Cities, people, planet - Herbert Girardet

Urban growth is changing the condition of humanity and the face ofthe earth. Half the world's people now live in cities, with most ofthe other half depending on them for their economic survival.Mega-cities of ten million or more people are the largest, mostcomplex structures ever made. They are the Central hubs of moderneconomies and their transport systems. The resource use and wastedischarge of contemporary cities dominate the human presence onearth. Fossil fuel technology powers modern urbanisation, but inthe coming decades many cities will become vulnerable to the risingtides of climate change. Across the world, we need a revolution in'future-proofing' our cities, dramatically increasing their energyefficiency, switching to renewable energy technology and mimickingnatural zero-waste ecosystems.

Since its publication in 2004, Cities People Planet has establisheditself as the classic book on urbanisation. With this new edition,the fast-moving text and ninety case studies of leading-edge cityinitiatives the world over, have been supplemented by a new chapterthat looks at how cities are constructively tackling climate changeas the changes to both the biosphere and the atmosphere have becomeundisputed and as the depletion of natural resources are becoming amajor constraint. Girardet discusses the work that has been done inestablished cities such as Heidelberg in Germany, Adelaide inAustralia and Working in the UK, as well as the pioneering effortsthat are being undertake in eco-cities such as Dongtan, nearShanghai, Where an entire metropolis is being built from scratchfor half a million inhabitants.

'Praise for 1st edition of cities People Planet: 'Timely textbook'- Ecologist, March 2005

'This book is as good a place as any to start [on the topicsustainability]' - RIBA Journal, March 2005