The Urban Fix

Cities are one of the most significant contributors to global climate change. The rapid speed at which urban centers use large amounts of resources adds to the global crisis and can lead to extreme local heat. The Urban Fix addresses how urban design, planning and policies can counter the threats of climate change, urban heat islands and overpopulation, helping cities take full advantage of their inherent advantages and new technologies to catalyze social, cultural and physical solutions to combat the epic, unprecedented challenges humanity faces. The book fills a conspicuous void in the international dialogue on climate change and heat islands by examining both the environmental benefits in developed countries and the population benefit in developing countries. Urban heat islands can be addressed in incremental, manageable steps, such as planting trees and painting roofs white, which provide a more concrete and proactive sense of progress for policymakers and practitioners. This book is invaluable to anyone searching for a better understanding of the impact of resilient cities in the monumental and urgent fight against climate change, and provides the tools to do so.

If our planet is going to survive the climate crisis, we need to act rapidly. Taking cues from progressive cities around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Oslo, Shenzhen, and Sydney, this book is a summons to every city to make small but significant changes that can drastically reduce our carbon footprint. We cannot wait for national governments to agree on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage the average temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees. In Solved, David Miller argues that cities are taking action on climate change because they can – and because they must. The updated paperback edition of Solved: How the World’s Great Cities Are Fixing the Climate Crisis demonstrates that the initiatives cities have taken to control the climate crisis can make a real difference in reducing global emissions if implemented worldwide. By chronicling the stories of how cities have taken action to meet and exceed emissions targets laid out in the Paris Agreement, Miller empowers readers to fix the climate crisis. As much a “how to” guide for policymakers as a work for concerned citizens, Solved aims to inspire hope through its clear and factual analysis of what can be done – now, today – to mitigate our harmful emissions and pave the way to a 1.5-degree world.

A pointed argument that cities—not nation-states—can and must take the lead in fighting climate change Climate change is the most urgent challenge we face in an interdependent world where independent nations have grown increasingly unable to cooperate effectively on sustainability. In this book, renowned political theorist Benjamin R. Barber describes how cities, by assuming important aspects of sovereignty, can take the lead from faltering nation states in fighting climate change. Barber argues that with more than half the world's population now in urban areas, where 80 percent of both GDP and greenhouse gas emissions are generated, cities are the key to the future of democracy and sustainability. In this compelling sequel to If Mayors Ruled the World, Barber assesses both broad principles of urban rights and specific strategies of sustainability such as fracking bans, walkable cities, above-ground mining of precious resources, energy and heating drawn from garbage incineration, downtown wind turbines, and skyscrapers built from wood. He shows how cities working together on climate change, despite their differences in wealth, development, and culture, can find common measures by which to evaluate the radically different policies they pursue. This is a book for a world in which bold cities are collaborating to combat climate change and inspire hope for democracy even as reactionary populists take over national governments in the United States and Europe. It calls for a new social contract among citizens and municipalities to secure not only their sustainability but their survival.

Through the insightful lens of an experienced practitioner, this book describes the origin, execution, and impact of urban repopulation strategies—initiatives designed to attract residents, businesses, jobs, shoppers, and visitors to places that had undergone decades of decline and abandonment. The central question throughout the strategies explored in the book is who should benefit? Who should benefit from the allocation of scarce public capital? Who should enjoy the social benefits of urban development? And who will populate redeveloped areas? Kromer provides realistic guidance about how to move forward with strategic choices that have to be made in pursuing the best opportunities available within highly disadvantaged, resource-starved urban areas. Each of the cases presents strategies that are strongly influenced by geography, economics, politics, and individual leadership, but they address key issues that are major concerns everywhere: enlivening downtowns, stabilizing and strengthening neighborhoods, eliminating industrial-age blight, and providing quality public education options.

It's time for America to move beyond zoning, argues city planner M. Nolan Gray in Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. With lively explanations, Gray shows why zoning abolition is a necessary--if not sufficient--condition for building more affordable, vibrant, equitable, and sustainable cities. Gray lays the groundwork for this ambitious cause by clearing up common misconceptions about how American cities regulate growth and examining four contemporary critiques of zoning (its role in increasing housing costs, restricting growth in our most productive cities, institutionalizing racial and economic segregation, and mandating sprawl). He sets out some of the efforts currently underway to reform zoning and charts how land-use regulation might work in the post-zoning American city. Arbitrary Lines is an invitation to rethink the rules that will continue to shape American life--where we may live or work, who we may encounter, how we may travel. If the task seems daunting, the good news is that we have nowhere to go but up

