San Antonio College Library

By the dawn of the 21st century, many of the world's once-powerful industrial cities saw a dramatic decline in population and jobs. and population to a devastating degree. Urban centers such as Detroit, Philadelphia, and Youngstown in the United States, Torino in Italy, and the Ruhr Valley region in Germany still bear the scars of industrial collapse. While some people believe that this change is permanent and there is no hope of revival or regeneration,...

Ecocities is about re-building cities and towns based on ecological principles for the long term sustainability, cultural vitality and health of the Earth's biosphere. Unique in the literature is the book's insight that the form of the city really matters and that it is within our ability to change it, and crucial that we do. Further, that the ecocity within its bioregion is comprehensible and do-able, and can produce a healthy and potentially happy...

"Reordering the Natural World is a account of the many and varied ways in which animals and humans interact in the urban context. In looking at these interactions, Annabelle Sabloff argues that the everyday practices of contemporary capitalist society contribute to our alienation from the rest of nature. At the same time, however, she reveals the often disguised affinities and sense of connection that urban Canadians nonetheless manifest in their...

"Menno Schilthuizen is one of a growing number of "urban ecologists" studying how our manmade environments are accelerating and changing the evolution of the animals and plants around us. In Darwin Comes to Town, he takes us around the world for an up-close look at just how stunningly flexible and swift-moving natural selection can be. With human populations growing, we're having an increasing impact on global ecosystems, and nowhere do these impacts...

Discusses achieving a balance between the needs of people and the needs of the environment, focusing on loss of farmland, river pollution, and inadequate housing and water resources.

This book presents the author's thirty years of practical experience managing long-term stream and river restoration projects in heavily degraded urban environments. Riley provides a level of detail only a hands-on design practitioner would know, including insights on project design, institutional and social context of successful projects, and how to avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes.

Cities are the world's future. Today, more than half of the global population lives in urban areas, and that number is expected to double by 2050. There is no question that cities are growing; the only debate is over how they will grow. Will we invest in the physical and social infrastructure necessary for livable, equitable, and sustainable cities? In the latest edition of State of the World, the flagship publication of the Worldwatch Institute,...

Discusses the planet we inhabit, from the crowded cities of Bangladesh and Kenya, to the remote steppes of Inner Mongolia and the wastelands along Mexico/US border.