Sprawling Cities and Our Endangered Public Health

Sprawling Cities and Our Endangered Public Health

Author: Stephen Verderber

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-05-31

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1136313729

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Sprawl is an unsustainable pattern of growth that threatens to undermine the health of communities globally. It has been a dominant mid-to-late twentieth century growth pattern in developed countries and in the twenty-first century has shown widespread signs of proliferation in India, China, and other growing countries. The World Health Organization cites sprawl for its serious adverse public health consequences for humans and ecological habitats. The many adverse impacts of sprawl on the health of individuals, communities, and biological ecosystems are well documented. Architects have been rightly criticized for failing to grasp the aesthetic and functional challenge to create buildings and places that mitigate sprawl while simultaneously promoting healthier, active lifestyles in neighbourhoods and communities. Sprawling Cities and Our Endangered Public Health examines the past and present role of architecture in relation to the public health consequences of unmitigated sprawl and the ways in which it threatens our future. Topics examined include the role of twentieth century theories of architecture and urbanism and their public health ramifications, examples of current unsustainable practices, design considerations for the creation of health-promoting architecture and landscape urbanism, a critique of recent case studies of sustainable alternatives to unchecked sprawl, and prognostications for the future. Architects, public health professionals, landscape architects, town planners, and a broad range of policy specialists will be able to apply the methods and tools presented here to counter unmitigated sprawl and to create architecture that promotes active, healthier lifestyles. Stephen Verderber is an internationally respected evidence-based researcher/practitioner/educator in the emerging, interdisciplinary field of architecture, health, and society. This, his latest book on the interactions between our buildings, our cities and our health, is an invaluable reference source for everyone concerned with sustainable architecture and landscape urbanism.


Nature in Fragments

Nature in Fragments

Author: Elizabeth A. Johnson

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2005-10-05

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0231502060

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This new collection focuses on the impact of sprawl on biodiversity and the measures that can be taken to alleviate it. Leading biological and social scientists, conservationists, and land-use professionals examine how sprawl affects species and alters natural communities, ecosystems, and natural processes. The contributors integrate biodiversity issues, concerns, and needs into the growing number of anti-sprawl initiatives, including the "smart growth" and "new urbanist" movements.


A Road Running Southward

A Road Running Southward

Author: Dan Chapman

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2022-05-26

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1642831948

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"Engaging hybrid - part lyrical travelogue, part investigative journalism and part jeremiad, all shot through with droll humor." --The Atlanta Journal Constitution In 1867, John Muir set out on foot to explore the botanical wonders of the South, from Kentucky to Florida. One hundred and fifty years later, veteran Atlanta reporter Dan Chapman recreated Muir's journey to see for himself how nature has fared since Muir's time. He uses humor, keen observation, and a deep love of place to celebrate the South's natural riches. But he laments the long-simmering struggles over misused resources and seeks to discover how Southerners might balance surging population growth with protecting the natural beauty Muir found so special. A Road Running Southward is part travelogue, part environmental cri de coeur--a passionate appeal to save one of the loveliest and most biodiverse regions of the world by understanding what we have to lose if we do nothing.


Energy Sprawl Solutions

Energy Sprawl Solutions

Author: Joseph M. Kiesecker

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2017-06-15

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1610917227

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Over the next several decades, as human populations grow, the demand for energy will soar. But renewable energy sources have a large energy sprawl--the amount of land needed to produce energy--which can threaten biodiversity. In Energy Sprawl Solutions, scientists Joseph M. Kiesecker and David Naugle provide a roadmap for preserving biodiversity despite the threats of energy sprawl. Their strategy--development by design--identifies and sets aside land where biodiversity can thrive while consolidating development in areas with lower biodiversity value. This contributed volume features case studies from countries around the world, each describing a different energy sector and the way they have successfully maximized biodiversity protection. This book provides a needed guide for elected officials, industry representatives, NGOs and community groups who have a stake in sustainable energy-development planning.


Endangered Animals

Endangered Animals

Author: Edward Close

Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

Published: 2013-07-15

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13: 1477714952

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More than 600 species have become extinct in the last 400 years, and, while there are many reasons for this alarmingly high number, the influence of human behavior is undeniable. This beautifully illustrated book thoughtfully examines many at-risk species, and the principal threats to their well-being, at the same time empowering students to get involved in conservation efforts. Objective text, clear charts, and graphs weigh the causes and effects of human behavior on animal habitats, while also touching on the animal adaptations and human intervention that have brought certain species back from the brink of extinction.


Housing America

Housing America

Author: Emily Tumpson Molina

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-03-16

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1317589742

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In an effort to explain why housing remains among the United States’ most enduring social problems, Housing America explores five of the U.S.’s most fundamental, recurrent issues in housing its population: affordability of housing, homelessness, segregation and discrimination in the housing market, homeownership and home financing, and planning. It describes these issues in detail, why they should be considered problems, the history and fundamental social debates surrounding them, and the past, current, and possible policy solutions to address them. While this book focuses on the major problems we face as a society in housing our population, it is also about the choices we make about what is valued in our society in our attempts to solve them. Housing America is appropriate for courses in urban studies, urban planning, and housing policy.