Growing Better Cities PDF Download

Author: Luc J. A. Mougeot
Publisher: IDRC
ISBN: 1552502260
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 119

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Accompanying CD-ROM also has titles in French and Spanish.

Author: Steven Higashide
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1642830143
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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"Better Buses, Better Cities is likely the best book ever written on improving bus service in the United States." — Randy Shaw, Beyond Chron "The ultimate roadmap for how to make the bus great again in your city." — Spacing "The definitive volume on how to make bus frequent, fast, reliable, welcoming, and respected..." — Streetsblog Imagine a bus system that is fast, frequent, and reliable—what would that change about your city? Buses can and should be the cornerstone of urban transportation. They offer affordable mobility and can connect citizens with every aspect of their lives. But in the US, they have long been an afterthought in budgeting and planning. With a compelling narrative and actionable steps, Better Buses, Better Cities inspires us to fix the bus. Transit expert Steven Higashide shows us what a successful bus system looks like with real-world stories of reform—such as Houston redrawing its bus network overnight, Boston making room on its streets to put buses first, and Indianapolis winning better bus service on Election Day. Higashide shows how to marshal the public in support of better buses and how new technologies can keep buses on time and make complex transit systems understandable. Higashide argues that better bus systems will create better cities for all citizens. The consequences of subpar transit service fall most heavily on vulnerable members of society. Transit systems should be planned to be inclusive and provide better service for all. These are difficult tasks that require institutional culture shifts; doing all of them requires resilient organizations and transformational leadership. Better bus service is key to making our cities better for all citizens. Better Buses, Better Cities describes how decision-makers, philanthropists, activists, and public agency leaders can work together to make the bus a win in any city.

Author: David Driskell
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9781853838538
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Author: Mark Sundeen
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101618051
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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“An in-depth and compelling account of diverse Americans living off the grid.” —Los Angeles Times The radical search for the simple life in today’s America. On a frigid April night, a classically trained opera singer, five months pregnant, and her husband, a former marine biologist, disembark an Amtrak train in La Plata, Missouri, assemble two bikes, and pedal off into the night, bound for a homestead they've purchased, sight unseen. Meanwhile, a horticulturist, heir to the Great Migration that brought masses of African Americans to Detroit, and her husband, a product of the white flight from it, have turned to urban farming to revitalize the blighted city they both love. And near Missoula, Montana, a couple who have been at the forefront of organic farming for decades navigate what it means to live and raise a family ethically. A work of immersive journalism steeped in a distinctively American social history and sparked by a personal quest, The Unsettlers traces the search for the simple life through the stories of these new pioneers and what inspired each of them to look for -- or create -- a better existence. Captivating and clear-eyed, it dares us to imagine what a sustainable, ethical, authentic future might actually look like.

Author: Jeffrey Hou
Publisher: Land and Community Design Case
ISBN: 9780295989280
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Although there are thousands of community gardens all across North America, only a few cities, such as Seattle, include them in their urban planning process. This book reports on the making of Seattles community gardens and the multiple roles they play in the citys life. It touches on such issues as planning and design strategies; stewardship; community, professional, and government participation; and programs built around the gardens, especially those aimed at low-income and minority communities, immigrants, and seniors. It will appeal to a broad audience of professionals, educators, community organizers, citizens, and policy makers interested in improving the quality of life in their own communities.

Author: Charles L. Marohn, Jr.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119564816
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem. Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles—and why it just doesn’t work. New development and high-risk investing don’t generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens’ quality of life. Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.

Author: Halvard Dalheim
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031339479
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
This textbook provides an accessible, practical guide to the strategic planning process required for the preparation of city plans from entire metropolitan areas to town centres. It fills a gap in the academic literature on the topic of strategic planning. Its conceptual and practical content together with a student friendly style and high use of practical examples make it accessible to both the student and recent graduate. Its presentation in three parts allows the reader or course leader to access those sections relevant to either their learning requirements or day-to-day work activities. The book is clearly structured into three-parts and provides flexibility in approach and learning for students taking relevant planning courses. The extensive reading list at the conclusion of each chapter provides the student with an opportunity to explore in more detail the individual topics. The practical approach equips the recent graduate with a deeper understanding of the purpose of each element of strategic planning from how to prepare a research brief to how to approach community engagement activities.

Author: Catherine Farvacque-Vitkovic
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 146481337X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
The planet is becoming increasingly urban. In many ways, the urbanization wave and the unprecedented urban growth of the past 20 years have created a sense of urgency and an impetus for change. Some 54 percent of the world population—3.9 billion people—lives in urban areas today; thus, it has become clear that “business as usual†? is no longer possible. This new configuration places great expectations on local governments. While central governments are subject to instability and political changes, local governments are seen as more inclined to stay the course. Because they are closer to the people, the voice of the people is more clearly heard for a truly democratic debate over the choice of neighborhood investments and city-wide policies and programs, as well as the decision process on the use of public funds and taxpayers’ money. In a context of skewed financial resources and complex urban challenges—which range from the provision of basic traditional municipal services to the “newer†? agenda of social inclusion, economic development, city branding, emergency response, smart technologies, and green investment—more cities are searching for more effective and innovative ways to deal with new and old problems. Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local Governments Self-Assessments is at the heart of this debate. It recognizes the complex past, current, and future challenges that cities face and outlines a bottom-line, no-nonsense framework for data-based policy dialogue and action; a common language that, for the first time, helps connect the dots between public investments programming (Urban Audit/Self-Assessment) and financing (Municipal Finances Self-Assessment). It helps address two key questions, too often bypassed when it comes to municipal infrastructure and services financing: Are we doing the right things? Are we doing things right? Better Cities, Better World: A Handbook on Local Governments Self-Assessments offers a bit of everything for everyone. • Central governments will be attracted by the purposefulness and clarity of these tools, their impact on local government capacity and performance building, and how they improve the implementation of transformative actions for policy change. • City leaders and policy makers will find the sections on objectives and content instructive and informative, with each issue placed in its context, and strong connections between data and municipal action. • Municipal staff in charge of day-to-day management will find that the sections on tasks and the detailed step-by-step walk through the process give them the pragmatic knowhow that they need. • Cities’ partners—such as bilateral and multilateral agencies, banks and funds, utility companies, civil society, and private operators—will find the foundations for more effective collaborative partnerships.

Author: Andrew Tuck
Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag-DGV
ISBN: 9783899555035
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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In this joyful new book Monocle unpacks what makes a great city, whether you're looking for a new place to call home or need help fixing your own. How do we make better cities - places that work for people of all ages and backgrounds? How do we make cities that provide the obvious essentials - great transport, good places to work - as well as the softer elements that truly deliver quality of life, from urban swimming pools to rooftop clubs? Since its launch in 2007, Monocle has been passionate about making better places to live. Every year it publishes a Quality of Life Survey, which names the top 25 cities to call home. In addition, across the issues, it has interviewed the best mayors, looked at the metropolises putting pedestrians first and met the people creating the best parks, both pocket and grand. Discover how you too can have a High Line, create the most covetable housing or turn a dirty river into a summer asset. Packed with great images and intriguing reports, this is a book that takes the urbanism debate away from city hall and explains what's needed in ways that will inspire us all.

Author: Eugenie L. Birch
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812204093
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
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.