Growing Greener Cities

Nineteenth-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted described his most famous project, the design of New York's Central Park, as "a democratic development of highest significance." Over the years, the significance of green in civic life has grown. In twenty-first-century America, not only open space but also other issues of sustainability—such as potable water and carbon footprints—have become crucial elements in the quality of life in the city and surrounding environment. Confronted by a U.S. population that is more than 70 percent urban, growing concern about global warming, rising energy prices, and unabated globalization, today's decision makers must find ways to bring urban life into balance with the Earth in order to sustain the natural, economic, and political environment of the modern city. In Growing Greener Cities, a collection of essays on urban sustainability and environmental issues edited by Eugenie L. Birch and Susan M. Wachter, scholars and practitioners alike promote activities that recognize and conserve nature's ability to sustain urban life. These essays demonstrate how partnerships across professional organizations, businesses, advocacy groups, governments, and individuals themselves can bring green solutions to cities from London to Seattle. Beyond park and recreational spaces, initiatives that fall under the green umbrella range from public transit and infrastructure improvement to aquifer protection and urban agriculture. Growing Greener Cities offers an overview of the urban green movement, case studies in effective policy implementation, and tools for measuring and managing success. Thoroughly illustrated with color graphs, maps, and photographs, Growing Greener Cities provides a panoramic view of urban sustainability and environmental issues for green-minded city planners, policy makers, and citizens.

This report looks at progress made in “growing greener cities” in Latin America and the Caribbean – cities in which urban and peri-urban agriculture is recognized by public policy, included in urban development strategies and land-use planning, supported by agricultural research and extension, and linked to sources of technological innovation, investment and credit, and to urban markets and consumers.

"This report looks at progress made in 'growing green cities' in Latin America and the Caribbean---cities in which urban and peri-urban agriculture is recognized by public policy, including in urban development strategies and land-use planning, supported by agricultural research and extension, and linked to sources of technological innovation, investment and credit, and to urban markets and consumers."--Publisher's description.

The Second Global Plan of Action addresses new challenges, such as climate change and food insecurity, as well as novel opportunities, including information, communication and molecular methodologies. It contains 18 priority activities organized in four main groups: In situ conservation and management; Ex situ conservation; Sustainable use; and Building sustainable institutional and human capacities.

Colorful bracelets, funky brooches, and beautiful handmade beads: young crafters learn to make all these and much more with this fantastic step-by-step guide. In 12 exciting projects with simple steps and detailed instructions, budding fashionistas create their own stylish accessories to give as gifts or add a touch of personal flair to any ensemble. Following the successful "Art Smart" series, "Craft Smart" presents a fresh, fun approach to four creative skills: knitting, jewelry-making, papercrafting, and crafting with recycled objects. Each book contains 12 original projects to make, using a range of readily available materials. There are projects for boys and girls, carefully chosen to appeal to readers of all abilities. A special "techniques and materials" section encourages young crafters to try out their own ideas while learning valuable practical skills.

Urban agriculture offers promising solutions to many different urban problems, such as blighted vacant lots, food insecurity, storm water runoff, and unemployment. These objectives connect to many cities' broader goal of "sustainability," but tensions among stakeholders have started to emerge in cities as urban agriculture is incorporated into the policymaking framework. Growing a Sustainable City? offers a critical analysis of the development of urban agriculture policies and their role in making post-industrial cities more sustainable. Christina Rosan and Hamil Pearsall's intriguing and illuminating case study of Philadelphia reveals how growing in the city has become a symbol of urban economic revitalization, sustainability, and - increasingly - gentrification. Their comprehensive research includes interviews with urban farmers, gardeners, and city officials, and reveals that the transition to "sustainability" is marked by a series of tensions along race, class, and generational lines. The book evaluates the role of urban agriculture in sustainability planning and policy by placing it within the context of a large city struggling to manage competing sustainability objectives. They highlight the challenges and opportunities of institutionalizing urban agriculture into formal city policy. Rosan and Pearsall tell the story of change and growing pains as a city attempts to reinvent itself as sustainable, livable, and economically competitive.

This step-by-step guide, developed by the Global ReLeaf organization, presents tree-planting advice and simple steps to organizing a successful community tree-planting and tree-care program. The text is divided into three parts. Part 1 introduces trees and discusses the role they play as components of the living urban environment. Distinctions are made between urban and rural forestry and ecosystems. Part 2 presents tree selection, planting, and care techniques. Included in this section is a summary of tree anatomy and functions. Part 3 presents a global perspective of the need to foster tree planting and care to address environmental problems. The focus of part 3 is how to organize community tree-planting and tree-care programs. A list of natural resources provides information about national trade, professional and citizen organizations; federal agencies; educational materials; materials for further reading; catalogs and mail-order suppliers; state Global ReLeaf coordinators, international Global ReLeaf partners, and local tree-planting groups. A glossary is also provided. (MCO)

This book examines how urban agriculture (UA) is valued in the sustainable city. Through a comparative examination of UA projects in four cities across the Americas – Rosario, Argentina; Toronto, Canada; Medellín, Colombia; and Charlotte, USA – the book illustrates local manifestations of the socio-ecological dimensions of the global food system, and traces theoretical and empirical explanations for the impact of global political economic structures (sustainable neoliberalism) on local efforts to promote social and environmental goals through UA. The study contributes to literature on UA, sustainability, and urban geography through examining the ability of marginalized communities to compete for land on which to grow produce in contribution to their food security, livelihoods, communities, and environments, and will be of interest to UA practitioners, students, and scholars of geography, sociology, sustainability studies, environmental studies, and food studies. This project is distinctive for its global - local orientation that uses local cases to shed light on global phenomena relating to sustainability, neoliberalism, and policy mobilities. It is also important for its qualitative approach to understanding the perceived value of UA. Throughout the research, stakeholders emphasized the qualitative values of UA (such as social integration for new immigrants) that are not easily captured in statistical representations of the economic value of a given piece of urban land. As such, this book seeks to contribute to understanding about the contributions UA makes to a city beyond the food produced, and fill gaps in literature regarding the local manifestations of global policy in UA projects seeking to address both sustainability and social justice objectives.