Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments [Paperback]

Mark Roseland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

This book offers practical suggestions and innovative solutions to a wide range of municipal and community problems in clear, accessible language. Topics include transportation and traffic management, energy conservation and efficiency, land use and housing, water and sewage, waste reduction and recycling, atmospheric change and air quality, governance, and economic and community development in the context of achieving a "sustainable community." Chapters include "Tools" and "Initiatives" sections, plus essential contacts and references including e-mail and web addresses.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Roseland is Director of the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. A past editor of Local Environment and RAIN magazine, he lectures internationally and advises communities and governments.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers; Revised edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 086571374X
• ISBN-13: 978-0865713741
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,547,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compendium of practical sustainability know-how, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments (Paperback)

Mark really knows his stuff - so if you have been wondering how to turn your community, city or region into a more liveable, sustainable community, this is a great place to start. Pedestrian traffic calming ? Cycling routes ? Recycling facilities ? Greenways ? Local creek restoration ? Thriving neighbourhood centers ? This book would make a great gift for any new councillor, or any would-be community activist.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Reference, July 21, 2006

By 

Christian M. Beck (Novato, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments (Paperback)

When I scanned the first 5 pages when I bought it I was expecting a little more. The book is an excellent reference for sustainability intiatives on the community and citizen level. However, it is not great at providing a real argument for sustainability (although, nobody really needs to convince me). Each chapter basically begins with the area (e.g. transportation, waste mgmt., etc.) and gives real-world examples of them. It's unknown how Roseland decides which communities to review. Additionally, these summaries are simply a long list. They don't provide any underlying principles or ideas. So, my poor review is based on my expectation of this book to be more explanatory and interesting. But, as a reference guide for sustainability it is good. I do not quite understand what the purpose of a book like this is. A reference is meaningless when the topic is citizen action because it does not offer anything practical or useful for an individual citizen. For more of an argument and practical ideology I would look at Natural Capital by Hawken, Lovins and Lovins.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Toward Sustainble Communities (LocalPlan Perspective), December 10, 2009

By 

Joshua P. OConner "Josh O'Conner" (LocalPlan.org) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments (Paperback)

Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments is an excellent resource for those looking to help guide the creation of sustainably oriented policies in their communities. When I look at issues that revolve around planning our built environment, I like to look for ways that we as individual citizens can get involved in stimulating conversations and generating ideas for bettering our communities. As citizens we have a remarkable opportunity to use our collective intelligence to research ideas, explore implementation strategies, and aid in producing the policies that support the goals that we are trying to move toward. I've focused on a number of publications that promote citizen involvement in the past and I've yet to find a comprehensive manual brimming with sustainability ideas. Toward Sustainable Communities is just that.

At 239 pages Toward Sustainable Communities isn't an in-depth look into specific sustainability initiatives, instead it touches on the spectrum of possible policies that communities can enact to decrease their impact on the environment. For each topic of discussion the author (Mark Roseland) proposes tools and initiatives with examples of techniques employed in other localities. Topics are also vividly illustrated with appropriate diagrams and photos in order to provide a clear understanding. The topics covered range from the subjects of everyday conversations on sustainability (like urban sprawl) to the less glamorous aspects of human settlement (such as sewage treatment).

Personally, I found the title of the book alone to provide an extremely refreshing perspective outlook on sustainability (and community involvement). As the title, Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and their Governments, implies Roseland has geared the information both for citizens interested in promoting changes and for governments willing to embrace the changes. Roseland presents the information into three sections: Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Planet (this section sets the stage for the remainder of the book through placing the necessity of sustainable development into context and explaining the mechanisms through which sustainability can be achieved), Sustainable Community Building Blocks (this section explains the different areas through which improvements in sustainability can be gained), Mobilizing Citizens and Their Governments (this section explains the role of citizens, the need for public involvement, and the actions necessary by local government). From start to finish Toward Sustainable Communities provides information in a format that reaches the widest audience possible.

Toward Sustainable Communities is most useful as a sort of community organizer's guide to sustainability concepts or to individuals working in local government (whether it be staff, elected officials, or a board appointee) looking to bring sustainability into focus. There are certainly books available that are hyper-focused on a single sustainability issue, but Roseland provides a resource that allows the reader to evaluate what their community's "low-hanging fruit" are and to lay out over-arching goals to move "toward sustainable communities".