In the absence of federal leadership, states and localities are stepping forward to address critical problems like climate change, urban sprawl, and polluted water and air. Making a city fundamentally sustainable is a daunting task, but fortunately, there are dynamic, innovative models to which American cities can turn. Green Cities of Europe draws on the world's best examples of sustainability to show how other cities can become greener and more livable.

Timothy Beatley, a thought leader on sustainability in cities, has brought together leading experts from Paris, Copenhagen, Venice, and four other leading European cities to illustrate groundbreaking practices in sustainable urban planning and design. Most of the contributors are or have been architects, sustainability officers, or city planners for the cities they are describing, and they offer an on-the-ground, intimate look at the community’s unique approach to the challenges of sustainability.

These cities are developing strong urban cores, building pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and improving public transit. They are incorporating ecological design and planning concepts, from solar energy to natural drainage and community gardens. And they are changing the way government works, instituting municipal "green audits" and reforming economic incentives to encourage sustainability.

Whatever their specific tactics, these communities prove that a holistic approach is needed to solve environmental problems and make cities sustainable. In Green Cities of Europe, Beatley and these esteemed contributors offer vital lessons to the domestic planning community about not only what European cities are doing to achieve that vision, but precisely how they are doing it. The result is an indispensable guide to greening American cities.

Timothy Beatley is Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, in the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for more than twenty years. He is the author of many books, including Biophilic Cities, Resilient Cities, and Green Urbanism (Island Press).