Island Press – serie

This new book examines past experience and future directions in the management of so-called 'wicked' environmental problems - those characterized by large-scale, long-term policy dilemmas and contentious political stalemates. Most importantly, the book reviews current thinking on the way forward, focusing on the implementation of 'learning networks,' in which public managers, technical experts, and public stakeholders collaborate in decision-making processes that are analytic, iterative, and deliberative. "Wicked Environmental Problems" offers new approaches for managing environmental conflicts and shows how managers could apply these approaches within common, real-world statutory decision-making frameworks. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with managing environmental problems.

For more than three decades, David Orr has been one of the leading voices of the environmental movement, championing the cause of ecological literacy in higher education, helping to establish and shape the field of ecological design, and working tirelessly to raise awareness of the threats to future generations posed by humanity's current unsustainable trajectory. "Hope Is an Imperative" brings together in a single volume Professor Orr's most important works, including classics such as "What Is Education For?" one of the most widely reprinted essays in the environmental literature, "The Campus and the Biosphere", which helped launch the green campus movement, and "Loving Children: A Design Problem", which renowned theologian and philosopher Thomas Berry called 'the most remarkable essay I've read in my whole life'. The book features thirty-three essays, along with an introductory section that considers the evolution of environmentalism, section introductions that place the essays into a larger context, and a foreword by physicist and author Fritjof Capra. "Hope Is an Imperative" is a comprehensive collection of works by one of the most important thinkers and writers of our time.It offers a complete introduction to the writings of David Orr for readers new to the field, and represents a welcome compendium of key essays for long-time fans. The book is a must-have volume for every environmentalist's bookshelf.

The environment that we construct affects both humans and our natural world in myriad ways. There is a pressing need to create healthy places and to reduce the health threats inherent in places already built. However, there has been little awareness of the adverse effects of what we have constructed - or the positive benefits of well-designed built environments. This book provides a far-reaching follow-up to the path-breaking Urban Sprawl and Public Health, published in 2004. That book sparked a range of inquiries into the connections between constructed environments, particularly cities and suburbs, and the health of residents, especially humans. Since then, numerous studies have extended and refined the book's research and reporting. "Making Healthy Places" offers a fresh and comprehensive look at this vital subject today. There is no other book with the depth, breadth, vision, and accessibility that this book offers.In addition to being of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students in public health and urban planning, it will be essential reading for public health officials, planners, architects, landscape architects, environmentalists, and all those who care about the design of their communities. "Making Healthy Places" presents a diagnosis of - and offers treatment for - problems related to the built environment. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, with contributions from experts in a range of fields, it imparts a wealth of practical information, with an emphasis on demonstrated and promising solutions to commonly occurring problems.