ENV 121: Population, Resource Use, and Cities

Bringing together some of the most respected scholars in the discipline, Canadian Urban Regions: Trajectories of Growth and Change is an innovative exploration of current trends and developments in urban geography. Combining theoretical perspectives with contemporary insights, the text revealshow the economic welfare of Canada is increasingly determined by the capacity of its cities to function as sites of innovation, creativity, skilled labour formation, specialized production, and global-local interaction.

This volume explores the activities of municipal governments in Ontario as well as those of a number of other important "social forces" situated at the local level. Twelve city case studies are guided by a common template to facilitate comparisons and allow for an overall mapping of the players and a better estimation of the investments -- human and financial - that are required for the successful integration and inclusion of newcomers and minorities in Ontario cities.

In the latest edition of State of the World, the flagship publication of the Worldwatch Institute, experts from around the globe examine the core principles of sustainable urbanism and profile cities that are putting them into practice. State of the World first puts our current moment in context, tracing cities in the arc of human history. It also examines the basic structural elements of every city: materials and fuels; people and economics; and biodiversity.

What is a green city? What does it mean to say that San Francisco or Vancouver is more "green" than Houston or Beijing? When does urban growth lower environmental quality, and when does it yield environmental gains? How can cities deal with the environmental challenges posed by growth? These are the questions Matthew Kahn takes on in this smart and engaging book. Written in a lively, accessible style, Green Cities takes the reader on a tour of the extensive economic literature on the environmental consequences of urban growth.

As global demand for energy grows and prices rise, a city's energy consumption becomes increasingly tied to its economic viability, warns the author of The Very Hungry City. Austin Troy, a seasoned expert in urban environmental management, explains for general readers how a city with a high "urban energy metabolism" ;that is, a city that needs large amounts of energy in order to function & will be at a competitive disadvantage in the future. He explores why cities have different energy metabolisms and discusses an array of innovative approaches to the problems of expensive energy consumption

The Death and Life of the Single-Family House explains how residents in Vancouver attempt to make themselves at home without a house. Nathanael Lauster has painstakingly studied the city's dramatic transformation to curb sprawl. He tracks the history of housing and interviews residents about the cultural importance of the house as well as the urban problems it once appeared to solve. Lauster argues that it was never predestined by geography or demography. Instead, regulatory transformations enabled the city to renovate, build over, and build around the house.

This book considers the state of the city and contemporary urbanisation from a range of intellectual and international perspectives. The most interdisciplinary collection of its kind Provides a contemporary update on urban thinking that builds on well established debates in the field Uses the city to explore economic, social, cultural, environmental and political issues more broadly Includes contributions from non Western perspectives and cities