Routledge Planning for Climate Change: A Reader in Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Design for Resilient Cities

This book provides an overview of the large and interdisciplinary literature on the substance and process of urban climate change planning and design, using the most important articles from the last 15 years to engage readers in understanding problems and finding solutions to this increasingly critical issue. The Reader’s particular focus is how the impacts of climate change can be addressed in urban and suburban environments―what actions can be taken, as well as the need for and the process of climate planning. Both reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as adapting to future climate are explored. Many of the emerging best practices in this field involve improving the green infrastructure of the city and region―providing better on-site stormwater management, more urban greening to address excess heat, zoning for regional patterns of open space and public transportation corridors, and similar actions. These actions may also improve current public health and livability in cities, bringing benefits now and into the future. This Reader is innovative in bringing climate adaptation and green infrastructure together, encouraging a more hopeful perspective on the great challenge of climate change by exploring both the problems of climate change and local solutions. Review "Climate change is the environmental and social crisis of our time. Human influence on the fundamental biophysical processes of the planet is so pervasive that a new geologic epoch has been identified: the Anthropocene. Both for our own survival and for that of other species, we must adapt, and planning is one of our most important tools for adaptation. Fortunately, humans are a planning species. Elisabeth M. Hamin Infield, Yaser Abunnasr, and Robert Ryan have collected and curated the most important essays on the topic. This reader will be useful for both students and practitioners who are seeking ways to mitigate the consequences of climate change and to adapt communities through sustainable design." Frederick Steiner, University of Pennsylvania, USA "An impressive collection of contemporary writings on one of the largest challenges of our time: how to adapt cities to a changing climate. Sure to be useful to both university classes and professionals." Steve Wheeler, U.C. Davis, USA "I have taught an Environmental and Energy Audit course for a number of years and wished that I had a comprehensive source of key material that summarized the science on climate change plus adaption and mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emission impacts. This book by Hamin Infield, Abunnasr, and Ryan is such a compendium. This book also addresses key health and equity impacts to disadvantaged urban populations as well as link to the role of green infrastructure implementation within a local community context. The editor’s nuanced framing of each of the books seven chapters as well as the beginning of many of the individual article is key to allowing a reader to understand key contributions from the many edited articles within each chapter." Richard "Rick" Smardon, SUNY, USA About the Author Elisabeth M. Hamin is a Professor of Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on climate change adaptation and land use planning. Yaser Abunnasr is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning at the American University of Beirut in the Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management, Beirut, Lebanon. Robert L. Ryan is Professor and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, where he teaches courses on landscape planning and assessment, environment and behavior, and green infrastructure planning.