In the 1970s, the accepted environmental thinking was that overpopulation was destroying the earth. Prominent economists and environmentalists agreed that the only way to stem the tide was to impose restrictions on how we used resources, such as...
Books
256 pages
6 x 9
30 photos
The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives
In 2019, mobility experts Melissa and Chris Bruntlett began a new adventure in Delft in the Netherlands. They had packed up their family in Vancouver, BC, and moved to Delft to experience the biking city as residents rather than as visitors. A...
240 pages
6 x 9
50 photos, 5 figures
How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing
Too many U.S. cities and towns have been focused on a model of economic development that relies on recruiting one big company (such as Amazon), a single industry (usually in technology), or pursuing other narrow or short-term fixes that are...
192 pages
6 x 9
12 figures
Smart Planning for Emerging Transportation Technologies
New transportation technologies can expand our world. During the last century, motorized modes increased our mobility by an order of magnitude, providing large benefits, but also imposing huge costs on individuals and communities. Faster and more...
208 pages
6 x 9
19 figures (including au photo)
Smart Policies for Health and the Planet
Producing food industrially like we do today causes tremendous global economic losses in terms of malnutrition, diseases, and environmental degradation. But because the food industry does not bear those costs and the price tag for these losses...
320 pages
6 x 9
38 illustrations
Design with Mental Health in Mind
What would a school look like if it was designed with mental health in mind? Too many public schools look and feel like prisons, designed out of fear of vandalism and truancy. But we know that nurturing environments are better for learning....
280 pages
6 x 9
74 figures
Lessons for a Better Future
Before COVID-19 hit, the biggest problem in the world of travel was overtourism. Crowds threatened to spoil natural environments and make daily life unbearable for residents of popular travel destinations. Then, seemingly overnight, tourism...
400 pages
6 x 9
32 photos
Uniting Design, Economics, and Policy
Tens of millions of Americans are at risk from sea level rise, increased tidal flooding, and intensifying storms. The design and policy decisions that have shaped coastal areas are in desperate need of updates to help communities better adapt to...
312 pages
6 x 9
35 figures
A Guide to Effective Engagement
At a community fire day in a northern California town several years ago, author Faith Kearns gave a talk on building fire-safe houses able to withstand increasingly common wildfires. Much to her surprise, Kearns was confronted by an audience...
280 pages
6 x 9