Designing Ecological Habitats: Creating a Sense of Place (4 Keys to Sustainable Communities) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856230619 ISBN 13: 9781856230612

Publisher: Permanent Publications, 2014

Synopsis

Designing Ecological Habitats is the third volume in the Four Keys to Sustainable Communities series and is an important and eloquent exploration of humanity’s limits to growth, addressing the problems arising from climate change, habitat destruction, population growth, and resource depletion.

This is not a book of theoretical ideas but an anthology of solutions, of experience, tried and tested, from experts all over the world. The designs and practices included in this book present a vision for the future, already tested out in ecovillages, sustainable communities, and projects in many countries. These are practical low-carbon solutions that provide significant improvements in the quality of life.

Designing Ecological Habitats is an anthology of work by writers who have created, built, lived in, and thrived in eco-developments, and addresses green building, food resources, appropriate technology, and restoring nature.

“By understanding the process of creating integrated ecological designs, we also make explicit the process of creating integrated social and economic systems. We reconnect with the true meaning of ecology that comes from the Greek word oikos, meaning ‘home’ or ‘a place to live.’ Humanity’s greatest challenge is to ensure that planet Earth can support human life far into future centuries not only by adapting to climate change but also by mitigating it.”—from the Foreword by Mark Richmond, director, Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO Education Sector.

The Four Keys represent the four dimensions of sustainable design—the Worldview, the Social, the Ecological, and the Economic. This series is endorsed by UNESCO and is an official contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The other books of the series are Beyond You and Me, Gaian Economics, and The Song of the Earth. The Four Keys to Sustainable Communities series was completed in 2012 and is now available in the U.S. for the first time.

About this title

About the Author

E. Christopher Mare discovered a permaculture design course in 1993 and has been a full-time student ever since. A self-designed BA was the world’s first effort at organizing the emerging discipline of ecovillage design into a formal degree. Two master’s degrees later, he is currently preparing for his doctoral dissertation through Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara. In 2002, Christopher set up an educational nonprofit organization—Village Design Institute—which will one day secure a land base for the establishment of 1) a research, training, and demonstration site, 2) an Academy of Village Design, and 3) a community of contemplative scholars. This project most likely will be called an “ecovillage.”

Review

This book is a truly remarkable compendium of collective wisdom, bringing together a wide diversity of perspectives and doing so in true ecovillage fashion, by honouring the wisdom of many voices. The book brings the subject alive through contributions from the global North and South, by men and women, old and young, offering indigenous, professional, scientific, grassroots, and deeply personal points of view. Perspectives based on experience, on direct action, on daring to try, fail, and try again. Chris Mare did a fantastic job in collating and editing this compendium with Max Lindegger and the help of Maddy Harland. Daniel C Wahl, PhD, reviewing, Fielding Graduate University website

About this edition

• Publisher: Permanent Publications
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1856230619
• ISBN 13: 9781856230612
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 286
• Editor: Mare E. Christopher, Lindegger Max O.