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Calthorpe, Peter. Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change. Washington: Island Press, 2011. 126 pp. ISBN 13:978-1-59726-720-5.
This 126 page, 9 chapter book o^ers an outward-looking perspective on the double challenge of peak oil and climate change, which is presented as the challenge of our time and evident in high carbon emissions and diminishing global resources. In this book, the author is unequivocal in outlining urban- ism as the only solution to this problem, which he argues has been omitted from existing policy solutions. The book is intended primarily for a policy and practice audience. The US orientation of the book and the use of California as a demonstrator project (chps 7-8) means the book has clear messages for a North American rather than European audience.
From the outset the author presents the problem as he sees it and then tackles the various solutions in the remainder of the book. Namely, the dispro- portionately high level of carbon emissions in the US, and the disproportionate contribution of emissions from buildings and transport use (62%...