Ecology of Cities and Towns
Ecology of Cities and Towns

Author: Mark J. McDonnell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-06-25

Total Pages: 747

ISBN-13: 1139478311

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The unprecedented growth of cities and towns around the world, coupled with the unknown effects of global change, has created an urgent need to increase ecological understanding of human settlements, in order to develop inhabitable, sustainable cities and towns in the future. Although there is a wealth of knowledge regarding the understanding of human organisation and behaviour, there is comparably little information available regarding the ecology of cities and towns. This book brings together leading scientists, landscape designers and planners from developed and developing countries around the world, to explore how urban ecological research has been undertaken to date, what has been learnt, where there are gaps in knowledge, and what the future challenges and opportunities are.

The Public City
The Public City

Author: Brendan Gleeson

Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing

Published: 2014-11-25

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0522867316

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Paul Mees' urban ideal counted on watchful, confident and well-informed citizenry to work collectively in a quest for fair and just cities. As such, The Public City is largely a critique of neo-liberalism and its arguably negative influence on urban prospects. As Mees explained it, neo-liberal urbanism was much more than a political aberration; it was a threat that imposed many costly failures in an age overshadowed by grave ecological challenges. Fifteen of Australia and New Zealand's leading urban scholars, including Professor Emeritus Jean Hillier and Professor Brendan Gleeson, have contributed to this collection. The Public City includes a foreword by the late Professor Sir Peter Hall, a world leader in urban planning from Britain. Kenneth Davidson, one of Australia's top economic columnists, has also contributed a chapter. The collective works in this book extend beyond an analysis of urban patterns to provide a blueprint for the improvement of civic and institutional purpose in the creation of the public city.

New Environmentalism
New Environmentalism

Author: Chris R. de Freitas

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-05-15

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1402082541

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This book explains the role of New Zealand’s environmental agencies and regulatory legislation, taking in the impact of international agreements and treaties. It traces the fortunes of sustainable policy approaches and analyzes the activities of the public agencies charged with managing the environment. Moving on to a detailed thematic status report on New Zealand’s environment, it examines rural, freshwater, coastal, oceanic, atmospheric and urban zones. Finally, chapters detail public perceptions and normative environmental values as well as the depth of business commitment to environmental responsibility. An ideal introduction to the topic for a diverse range of scholars, the book eschews any specific theoretical framework in charting the recent evolution, current operation and future trajectory of environmentalism in New Zealand. It backs strategic advice with both social and ecological data, and raises questions over the country’s reputation for greenness at the same time as recognizing its numerous achievements. With neat summaries of key issues at the end of each chapter, expansive guidance on further reading, and a multitude of examples ideal for classroom debate, this volume gives us an informed, objective, and wide-ranging appraisal on a topic of increasing centrality in the policy debate.

Auckland Unplugged
Auckland Unplugged

Author: Lindy Newlove

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780739107744

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These challenges include: finding an appropriate division of responsibility and labor between public- and private-sector actors; crafting and coordinating a crisis response that addresses perceived threats to community values and avoids the twin perils of underreaction (e.g., passivity or paralysis) and overreaction (e.g., crying wolf or political grandstanding); coping with competence/authority discrepancies under stress - those who have expert knowledge of the technical issues rarely have the authority to make policy; those who have the authority generally lack the technical expertise to comprehend the subtleties and uncertainties of the issues at stake; and maintaining credibility and legitimacy when facing acute, ill-structured problems in politicized, publicized, and highly uncertain environments."--BOOK JACKET.

Transport, Climate Change and the City
Transport, Climate Change and the City

Author: Robin Hickman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-05

Total Pages: 688

ISBN-13: 1135108021

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Sustainable mobility has long been sought after in cities around the world, particularly in industrialised countries, but also increasingly in the emerging cities in Asia. Progress however appears difficult to make as the private car, still largely fuelled by petrol or diesel, remains the mainstream mode of use. Transport is the key sector where carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions seem difficult to reduce. Transport, Climate Change and the City seeks to develop achievable and low transport CO2 emission futures in a range of international case studies, including in London, Oxfordshire, Delhi, Jinan and Auckland. The aim is that the scenarios as developed, and the consideration of implementation and governance issues, can help us plan for and achieve attractive future travel behaviours at the city level. The alternative is to continue with only incremental progress against CO2 reduction targets, to ‘sleepwalk’ into climate change difficulties, oil scarcity, a poor quality of life, and to continue with the high traffic casualty figures. The topic is thus critical, with transport viewed as central to the achievement of the sustainable city and reduced CO2 emissions.

Globalising Worlds and New Economic Configurations
Globalising Worlds and New Economic Configurations

Author: Christine Tamásy

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780754673774

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This edited volume brings together theoretically-informed analysis from Asia, Europe and North America to illustrate the way in which new economic configurations have been developed and to understand individual, local and regional responses to a variety of global challenges, threats and opportunities.

What Really Counts
What Really Counts

Author: Ronald Colman

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2022-04-12

Total Pages: 516

ISBN-13: 0231549180

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Politicians and economists fixate on “growing the economy”—measured by a country’s gross domestic product. But this yardstick counts harmful activities such as greenhouse gas emissions, plastic waste, and cigarette sales as gains, and it ignores environmental protection, voluntary community work, and other benefits. What we measure is a choice, and what is and isn’t counted determines what sorts of policies are enacted. How can we shift the focus to well-being and quality of life? What Really Counts is an essential, firsthand story of the promise and challenges of accounting for social, economic, and environmental benefits and costs. Ronald Colman recounts two decades of working with three governments to adopt measures that more accurately and comprehensively assess true progress. Chronicling his path from Nova Scotia to New Zealand to Bhutan, Colman details the challenge of devising meaningful metrics, the effort to lay the foundations of a new economic system, and the obstacles that stand in the way. Reflecting on successes and failures, he considers how to shift policy priorities from a narrow economic-growth agenda toward a future built on sustainability and equity. Colman has taken the critique of GDP outside the academy and attempted to realize an alternative. The lessons he offers in What Really Counts are vital for anyone interested in how we can measure what matters—and how better measures can help build a better world.

Australia's Metropolitan Imperative
Australia's Metropolitan Imperative

Author: Richard Tomlinson

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2018-07-01

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 1486307981

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Since the early 1990s there has been a global trend towards governmental devolution. However, in Australia, alongside deregulation, public–private partnerships and privatisation, there has been increasing centralisation rather than decentralisation of urban governance. Australian state governments are responsible for the planning, management and much of the funding of the cities, but the Commonwealth government has on occasion asserted much the same role. Disjointed policy and funding priorities between levels of government have compromised metropolitan economies, fairness and the environment. Australia’s Metropolitan Imperative: An Agenda for Governance Reform makes the case that metropolitan governments would promote the economic competitiveness of Australia’s cities and enable more effective and democratic planning and management. The contributors explore the global metropolitan ‘renaissance’, document the history of metropolitan debate in Australia and demonstrate metropolitan governance failures. They then discuss the merits of establishing metropolitan governments, including economic, fiscal, transport, land use, housing and environmental benefits. The book will be a useful resource for those engaged in strategic, transport and land use planning, and a core reference for students and academics of urban governance and government.