The Key to Sustainable Cities

About the Author

Gwendolyn Hallsmith has worked on sustainable development in many different capacities, including positions such as Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, the Town Manager of Randolph, Vermont, as the Regional Planning Director in Franklin County, Massachusetts, and as a Senior Planner for the Massachusetts Office of Energy Resources. She has a Master's degree in Public Policy from Brown University, and has had over twenty years of experience working on environmental issues. She is currently Campaign Coordinator for the Vermont Earth Charter and a Pastor with the United Federated Church in Williamstown.

view author profile

Meeting Human Needs, Transforming Community Systems

by Gwendolyn Hallsmith

Most of the world's population now lives in cities, but despite wide agreement on the core values of sustainable societies, municipalities are so busy solving current problems they don't have the time or resources to plan effective action for sustainability.

The Key to Sustainable Cities uses the principles of system dynamics to demonstrate how today's problems were yesterday's solutions. The book points to a new approach to city planning that builds on assets as a starting point for cities to develop healthy social, governance, economic, and environmental systems.

Dry Run

Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis

by Jerry Yudelson

In the Age of Scarcity now upon us, fresh water shortages are an increasingly serious global problem. With water restrictions emerging in many …

view title info

EcoCities

Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature (Revised Edition)

by Richard Register

Most of the world's population now lives in cities. So if we are to address the problems of environmental deterioration and peak oil adequately, the …

view title info