Island Press began with a simple idea: knowledge is power—the power to imagine a better future and find ways for getting us there. Founded in 1984, Island Press’ mission is to provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems.
Showing 1-40 of 322 items.
The Banks We Deserve
Reclaiming Community Banking for a Just Economy
Island Press
The number of community banks in the US has been steadily declining for decades, giving way to big banks that have little connection to the communities they claim to serve. In The Banks We Deserve, journalist Oscar Perry Abello argues that community banking has a crucial role to play in addressing urgent social challenges, from creating a more racially just economy to preparing for a changing climate.
Abello tells the stories of new community banks — like Adelphi Bank, the first new Black bank in 20 years; or Walden Mutual Bank, the first mutual bank chartered specifically to finance a more sustainable food system. He hopes these stories inspire others to take some of these same daunting-but-not-impossible steps.
For a community or industry that is being ignored by big banks, the idea of starting up a new bank or credit union rarely figures as an option. In The Banks We Deserve, Abello shows advocates, organizers, and innovators that it can be done, that it is being done, and describes a path to support more community banks and credit unions.
Abello tells the stories of new community banks — like Adelphi Bank, the first new Black bank in 20 years; or Walden Mutual Bank, the first mutual bank chartered specifically to finance a more sustainable food system. He hopes these stories inspire others to take some of these same daunting-but-not-impossible steps.
For a community or industry that is being ignored by big banks, the idea of starting up a new bank or credit union rarely figures as an option. In The Banks We Deserve, Abello shows advocates, organizers, and innovators that it can be done, that it is being done, and describes a path to support more community banks and credit unions.
Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Third Edition
By National Association of City Transportation Officials
Island Press
“The guide will serve as an essential blueprint for safe, active, multi-modal streets.”
—Gabe Klein, former Chicago Transportation Commissioner
The completely revised and updated third edition of the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide sets a new standard for street design in North America. Developed for cities, by cities, the new guide is more than a permission slip for better street design—it's a prescription for safe, connected, equitable bike networks. It captures lessons learned and emerging practices to set a new bar for the design of city streets. Every transportation professional, from design to maintenance and from field staff to executives, needs a copy for their daily work.
—Gabe Klein, former Chicago Transportation Commissioner
The completely revised and updated third edition of the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide sets a new standard for street design in North America. Developed for cities, by cities, the new guide is more than a permission slip for better street design—it's a prescription for safe, connected, equitable bike networks. It captures lessons learned and emerging practices to set a new bar for the design of city streets. Every transportation professional, from design to maintenance and from field staff to executives, needs a copy for their daily work.
Waters of the United States
POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource
Island Press
In 2023, the Supreme Court made one of its most devastating rulings in environmental history. By narrowing the legal definition of ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS), the court opened the floodgates to unregulated pollution. But while tremendously consequential, the decision was also simply the latest in a long series of battles over WOTUS, and which rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and perhaps even farm fields were to be protected by the Clean Water Act of 1972.
Waters of the United States is an unprecedented exploration of this history—and its importance for today’s efforts to conserve a critical natural resource. The book offers the detailed analysis necessary for any lawyer or environmental advocate to understand the nuances of water policy, while spinning a compelling narrative for anyone who cares about the future of the nation’s water.
Waters of the United States is an unprecedented exploration of this history—and its importance for today’s efforts to conserve a critical natural resource. The book offers the detailed analysis necessary for any lawyer or environmental advocate to understand the nuances of water policy, while spinning a compelling narrative for anyone who cares about the future of the nation’s water.
Building for People
Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities
Island Press
In Building for People, architect and ecodistrict planner Michael Eliason makes the case for low-carbon ecodistricts and presents practical tools for developing these residential and mixed-use communities.
As cities turn brownfields into green fields and look to maximize public investment in transit and infrastructure, ecodistricts are the answer. Eliason shows that this type of affordable, climate-adaptive living option is possible anywhere.
Full-color photos and illustrations show what is possible in ecodistricts through examples around the world. Looking at small districts like Steingau in Kirchheim unter Teck, to massive urban redevelopment like Vienna’s Sonnwendviertel and Seestadt-Aspern as models, Eliason argues that building regulations and planning processes in the US must change to make these livable neighborhoods possible.
Building for People shows professionals involved in regulating, planning, or designing our communities that high-quality, low-carbon living is within reach.
As cities turn brownfields into green fields and look to maximize public investment in transit and infrastructure, ecodistricts are the answer. Eliason shows that this type of affordable, climate-adaptive living option is possible anywhere.
Full-color photos and illustrations show what is possible in ecodistricts through examples around the world. Looking at small districts like Steingau in Kirchheim unter Teck, to massive urban redevelopment like Vienna’s Sonnwendviertel and Seestadt-Aspern as models, Eliason argues that building regulations and planning processes in the US must change to make these livable neighborhoods possible.
Building for People shows professionals involved in regulating, planning, or designing our communities that high-quality, low-carbon living is within reach.
Science with Impact
How to Engage People, Change Practice, and Influence Policy
Island Press
Will you please just listen to me? If you are a scientist, or a fan of science, have you ever wondered why your fact-based explanation of ground-breaking scientific research falls flat with family, friends, and the general public? Social science communicator Anne Helen Toomey argues that science today faces a public-relations crisis, and she calls for a whole-scale change in how scientists engage with the world.
This practical, how-to guide will help scientists address public distrust, communicate about uncertainty, and engage with policymakers so that science can make a difference. Science with Impact argues that science can—and should—make a meaningful difference in society, and offers hope and guidance to those of us who wish to take the steps to make it so.
This practical, how-to guide will help scientists address public distrust, communicate about uncertainty, and engage with policymakers so that science can make a difference. Science with Impact argues that science can—and should—make a meaningful difference in society, and offers hope and guidance to those of us who wish to take the steps to make it so.
Multisolving
Creating Systems Change in a Fractured World
Island Press
Multisolving is a simple but powerful idea: using a single investment of time or money to solve many problems simultaneously. In a world that tends to approach complex, deeply intertwined societal issues from siloes, it offers a hopeful vision for holistic change.
This unique resource is for anyone working to fight climate change, reduce hunger, advance social justice, conserve biodiversity, or otherwise make a difference—and who senses all these issues are tied together. It may also be for you: doing the work you know is imperative but that is sometimes overwhelming and often faces opposition from well-heeled interests.
Multisolving can’t promise a list of “fifty simple things to make everything OK.” It does offer strategies to build solidarity between diverse groups, overcome powerful interests, and create lasting progress that benefits all.
This unique resource is for anyone working to fight climate change, reduce hunger, advance social justice, conserve biodiversity, or otherwise make a difference—and who senses all these issues are tied together. It may also be for you: doing the work you know is imperative but that is sometimes overwhelming and often faces opposition from well-heeled interests.
Multisolving can’t promise a list of “fifty simple things to make everything OK.” It does offer strategies to build solidarity between diverse groups, overcome powerful interests, and create lasting progress that benefits all.
Meet Me at the Library
A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy
Island Press
America is facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, with troubling effects on our mental and physical health. How do we create spaces for people to come together—to open our minds, understand our differences, and exchange ideas?
Shamichael Hallman argues that the public library may be our best hope for bridging these divides and creating strong, inclusive communities. While public libraries have long been thought of as a place for a select few, increasingly they are playing an essential role in building social cohesion, promoting civic renewal, and advancing the ideals of a healthy democracy. Many are reimagining themselves in new and innovative ways, actively reaching out to the communities they serve.
Meet Me at the Library offers us a revealing look at one of our most important civic institutions and the social and civic impact they must play if we are to heal our divided nation.
Shamichael Hallman argues that the public library may be our best hope for bridging these divides and creating strong, inclusive communities. While public libraries have long been thought of as a place for a select few, increasingly they are playing an essential role in building social cohesion, promoting civic renewal, and advancing the ideals of a healthy democracy. Many are reimagining themselves in new and innovative ways, actively reaching out to the communities they serve.
Meet Me at the Library offers us a revealing look at one of our most important civic institutions and the social and civic impact they must play if we are to heal our divided nation.
The Heat and the Fury
On the Frontlines of Climate Violence
Island Press
As a journalist on the climate security beat, Peter Schwartzstein has been chased by kidnappers, detained by police, and told, in no uncertain terms, that he was no longer welcome in certain countries. Yet these personal brushes with violence are simply a hint of the conflict simmering in our warming world.
A new dam that has brought Egypt and Ethiopia to the brink of war over water. ISIS recruiters who exploit drought to pad their ranks. Farmers-turned-pirates who can no longer make a living off the land and instead make it off bloody ransoms.
In The Heat and the Fury, Schwartzstein not only puts readers on the frontlines of these conflicts but gives us the context to make sense of seemingly senseless acts. His incisive analysis of geopolitics, unparalleled on-the-ground reporting, and keen sense of human nature offer the clearest picture to date of the violence that threatens us all.
A new dam that has brought Egypt and Ethiopia to the brink of war over water. ISIS recruiters who exploit drought to pad their ranks. Farmers-turned-pirates who can no longer make a living off the land and instead make it off bloody ransoms.
In The Heat and the Fury, Schwartzstein not only puts readers on the frontlines of these conflicts but gives us the context to make sense of seemingly senseless acts. His incisive analysis of geopolitics, unparalleled on-the-ground reporting, and keen sense of human nature offer the clearest picture to date of the violence that threatens us all.
Atlas of a Threatened Planet
150 Infographics to Help Anyone Save the World
Island Press
How does our climate actually work? Should we worry about the global supply of drinking water? And can technology help reverse the damage we’ve done to the Earth? In Atlas of a Threatened Planet, award-winning book and graphic designer Esther Gonstalla digs into these questions and many more through her attractive and easy-to-understand infographics. Gonstalla turns her designer’s eye to the most critical threats to our environment, from shrinking glaciers and declining biodiversity to shifting ocean currents. These accessible and fun illustrations will show readers that, although the threats are grave, not all is lost. Changes in technology, infrastructure, and our outlook can still help us protect the places we love.
Atlas of a Threatened Planet will spark your curiosity and invite you to see the Earth in a new way. It is written for all who want to understand the interlocking pieces of our home—and fight for the best ideas and strategies to save it.
Atlas of a Threatened Planet will spark your curiosity and invite you to see the Earth in a new way. It is written for all who want to understand the interlocking pieces of our home—and fight for the best ideas and strategies to save it.
Threat Multiplier
Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security
Island Press
Threat Multiplier takes us onto the battlefield and inside the Pentagon to show how the US military is confronting the biggest security risk in global history: climate change. We learn how the military evolved from an environmental laggard to a climate and clean energy leader. And we discover how a warming world exacerbates every threat—from hurricanes and forest fires to terrorism and power plays by Russia and China. The Pentagon now considers climate in war games, disaster relief planning, international diplomacy, and even the design of its own bases. No one knows the stakes better than Sherri Goodman, the Pentagon’s first Chief Environmental Officer, also known as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security). In Threat Multiplier, she offers a front row seat to the military’s fight for global security, a tale that is as hopeful as it is harrowing.
Water Management
Prioritizing Justice and Sustainability
Island Press
Water Management fills a critical gap: providing a base of knowledge to understand and manage complex water problems. It is geared primarily towards students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but will also be a helpful resource for practicing water professionals who are looking for new ideas or a broader view of the subject.
This text explores the entire gamut of water issues, from dams to desalination, from prior appropriation to pumped storage, from sanitation to stormwater. Rather than teaching from one disciplinary perspective, it examines water through a variety of lenses: hydrology, climate science, ecology, and engineering, but also law, economics, history, and environmental justice. The result is a comprehensive introduction to one of the most demanding challenges of our time: developing just and sustainable solutions to water management.
This text explores the entire gamut of water issues, from dams to desalination, from prior appropriation to pumped storage, from sanitation to stormwater. Rather than teaching from one disciplinary perspective, it examines water through a variety of lenses: hydrology, climate science, ecology, and engineering, but also law, economics, history, and environmental justice. The result is a comprehensive introduction to one of the most demanding challenges of our time: developing just and sustainable solutions to water management.
Climate Action for Busy People
Island Press
As unprecedented heat waves, storms of the century, and devastating fires impact cities across the country, the time to create climate resilient communities is now. While large-scale innovations in policy and technology are necessary to preserve the planet, the wisest and most lasting adaptation solutions originate at the local level. Each chapter will help readers scale up their actions, from identifying climate solutions that an individual or small group can pull off in a handful of weekends, like tree plantings or depaving parties, to advocating for change at the municipal level through coalition-building and data collection. It’s not too late for people of all ages and skill levels to create climate safe neighborhoods.
Killed by a Traffic Engineer
Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System
By Wes Marshall
Island Press
Fixing the carnage on our roadways requires a change in mindset and a dramatic transformation of transportation. This goes for traffic engineers in particular because they are still the ones in charge of our streets.
In Killed by a Traffic Engineer, civil engineering professor Wes Marshall shines a spotlight on how little science there is behind the way that our streets are engineered, which leaves safety as an afterthought. While traffic engineers are not trying to cause deliberate harm to anyone, he explains, they are guilty of creating a transportation system whose designs remain largely based on plausible, but unproven, conjecture.
Killed by a Traffic Engineer is ultimately hopeful about what is possible once we shift our thinking and demand streets engineered for the safety of people, both outside and inside of cars. It will make you look at your city and streets—and traffic engineers—in a new light and inspire you to take action.
In Killed by a Traffic Engineer, civil engineering professor Wes Marshall shines a spotlight on how little science there is behind the way that our streets are engineered, which leaves safety as an afterthought. While traffic engineers are not trying to cause deliberate harm to anyone, he explains, they are guilty of creating a transportation system whose designs remain largely based on plausible, but unproven, conjecture.
Killed by a Traffic Engineer is ultimately hopeful about what is possible once we shift our thinking and demand streets engineered for the safety of people, both outside and inside of cars. It will make you look at your city and streets—and traffic engineers—in a new light and inspire you to take action.
Bicycle City
Riding the Bike Boom to a Brighter Future
Island Press
In Bicycle City: Riding the Bike Boom to a Brighter Future cycling expert Daniel Piatkowski argues that the bicycle is the best tool that we have to improve our cities. The car-free urban future—where cities are vibrant, with access to everything we need close by—may be less bike-centric than we think. But bikes are a crucial first step to getting Americans out of cars.
Piatkowski offers pragmatic lessons drawn from the latest research along with interviews, anecdotes, and case studies from around the world. Electric bikes are demonstrating the ability of bikes to replace cars in more places and for more people. Cargo bikes are replacing SUVs for families and delivery trucks for freight. At the same time, mobility startups are providing new ownership models to make these new bikes easier to use and own, ushering in a new era of pedal-powered cities.
Bicycle City is about making cities better with bikes rather than for bikes.
Piatkowski offers pragmatic lessons drawn from the latest research along with interviews, anecdotes, and case studies from around the world. Electric bikes are demonstrating the ability of bikes to replace cars in more places and for more people. Cargo bikes are replacing SUVs for families and delivery trucks for freight. At the same time, mobility startups are providing new ownership models to make these new bikes easier to use and own, ushering in a new era of pedal-powered cities.
Bicycle City is about making cities better with bikes rather than for bikes.
When Driving Is Not an Option
Steering Away from Car Dependency
By Anna Zivarts; Foreword by Dani Simons
Island Press
One third of people living in the United States do not have a driver license. Because the majority of involuntary nondrivers are disabled, lower income, unhoused, formerly incarcerated, undocumented immigrants, kids, young people, and the elderly, they are largely invisible.
In When Driving is Not an Option disability advocate Anna Letitia Zivarts draws from interviews with involuntary nondrivers from around the US and from her own experience, to shine a light on the number of people in the US who cannot drive and outline actions to improve our mobility systems.
When the needs of involuntary nondrivers are viewed as essential to how we design our transportation systems and our communities, not only will we be able to more easily get where we need to go, but the changes will lead to healthier, climate-friendly communities for everyone.
In When Driving is Not an Option disability advocate Anna Letitia Zivarts draws from interviews with involuntary nondrivers from around the US and from her own experience, to shine a light on the number of people in the US who cannot drive and outline actions to improve our mobility systems.
When the needs of involuntary nondrivers are viewed as essential to how we design our transportation systems and our communities, not only will we be able to more easily get where we need to go, but the changes will lead to healthier, climate-friendly communities for everyone.
Gaslight
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Fight for America's Energy Future
Island Press
Gaslight is the story of an epic, six-year battle between one of the country’s most powerful energy companies and the everyday people who stood in the path of its massive fossil gas pipeline. On one side, an archetypal Goliath: a corporation that commands billions of dollars and unparalleled influence over state politicians and federal government agencies alike. On the other, a diverse band of Davids: lawyers and farmers, conservationists and conservatives, innkeepers and lobbyists, scientists, and nurses.
Their struggle took them all the way to the Supreme Court, but their larger fight was in the court of public opinion. Would the nation swallow the industry’s narrative that gas was “a bridge fuel” to a clean, green future? Or would the public recognize it as a methane bomb, capable of not only wrecking local communities but imperiling the planet? Vivid and suspenseful, Gaslight is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the urgent stakes of the energy choices we face today.
Their struggle took them all the way to the Supreme Court, but their larger fight was in the court of public opinion. Would the nation swallow the industry’s narrative that gas was “a bridge fuel” to a clean, green future? Or would the public recognize it as a methane bomb, capable of not only wrecking local communities but imperiling the planet? Vivid and suspenseful, Gaslight is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the urgent stakes of the energy choices we face today.
Movement
How to Take Back Our Streets and Transform Our Lives
Island Press
In Movement: How to Take Back Our Streets and Transform Our Lives, journalist Thalia Verkade and mobility expert (“the cycling professor”) Marco te Brömmelstroet take a three-year shared journey of discovery into the possibilities of our streets. They investigate and question the choices and mechanisms underpinning how these public spaces are designed and look at how they could be different. Verkade and te Brömmelstroet draw inspiration from the Netherlands and look at what other countries are doing, and could do, to diversify how they use their streets and make them safer.
Making our communities safer, cleaner, and greener starts with asking these fundamental questions: who do our streets belong to, how do we want to use them, and who gets to decide? To truly transform mobility, we need to look far beyond the technical aspects and put people at the center of urban design. Movement will change the way that you view our streets.
Making our communities safer, cleaner, and greener starts with asking these fundamental questions: who do our streets belong to, how do we want to use them, and who gets to decide? To truly transform mobility, we need to look far beyond the technical aspects and put people at the center of urban design. Movement will change the way that you view our streets.
Making Climate Tech Work
Policies that Drive Innovation
By Alon Tal
Island Press
Climate tech is critical for averting planetary chaos. Half the greenhouse gas reductions required to reach “net-zero” climate targets in 2050 will need to come from technologies that have not yet been invented. Making Climate Tech Work is an insightful analysis of how smart government policies can make those technologies a reality. Which approaches can lead us to a sustainable economy, and which are likely to fall short? Learn how Denmark became a wind energy superpower, Germany incentivized renewables, Australia phased out incandescent bulbs, and why carbon taxes have failed around the world – but could be designed for success. Alon Tal expertly distills each policy’s benefits and drawbacks, along with related ethical questions and public perceptions. The result is an essential primer for anyone interested in accelerating climate tech solutions.
Barons
Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry
By Austin Frerick; Foreword by Eric Schlosser
Island Press
“In this eye-opening debut study, Frerick, an agricultural policy fellow at Yale University, reveals the ill-gained stranglehold that a handful of companies have on America’s food economy…It’s a disquieting critique of private monopolization of public necessities.” - Publishers Weekly, starred
Barons is the story of seven titans of the food industry, their rise to power, and the consequences for workers, eaters, and democracy itself. Readers will meet a secretive German family that took over the global coffee industry in less than a decade, relying on wealth traced back to the Nazis to gobble up countless independent roasters. They will visit the Disneyland of agriculture, where school children ride trams through mechanized warehouses filled with tens of thousands of cows that never see the light of day. And they will learn that in the food business, crime really does pay—especially when you can bribe and then double-cross the president of Brazil. Barons paints a stark portrait of corporate consolidation, but it also shows that a fair, healthy, and prosperous food industry is possible—if we take back power from the barons who have robbed us of it.
Barons is the story of seven titans of the food industry, their rise to power, and the consequences for workers, eaters, and democracy itself. Readers will meet a secretive German family that took over the global coffee industry in less than a decade, relying on wealth traced back to the Nazis to gobble up countless independent roasters. They will visit the Disneyland of agriculture, where school children ride trams through mechanized warehouses filled with tens of thousands of cows that never see the light of day. And they will learn that in the food business, crime really does pay—especially when you can bribe and then double-cross the president of Brazil. Barons paints a stark portrait of corporate consolidation, but it also shows that a fair, healthy, and prosperous food industry is possible—if we take back power from the barons who have robbed us of it.
Human Transit, Revised Edition
How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives
Island Press
The first edition of Human Transit, published in 2011, has become a classic for professionals, advocates, and interested citizens.
Walker has updated and expanded the book to deepen its explanations. New topics include the problem with specialization; the role of flexible or “demand response” services; how to know when to redesign your network; and responding to tech-industry claims that transit will soon be obsolete. Finally, he has also added a major new section exploring the idea of access to opportunity as a core measure of transit’s success.
No other book explains the basic principles of public transit in such lively and accessible prose, all based on a respect for your right to form your own opinion. Walker’s goal is not to make you share his values, but to give you the tools to clarify and advocate for yours.
Walker has updated and expanded the book to deepen its explanations. New topics include the problem with specialization; the role of flexible or “demand response” services; how to know when to redesign your network; and responding to tech-industry claims that transit will soon be obsolete. Finally, he has also added a major new section exploring the idea of access to opportunity as a core measure of transit’s success.
No other book explains the basic principles of public transit in such lively and accessible prose, all based on a respect for your right to form your own opinion. Walker’s goal is not to make you share his values, but to give you the tools to clarify and advocate for yours.
Empathic Design
Perspectives on Creating Inclusive Spaces
Edited by Elgin Cleckley
Island Press
How do you experience a public space? Do you feel safe? Seen? Represented? The response to these questions may differ based on factors including your race, age, ethnicity, or gender identity. In Empathic Design, designer and architecture professor Elgin Cleckley brings together leaders and visionaries in architecture, urban design, planning, and design activism to explore what it means to design with empathy. Empathic designers work with and in the communities affected. They acknowledge the full history of a place and approach the lived experience and memories of those in the community with respect.
Contributors explore broader conceptual approaches and highlight design projects including the Harriet Tubman Memorial in Newark, which replaced a long-standing statue of Christopher Columbus; and restoration of the Freedom Center in Oklahoma City, first built by civil activist Clara Luper to provide a safe place for gathering and youth education; and The Camp Barker Memorial in Washington, D.C., which commemorates a “contraband camp” used to house former slaves who had been captured by the Union Army.
Empathic Design provides essential approaches and methods from multiple perspectives, meeting the needs of our time and holding space for readers to find themselves.
Contributors explore broader conceptual approaches and highlight design projects including the Harriet Tubman Memorial in Newark, which replaced a long-standing statue of Christopher Columbus; and restoration of the Freedom Center in Oklahoma City, first built by civil activist Clara Luper to provide a safe place for gathering and youth education; and The Camp Barker Memorial in Washington, D.C., which commemorates a “contraband camp” used to house former slaves who had been captured by the Union Army.
Empathic Design provides essential approaches and methods from multiple perspectives, meeting the needs of our time and holding space for readers to find themselves.
Invisible No More
Voices from Native America
Edited by Raymond Foxworth and Steve Dubb
Island Press
For too long, Indigenous people in the United States have been stereotyped as vestiges of the past, obliged to remind others, “We are still here!” Yet today, Native leaders are at the center of social change, challenging philanthropic organizations that have historically excluded Native people, and fighting for economic and environmental justice.
Edited by Raymond Foxworth of the Henry Luce Foundation and Steve Dubb of The Nonprofit Quarterly, Invisible No More is a groundbreaking collection of stories by Native American leaders, many of them women, who are leading the way through cultural grounding and nation-building in the areas of community, environmental justice, and economic justice. While telling their stories, authors excavate the history and ongoing effects of genocide and colonialism, reminding readers how philanthropic wealth often stems from the theft of Native land and resources, as well as how major national parks such as Yosemite were “conserved” by forcibly expelling Native residents. At the same time, the authors detail ways that readers might imagine the world differently, presenting stories of Native community building that offer benefits for all.
Edited by Raymond Foxworth of the Henry Luce Foundation and Steve Dubb of The Nonprofit Quarterly, Invisible No More is a groundbreaking collection of stories by Native American leaders, many of them women, who are leading the way through cultural grounding and nation-building in the areas of community, environmental justice, and economic justice. While telling their stories, authors excavate the history and ongoing effects of genocide and colonialism, reminding readers how philanthropic wealth often stems from the theft of Native land and resources, as well as how major national parks such as Yosemite were “conserved” by forcibly expelling Native residents. At the same time, the authors detail ways that readers might imagine the world differently, presenting stories of Native community building that offer benefits for all.
People, Planet, Design
A Practical Guide to Realizing Architecture’s Potential
By Corey Squire
Island Press
In the US, design choices made by the typical architecture firm employee each year can reduce emissions by about 300 times that of an average American. What if great design were defined by its ability to cool the planet, heal communities, enhance ecological functioning, and advance justice?
In People, Planet, Design, architect Corey Squire builds the case, provides the data, and lays out the practical tools for human-centered architecture. This approach integrates beauty and delight with an awareness of every design choice’s impact. Outcome-focused with a deep dive into practical strategies, the book showcases ten building systems that embody design excellence.
Essential reading for architects who want to transform what the profession means, People, Planet, Design pioneers a new vision and sets readers up with clear guidance for implementation.
In People, Planet, Design, architect Corey Squire builds the case, provides the data, and lays out the practical tools for human-centered architecture. This approach integrates beauty and delight with an awareness of every design choice’s impact. Outcome-focused with a deep dive into practical strategies, the book showcases ten building systems that embody design excellence.
Essential reading for architects who want to transform what the profession means, People, Planet, Design pioneers a new vision and sets readers up with clear guidance for implementation.
Purified
How Recycled Sewage Is Transforming Our Water
By Peter Annin
Island Press
Water shortages are plaguing communities from coast to coast, and recycled water could help close that gap. In Purified: How Recycled Sewage Is Transforming Our Water, veteran journalist Peter Annin shows that wastewater has become a surprising weapon in America’s war against water scarcity. In five water-strapped states—California, Texas, Virginia, Nevada, and Florida—current filtration technology is transforming sewage into something akin to distilled water, free of chemicals and safe to drink. But sensationalist media coverage has repeatedly crippled water recycling efforts. Can public opinion turn in time to avoid the worst consequences?
Purified’s fast-paced narrative cuts through the fearmongering and misinformation to make the case that recycled water is direly needed in the climate-change era. Water cannot be taken for granted anymore—and that includes sewage.
Purified’s fast-paced narrative cuts through the fearmongering and misinformation to make the case that recycled water is direly needed in the climate-change era. Water cannot be taken for granted anymore—and that includes sewage.
Over the Seawall
Tsunamis, Cyclones, Drought, and the Delusion of Controlling Nature
Island Press
In March 2011, people in a coastal Japanese city stood atop a seawall watching the approach of the tsunami that would kill them. They believed—naively—that the huge concrete barrier would save them. Instead, they perished, betrayed by the very thing built to protect them.
Academics call it maladaptation; in simple terms, it’s about solutions that backfire. Over the Seawall tells the stories behind these unintended consequences and the fixes that do more harm than good. From seawalls in coastal Japan, to reengineered waters in the Ganges River Delta, to the ribbon of water supporting both farms and cities in parched Arizona, we visit engineering marvels once deemed too smart and too big to fail. After each we better understand how complicated, grandiose schemes fail. Ultimately, we learn that if we are to adapt successfully to climate change, we must recognize that working with nature is not surrender but the only way to assure a secure future.
Academics call it maladaptation; in simple terms, it’s about solutions that backfire. Over the Seawall tells the stories behind these unintended consequences and the fixes that do more harm than good. From seawalls in coastal Japan, to reengineered waters in the Ganges River Delta, to the ribbon of water supporting both farms and cities in parched Arizona, we visit engineering marvels once deemed too smart and too big to fail. After each we better understand how complicated, grandiose schemes fail. Ultimately, we learn that if we are to adapt successfully to climate change, we must recognize that working with nature is not surrender but the only way to assure a secure future.
Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation
Island Press
Our population is aging—by 2034, the US will have more people over 65 than under 18, and older residents make up a disproportionate number of casualties from natural disasters. In Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation, community resilience and housing expert Danielle Arigoni argues that we cannot achieve true resilience until communities adopt interventions that work to meet the needs of their oldest residents.
Arigoni explores how to integrate age-friendly resilience into community planning and disaster preparedness efforts through new planning approaches. These include an age-friendly process, and a planning framework dedicated to inclusive disaster recovery.
Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation will help professionals and concerned citizens understand how to best plan for both the aging of our population and the climate changes underway to create communities that serve the needs of older adults better, not only during disasters but for all the days in between.
Arigoni explores how to integrate age-friendly resilience into community planning and disaster preparedness efforts through new planning approaches. These include an age-friendly process, and a planning framework dedicated to inclusive disaster recovery.
Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation will help professionals and concerned citizens understand how to best plan for both the aging of our population and the climate changes underway to create communities that serve the needs of older adults better, not only during disasters but for all the days in between.
At the Table
The Chef's Guide to Advocacy
Island Press
When Katherine Miller was first asked to train chefs to be advocates, she thought the idea was ludicrous. This was a group known for short tempers and tattoos, not for saving the world. But she quickly learned that chefs and other leaders in the restaurant industry are some of the most powerful forces for change in our troubled food system. Chefs are leading hunger relief efforts, supporting local farmers, fighting food waste, confronting racism and sexism in the industry, and much more.
In At the Table, Miller presents the essential techniques she developed for the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change. Readers will learn how to focus their philanthropic efforts; pinpoint their audience and develop their argument; recruit allies and support action; and maybe most importantly, grab people’s attention in a crowded media landscape. You don’t have to be a celebrity chef to change the food system; you just need the will and the tools in this unique guide.
In At the Table, Miller presents the essential techniques she developed for the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change. Readers will learn how to focus their philanthropic efforts; pinpoint their audience and develop their argument; recruit allies and support action; and maybe most importantly, grab people’s attention in a crowded media landscape. You don’t have to be a celebrity chef to change the food system; you just need the will and the tools in this unique guide.
Beyond Greenways
The Next Step for City Trails and Walking Routes
Island Press
Would you experience your city differently if your doorstep were a trailhead? Many people don’t have close-by, safe places to walk, despite walking’s known benefits. In Beyond Greenways: The Next Step for City Trails and Walking Routes, greenways expert Robert Searns introduces a new generation of more accessible pathways that stitch together urban and suburban areas.
Searns introduces two models—grand loop trails and town walks. Grand loop trails are 20 to 350-mile systems that encircle metro areas. Town walks are shorter—2 to 6-mile routes in cities. He then lays out how to plan, design, and build support for them, drawing inspiration from trails in the US and abroad.
Planners, trail advocates, and community leaders will find the tools here to develop successful and affordable trails. Now is the time to pursue accessible pedestrian routes for this, and future, generations.
Searns introduces two models—grand loop trails and town walks. Grand loop trails are 20 to 350-mile systems that encircle metro areas. Town walks are shorter—2 to 6-mile routes in cities. He then lays out how to plan, design, and build support for them, drawing inspiration from trails in the US and abroad.
Planners, trail advocates, and community leaders will find the tools here to develop successful and affordable trails. Now is the time to pursue accessible pedestrian routes for this, and future, generations.
Hazardous Seas
A Sociotechnical Framework for Early Tsunami Detection and Warning
Edited by Louise K. Comfort and Harkunti P. Rahayu; Foreword by Dwikorita Karnawati and Ir. Hammam Riza
Island Press
Tsunamis are infrequent but terrifying hazards for coastal communities. Difficult to predict, they materialize with little warning, claiming thousands of lives and causing billions of dollars in damage. Now a groundbreaking new approach to tsunami detection and warning developed by an international team of researchers that relies on low-cost underwater sensors and networks of smartphone communication gives at-risk coastal communities an economically viable, scientifically sound means to protect themselves.
