Forging a Sustainable Southwest

Forging a Sustainable Southwest

Author: Stephen E. Strom

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2024-09-03

Total Pages: 524

ISBN-13: 0816553696

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Nature has presented us with a gift of incalculable value: astounding diversity of plant and animal life and interwoven biological and physical systems of intricate complexity and beauty. We are faced today with an existential environmental and moral challenge: can we find common purpose in protecting and cherishing these masterpieces and in restoring a sense of shared responsibility for stewarding our endowment? Forging a Sustainable Southwest introduces readers to four conservation efforts that provide insight into how diverse groups of citizens have worked collaboratively to develop visions for land use that harmonized sometimes conflicting ecological, economic, cultural, and community needs. Through the voices of more than seventy individuals involved in these efforts, we learn how they’ve developed plans for protecting, restoring, and stewarding lands sustainably; the management and funding tools they’ve used; and their perceptions of the challenges that remain and how to meet them. This book details efforts to craft the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, establish Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, protect Cienega Ranch, and create the Malpai Borderlands Group. It will appeal to anyone interested in grassroots efforts to protect the vital ecosystems of the western United States. These inspiring stories of citizens and groups working together demonstrate a path for the future built day-by-day: breaking bread at potlucks, holding informal front-porch discussions, and later finding common purpose in community-wide meetings. Might their efforts reveal a path to rebuilding our democratic systems from the ground up?


Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Process

Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Process

Author: PB Americas, Inc

Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13: 0309129303

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" TRB's second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-C09-RR-1: Incorporating Greenhouse Gas Emissions into the Collaborative Decision-Making Framework identifies where and how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption fit into a conceptual decision-making framework, including key decision points.The report presents background information on the role of GHG emissions in the transportation sector, factors influencing the future of emissions, GHG emissions reduction strategies, as well as information on cost effectiveness and feasibility of these reduction strategies. It also presents case studies to illustrate different scales and institutional contexts for GHG analyses. " -- publisher's description


Climate Governance and Urban Planning

Climate Governance and Urban Planning

Author: Deborah Heinen

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-08

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1000801322

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Urban planning as a discipline is deeply integral to implementing a low-carbon future. This book fosters an understanding for how the rules-in-use that govern urban planning influence the ability to implement low-carbon development patterns. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of the climate governance and urban planning literatures, the book provides a context to understand plan implementation challenges and obstacles in metropolitan areas. As metropolitan regions across the globe seek to reduce emissions from transportation, many levels of governments have developed ambitious climate action plans that make land use and transportation recommendations in order to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Many have recommended low-carbon development patterns which are characterized by intensified and diversified uses around rapid transit stations. However, the implementation of these recommendations is done within the context of different "rules-in-use" unique to the planning systems in each metropolitan region. The book examines the rules-in-use in three metropolitan regions of similar demographic size: the Metro Vancouver, Puget Sound, and the Stuttgart regions. By examining the implementation of low-carbon development patterns, the book focuses on growth management related questions about how to coordinate transit investments with land use decisions in metropolitan regions. The book finds that state legislation that deals with metropolitan planning and regional growth strategies can greatly aid in creating accountability among actors as well as provide a road map to navigate conflicts when implementing low-carbon development patterns. By focusing on the rules-in-use, the book is of interest to policy-makers, planners, advocates, and researchers who wish to assess and improve the odds of implementing low-carbon development patterns in a metropolitan region.


Transportation Planning Handbook

Transportation Planning Handbook

Author: ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers)

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2016-08-01

Total Pages: 1204

ISBN-13: 1118762355

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A multi-disciplinary approach to transportation planning fundamentals The Transportation Planning Handbook is a comprehensive, practice-oriented reference that presents the fundamental concepts of transportation planning alongside proven techniques. This new fourth edition is more strongly focused on serving the needs of all users, the role of safety in the planning process, and transportation planning in the context of societal concerns, including the development of more sustainable transportation solutions. The content structure has been redesigned with a new format that promotes a more functionally driven multimodal approach to planning, design, and implementation, including guidance toward the latest tools and technology. The material has been updated to reflect the latest changes to major transportation resources such as the HCM, MUTCD, HSM, and more, including the most current ADA accessibility regulations. Transportation planning has historically followed the rational planning model of defining objectives, identifying problems, generating and evaluating alternatives, and developing plans. Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a more multi-disciplinary approach, especially in light of the rising importance of sustainability and environmental concerns. This book presents the fundamentals of transportation planning in a multidisciplinary context, giving readers a practical reference for day-to-day answers. Serve the needs of all users Incorporate safety into the planning process Examine the latest transportation planning software packages Get up to date on the latest standards, recommendations, and codes Developed by The Institute of Transportation Engineers, this book is the culmination of over seventy years of transportation planning solutions, fully updated to reflect the needs of a changing society. For a comprehensive guide with practical answers, The Transportation Planning Handbook is an essential reference.


Livable Streets 2.0

Livable Streets 2.0

Author: Bruce Appleyard

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2021-03-22

Total Pages: 610

ISBN-13: 0128160292

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Livable Streets 2.0 offers a thorough examination of the struggle between automobiles, residents, pedestrians and other users of streets, along with evidence-based, practical strategies for redesigning city street networks that support urban livability. In 1981, when Donald Appleyard's Livable Streets was published, it was globally recognized as a groundbreaking work, one of the most influential urban design books of its time. Unfortunately, he was killed a year later by a speeding drunk driver. This latest update, Livable Streets 2.0, revisited by his son Bruce, updates the topic with the latest research, new case studies, and best human-centered practices for creating more livable streets for all. It is essential reading for those who influence future directions in city and transportation planning, urban design, and community regeneration, and placemaking. - Incorporates the most current empirical research on urban transportation and land use practices that support the need for more livable communities - Includes recent case studies from around the world on successful projects, campaigns, programs, and other efforts - Contains new coverage of vulnerable populations


Community Impact Assessment

Community Impact Assessment

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13:

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This guide was written as a quick primer for transportation professionals and analysts who assess the impacts of proposed transportation actions on communities. It outlines the community impact assessment process, highlights critical areas that must be examined, identifies basic tools and information sources, and stimulates the thought-process related to individual projects. In the past, the consequences of transportation investments on communities have often been ignored or introduced near the end of a planning process, reducing them to reactive considerations at best. The goals of this primer are to increase awareness of the effects of transportation actions on the human environment and emphasize that community impacts deserve serious attention in project planning and development-attention comparable to that given the natural environment. Finally, this guide is intended to provide some tips for facilitating public involvement in the decision making process.


Pathways to Urban Sustainability

Pathways to Urban Sustainability

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-11-11

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0309444535

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Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas, with the U.S. percentage at 80 percent. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globe's economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors.