- Compounds -- Blocks -- Quadrants -- Village Center -- Business Row -- Support Districts -- The Circulation Network -- 4 Enabling Relocation -- Why Plan for Relocation? -- The New Generation of Planning and Design -- Start with Mapping -- Commitment to Adaptation Policies -- Basic Attributes and Strategies -- Productive Ownership -- Preferential Tax for Business -- Tax Deduction for Rent -- Subsidies for Localized Infrastructure -- 5 Localizing Sustenance Systems -- General Strategies -- Technology -- Energy -- Water -- Food -- Waste -- Production of Essential Goods -- 6 Social Organization and Governance -- Subsidiarity -- Governance at Compound Level -- Governance at Block Level -- Governance at Quadrant and Walking Shed Levels -- Sharing, Giving, and Enjoyment -- 7 Design Principles -- Nesting -- Transect -- Succession -- Gathering -- Secure Place -- Climate-Conscious Design -- 8 Life in the 21st Century -- Working from Home -- Podding -- Contact Tracing -- 9 Conclusion -- Afterword -- Appendix A: Tools for Coding -- Code enforcement, Management, and Monitoring -- Densities and Uses -- Neighborhoods -- Village Center -- Support Districts -- Form -- Neighborhoods -- Village Center -- Support Districts -- Appendix B: Essential Terms and Concepts for Adaptation Urbanism -- Appropriate Technology -- Authenticity -- Calibration -- Climacteric -- Comfort Zone -- Compound -- Defensible Space -- Ecology -- Enjoyment -- Gift Economy -- Giving.