Hazardous Seas, edited by disaster preparedness experts Louise K. Comfort and Harkunti P. Rahayu, is an invaluable guide for policy makers and international NGOs looking to save lives from tsunamis and mitigate crippling damage to communities. It also provides a comprehensive overview of tsunami detection and warning for students of engineering, computer science, planning, policy, and economic and environmental analysis.
Hazardous Seas, edited by disaster preparedness experts Louise K. Comfort and Harkunti P. Rahayu, is an invaluable guide for policy makers and international NGOs looking to save lives from tsunamis and mitigate crippling damage to communities. It also provides a comprehensive overview of tsunami detection and warning for students of engineering, computer science, planning, policy, and economic and environmental analysis.
Inclusive Transportation
A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities
By Veronica Davis; Foreword by tamika l. butler
Island Press
How do you change a system that was never designed to be equitable? In Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities, transportation expert Veronica O. Davis shines a light on the inequitable and often destructive practice of transportation planning and engineering. She calls for new thinking and more diverse leadership to create transportation networks that connect people to jobs, education, opportunities, and to each other.
Davis aims to disrupt the status quo of the transportation industry. She urges transportation professionals to reflect on past injustices and elevate current practice to do the hard work that results in more than an idea and a catchphrase.
Inclusive Transportation is a call to action and a practical approach to shaping communities based on principles of justice and equity.
Davis aims to disrupt the status quo of the transportation industry. She urges transportation professionals to reflect on past injustices and elevate current practice to do the hard work that results in more than an idea and a catchphrase.
Inclusive Transportation is a call to action and a practical approach to shaping communities based on principles of justice and equity.
Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World
Learning to Thrive Without Growth
By Alan Mallach
Island Press
Over the past hundred years, the global motto has been “more, more, more” in terms of growth – of population, of the built environment, of human and financial capital, and of all manner of worldly goods. But reality is changing from the population boom of the 1960s and 1970s, as the earth’s population begins to decline.
In Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World, urban policy expert Alan Mallach seeks to understand how declining population and economic growth, coupled with the other forces that will influence their fates, particularly climate change, will affect the world’s cities over the coming decades.
Mallach has woven together his vast experience, research, and analysis in this fascinating, realistic-yet-hopeful look at how smaller, shrinking cities can thrive, despite the daunting challenges they face.
In Smaller Cities in a Shrinking World, urban policy expert Alan Mallach seeks to understand how declining population and economic growth, coupled with the other forces that will influence their fates, particularly climate change, will affect the world’s cities over the coming decades.
Mallach has woven together his vast experience, research, and analysis in this fascinating, realistic-yet-hopeful look at how smaller, shrinking cities can thrive, despite the daunting challenges they face.
The Jewel Box
How Moths Illuminate Nature’s Hidden Rules
Island Press
A plastic box with a lightbulb attached may seem like an odd birthday present. But for ecologist Tim Blackburn, a moth trap is a captivating window into the world beyond the roof of his London flat. With names like the Dingy Footman, Jersey Tiger, Pale Mottled Willow, and Uncertain, and at least 140,000 identified species, moths are fascinating in their own right. But no moth is an island—they are vital links in the web of life. In The Jewel Box, Blackburn introduces a landscape of unseen connections, showing us how contents of one small box can illuminate the workings of all nature.
A New War on Cancer
The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention
By Kristina Marusic; Foreword by Philip J. Landrigan
Island Press
If we can stop cancer before it begins, why don’t we? Fifty years into the war on cancer, nearly twenty percent of all Americans die from the disease. Astonishingly, up to two-thirds of all cancer cases are linked to preventable environmental causes.
In searching for answers, Kristina Marusic met remarkable doctors, scientists, and advocates who are upending our understanding of cancer and how to fight it. They recognize that we will never reduce cancer rates without ridding our lives of the chemicals that increasingly trigger this deadly disease. For Berry, a young woman whose battle with breast cancer is woven throughout these pages, the fight has become personal.
Marusic shows that, collectively, we have the power to prevent many cases like Berry’s. The war on cancer is winnable—if we revolutionize the way we fight.
In searching for answers, Kristina Marusic met remarkable doctors, scientists, and advocates who are upending our understanding of cancer and how to fight it. They recognize that we will never reduce cancer rates without ridding our lives of the chemicals that increasingly trigger this deadly disease. For Berry, a young woman whose battle with breast cancer is woven throughout these pages, the fight has become personal.
Marusic shows that, collectively, we have the power to prevent many cases like Berry’s. The war on cancer is winnable—if we revolutionize the way we fight.
The Freedom of the City
By Charles Downing Lay; Introduction by Thomas Campanella
Island Press
Published in 1926, The Freedom of the City by Charles Downing Lay is an eloquent and timely defense of urbanism and city life. Award-winning author and urban historian Thomas J. Campanella has given Lay’s text new life and relevance, with the addition of explanatory notes, imagery, an introduction, and biographical essay, to bring this important work to a new generation of urbanists.
Campanella writes “The Freedom of the City was prescient in 1926 and timely now. Certainly, the essentials of good urbanism extolled in the book—human scale, diversity, walkability, the serendipities of the street; above all, density—are articles of faith among architects and urbanists today.”
Lay’s words are relevant today as density and congestion are once again under siege, especially in our most productive and thriving cities.
Campanella writes “The Freedom of the City was prescient in 1926 and timely now. Certainly, the essentials of good urbanism extolled in the book—human scale, diversity, walkability, the serendipities of the street; above all, density—are articles of faith among architects and urbanists today.”
Lay’s words are relevant today as density and congestion are once again under siege, especially in our most productive and thriving cities.