We hear it all the time, “everything in moderation.” It’s presented to us as if it’s the masterplan for a healthy, happy, successful existence. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Clearly, though, there’s a disconnect between understanding and implementing the moderate approach to health and fitness, as evidenced by increasing rates of obesity, chronic disease and stress. Can moderation ever be as sexy as extreme? We need action steps to make the concept of moderation less vague and more relatable.URBAN BODY FIX takes you through the Pillars of Vibrant Wellness: diet, exercise, and lifestyle. You will learn How to interpret What Your Cravings Are Telling You. You will redefine exercise, refocus your fitness efforts and, chip away at the most common barriers preventing you from getting regular physical activity. Get familiar with most effective drug-free methods of physical rehabilitation and psychological rejuvenation in alternative medicine. Master issues of stress with actionable thoughts and steps. Learn junk science vs. real science when it comes to superior, customized supplementation. Discover the heart-gut axis that links healthy tummy to healthy heart. And in the pandemic Age, we focus an entire section on natural Immunity and boosting your own defense against foreign invaders. Lastly and best, laughing and smiling a lot are terrific for your health—and we intend that THE URBAN BODY FIX cause you to do both, in abundance. THE URBAN BODY FIX tells you precisely what you can do on an individual level to help establish that hallowed middle ground in your wellness pursuits.Urban Body Fix takes a broad journey through key elements of wellness. Expect to master living fully by practicing moderation in all things (especially moderation!). Book Review 1: "I’m so happy that Larry has written The Urban Body Fix. As a healthcare professional myself, I see firsthand the wellness movement that is occurring. People are realizing how the standard Western medical “health care” system is failing many. The Urban Body Fix advocates and promotes true wellness, as Larry calls it “vibrant health.” This book will be a valuable tool for anyone looking to keep themselves and their families in true health. Larry is a rare breed of health care professional who believes in the middle ground. You will never hear Larry advocating for any fad diet or extreme detox. I’m blessed to know Larry and get to hear his pearls of wisdom on a one-to-one basis. Larry’s voice comes through clearly and accurately in The Urban Body Fix. Now people all over the world can experience his wisdom. Thank you, Larry for writing this book. I look forward to referring it to all my clients who are on their wellness journeys." -- ALYSE FAITH SHYNE, LMT, OWNER AND FOUNDER, THE HEALING COLLECTIVE NY Book Review 2: "Larry Rogowsky and The Urban Body Fix have accomplished a rare feat in this book: that of delivering a broad range of unique wellness including mental, physical, theoretical and practical tips with a conscious voice that stem from his own depth of experience. Expect the unexpected when reading this gem. If a naturopathic doctor/epidemiologist with more than 20 years of experience in the integrative medicine space can learn and be inspired at the seeming ease with which this information was joyfully shared, I trust you will be hooked on Larry's style of health coaching. Pick it up today!" -- DR. MILLIE LYTLE ND, MPH, FOUNDER OF WWW.NATMEDCOACH.COM Book Review 3: "The Urban Body Fix is full of wonderful and practical strategies for so many health-related challenges that people are experiencing every day. It’s truly a detailed list of all of the best alternative healthcare and wellness tools for so many health problems or struggles many people have. The wisdom Larry shares from years of experience will help so many navigate successfully through many common health challenges, and do it in a safe and natural way. This book is an excellent resource that every human on this planet should read!" -- KATE MOTZ, NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE COACH, FOUNDER OF INTEGRATIVE WELLNESS ADVISORS

This text is an authoritative volume on an established subject in political science and the academy more generally: urban politics and urban studies. It covers the major themes that animate the subfield: the politics of space and place; power and governance; urban policy; urban social organization; and much more.

There is a wealth of research and literature explaining suburban sprawl and the urgent need to retrofit suburbia. However, until now there has been no single guide that directly explains how to repair typical sprawl elements. The Sprawl Repair Manual demonstrates a step-by-step design process for the re-balancing and re-urbanization of suburbia into more sustainable, economical, energy- and resource-efficient patterns, from the region and the community to the block and the individual building. As Galina Tachieva asserts in this exceptionally useful book, sprawl repair will require a proactive and aggressive approach, focused on design, regulation and incentives. The Sprawl Repair Manual is a much-needed, single-volume reference for fixing sprawl, incorporating changes into the regulatory system, and implementing repairs through incentives and permitting strategies. This manual specifies the expertise that’s needed and details the techniques and algorithms of sprawl repair within the context of reducing the financial and ecological footprint of urban growth. The Sprawl Repair Manual draws on more than two decades of practical experience in the field of repairing and building communities to analyze the current pattern of sprawl development, disassemble it into its elemental components, and present a process for transforming them into human-scale, sustainable elements. The techniques are illustrated both two- and three-dimensionally, providing users with clear methodologies for the sprawl repair interventions, some of which are radical, but all of which will produce positive results.