The City Solution to Climate Change

15 December 2009 - 10:00am

In this commentary from the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, Worldchanging's Alex Steffen looks beyond the quick fixes and geoengineering and notes that making cities more sustainable will help fight climate change.

"Cities offer us powerful leverage on our most stubborn, wasteful practices. Long commutes in our cars, big power bills from our energy-hogging buildings, shopping trips to buy stuff that'll spend a few short months in our homes and long centuries in our landfills.

These are unsustainable behaviors. And they're so difficult to change because they're spun into the very fabric of our cities and sprawling suburbs. Reweave that fabric, and we find change much easier."

Source: Marketplace, December 11, 2009
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Beyond Brasilia is a Herculean compilation of historical and contemporary examples of the ways planning and politics have shaped major urban areas.