Humanity's Moment
A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope
Island Press
When climate scientist Joëlle Gergis set to work on the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, the research she encountered kept her up at night. Through countless hours spent with the world’s top scientists, she realized that the impacts were occurring faster than anyone had predicted.
In Humanity’s Moment, Joëlle takes us through the science in the IPCC report with unflinching honesty, explaining what it means for our future, while sharing her personal reflections on bearing witness to the climate emergency unfolding in real time. But this is not a lament for a lost world. It is an inspiring reminder that human history is an endless tug-of-war for social justice in which each of us play a part. Humanity’s Moment is a climate scientist’s guide to rekindling hope, and a call to action to restore our relationship with ourselves, each other, and our planet.
In Humanity’s Moment, Joëlle takes us through the science in the IPCC report with unflinching honesty, explaining what it means for our future, while sharing her personal reflections on bearing witness to the climate emergency unfolding in real time. But this is not a lament for a lost world. It is an inspiring reminder that human history is an endless tug-of-war for social justice in which each of us play a part. Humanity’s Moment is a climate scientist’s guide to rekindling hope, and a call to action to restore our relationship with ourselves, each other, and our planet.
What a Bee Knows
Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of Bees
Island Press
The next time you hear the low buzzing sound of an approaching bee, look closer: the bee has navigated to this particular spot for a reason using a fascinating set of tools. She might be responding to scents on the breeze as her olfactory organs provide a 3D map of an object’s location. She might be tracing the route based on her memories of a particular flower or the electrostatic traces left by other bees. What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of Bees invites us to follow bees’ mysterious pathways and experience their complex and alien world.
Although their brains are incredibly small—just one million neurons compared to humans’ 100 billion—bees have remarkable abilities to navigate, learn, communicate, and remember. In What a Bee Knows, entomologist Stephen Buchmann explores a bee’s way of seeing the world and introduces the scientists who make the journey possible. What a Bee Knows will challenge your idea of a bee’s place in the world—and perhaps our own.
Although their brains are incredibly small—just one million neurons compared to humans’ 100 billion—bees have remarkable abilities to navigate, learn, communicate, and remember. In What a Bee Knows, entomologist Stephen Buchmann explores a bee’s way of seeing the world and introduces the scientists who make the journey possible. What a Bee Knows will challenge your idea of a bee’s place in the world—and perhaps our own.
The Good Garden
How to Nurture Pollinators, Soil, Native Wildlife, and Healthy Food—All in Your Own Backyard
Island Press
What makes a garden good? For Chris McLaughlin, it’s about growing healthy, scrumptious fruits and veggies, but it’s also about giving back. How can your little patch of Earth become a sanctuary for threatened wildlife, sequester carbon, and nurture native plants?
In this joyful guide, McLaughlin gives you all the tricks and tips you need to grow the sustainable garden of your dreams. Gardeners will learn the fundamentals, including how to choose the right plant varieties for their microclimate, and proven methods to fight pests without chemicals. You’ll also discover the nuances of developing a green thumb, from picking species to attract specific types of pollinators to composting techniques based on time available. A good garden offers endless possibilities and The Good Garden offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
In this joyful guide, McLaughlin gives you all the tricks and tips you need to grow the sustainable garden of your dreams. Gardeners will learn the fundamentals, including how to choose the right plant varieties for their microclimate, and proven methods to fight pests without chemicals. You’ll also discover the nuances of developing a green thumb, from picking species to attract specific types of pollinators to composting techniques based on time available. A good garden offers endless possibilities and The Good Garden offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
Justice and the Interstates
The Racist Truth about Urban Highways
Island Press
Justice and the Interstates, edited by Ryan Reft, Amanda Phillips de Lucas, and Rebecca Retzlaff, examines the toll that the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System has taken on vulnerable communities over the past seven decades, details efforts to restore the same, often segregated communities, and makes recommendations for moving forward.
Justice and the Interstates provides community advocates, transportation planners, engineers, historians, and policymakers with a concise but in-depth examination of the damages wrought by highway construction on the nation’s communities of color—from West Baltimore to Birmingham to the San Gabriel Valley. The authors provide a way forward to both address this history and reconcile it with current practices.
Justice and the Interstates provides community advocates, transportation planners, engineers, historians, and policymakers with a concise but in-depth examination of the damages wrought by highway construction on the nation’s communities of color—from West Baltimore to Birmingham to the San Gabriel Valley. The authors provide a way forward to both address this history and reconcile it with current practices.
Sundressed
Natural Fabrics and the Future of Clothing
Island Press
For conscious consumers, buying clothes has never been more complicated. Even as fashion brands tout their sustainability, the industry is plagued by pollution, waste, and poor working conditions. If our clothes reflect our values, is it possible to be truly well-dressed?
Sustainable fashion journalist Lucianne Tonti answers with a resounding yes. Beautiful clothes made from natural fabrics including cotton, wool, flax, and cashmere can support rural communities and regenerate landscapes. They can also reduce waste—but only if we invest in garments that stand the test of time rather than chasing fast fashion trends.
Sundressed is an exploration of a revolution taking place in fashion. And it is a love letter to clothing that embodies beauty and value, from farm to closet.
Sustainable fashion journalist Lucianne Tonti answers with a resounding yes. Beautiful clothes made from natural fabrics including cotton, wool, flax, and cashmere can support rural communities and regenerate landscapes. They can also reduce waste—but only if we invest in garments that stand the test of time rather than chasing fast fashion trends.
Sundressed is an exploration of a revolution taking place in fashion. And it is a love letter to clothing that embodies beauty and value, from farm to closet.
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