The Built Environment

CLIMATE & ENERGY | ECOSYSTEMS | OCEANS & WATER | POLICY, ECONOMICS, & LAW

As the world population approaches seven billion, we find ourselves on a rapidly urbanizing planet. Over half of the world’s population already lives in cities and the United Nations estimates that by 2030 the number will increase to 60 percent. With their concentrated development, cities cover only two percent of the earth’s land area, yet they are responsible for up to 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. At Island Press we recognize the pressing need for cross-disciplinary information on how to make our human habitats more sustainable, equitable, and resilient to the challenges of a changing climate.

Our built environment program addresses the myriad issues related to urbanization and the way in which we design and plan our regions, cities, communities, and buildings. We have worked with experts from fields including architecture (Peter Calthorpe, Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change), land use planning (Timothy Beatley, Biophilic Cities), landscape architecture (Bill Thompson, Sustainable Landscape Construction), public health (Howard Frumkin, Making Healthy Places), transportation planning (Jarrett Walker, Human Transit), urban design (Jan Gehl, Cities for People), and ecology (Richard Forman, Road Ecology).

Within the built environment list, we publish books on green building, land use planning, landscape architecture, and sustainable development.