Breakthrough Communities: Sustainability and Justice in the Next American Metropolis

David Pellow

"Breakthrough Communities is an inspiring window on the metropolitan regional equity movement. This book offers a series of paths that lead us away from the despair and decline of the past, to a 21st century marked by hope, renewal, and transformation. Pavel and her colleagues show us what is actually working and what can work in cities and regions in the pursuit of racial, economic, and environmental justice. This is a powerful invitation to a world that I am aching to be a part of."--David Naguib Pellow, author of Resisting Global Toxics: Transnational Movements for Environmental Justice and Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota

Peter Calthorpe

"Occasionally there are books that reframe the way we think and act
-- and this is one of them. By seeing through a regional lens, it reveals the essential topography of our social structure and the superstructure of our environmental impacts. America's most vexing challenges and golden opportunities lie in reshaping this topography and rethinking its superstructure at a regional scale.
Writing here are the leaders of a movement that will change how we address social issues and transform public policy in a systemic way. Its range and insight is breathtaking -- essential reading for all concerned with social justice and environmental health."--Peter Calthorpe, Principal, Calthorpe and Associates and author of The Next American Metropolis

From the Publisher

"As we re-imagine the future of our cities and of the planet, BreakthroughCommunities offers proven strategies that demonstrate that every voice matters. These are grounded visions of hope and possibility, where social justice forges a new road for economic and environmental sustainability." Danny Glover

" Breakthrough Communities is an inspiring window on the metropolitan regional-equity movement. This book offers a series of paths that lead us away from the despair and decline of the past, to a 21st century marked by hope, renewal, and transformation.

Pavel and her colleagues show us what is actually working and what can work in cities and regions in the pursuit of racial, economic, and environmental justice. This is a powerful invitation to a world that I am aching to be a part of." David Naguib Pellow , author ofResisting Global Toxics: Transnational Movements for Environmental Justice andProfessor of Sociology, University of Minnesota

" Breakthrough Communities showcases some of the most brilliant,innovative and creative thinkers of our time. Their innovative ideas and solutions enable us to re-imagine, not just the future of our communities and our cities, but of our planet as well."Belvie Rooks, Board, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

"Major changes in our society often are not recognized nor understood when they are occurring. Breakthrough Communities speaks to one of these: the rapid shift from seeing the metropolitan areas as a collection of legal-political jurisdictions to an understanding of the metropolis as competing, often conflicting, sometimes cooperating communities moving toward emerging visions of equity and shared prosperity in an extraordinary diverse world. These are stories of successes in taking important steps to realize that vision. They are stories told by actual leaders in the struggles. They tell of strategies of change that work. As such this book is a must read for advocacy leaders, elected officials and average citizens trying to understand their communities." Parris N. Glendening, Maryland Governor (1995-2003), andPresident, Smart Growth Leadership Institute

"Occasionally there are books that reframe the way we think and act — and this is one of them. By seeing through a regional lens, it reveals the essential topography of our social structure and the superstructure of our environmental impacts. America's most vexing challenges and golden opportunities lie in reshaping this topography and rethinking its superstructure at a regional scale. Writing here are the leaders of a movement that will change how we address social issues and transform public policy in a systemic way. Its range and insight is breathtaking —essential reading for all concerned with social justice and environmental health." PeterCalthorpe , Principal, Calthorpe and Associates, author of The Next AmericanMetropolis

"Often what a visionary does is not to see the future as such, but to recognize the seeds of a possible future in the present. In Breakthrough Communities, CarlAnthony and Paloma Pavel not only saw such seeds—they have cultivated them. The result is a truly visionary work in which multiple positive futures are nested in a "solve-the-whole-problem"approach. Certainly it's a lighthouse that illuminates how cities—the make-it-or-break factor for environmental restoration—are perhaps the most fertile living laboratories of both ecological and social innovation. Certainly it illuminates the historic convergence of the two mighty rivers of the environmental and social justice movements. Certainly it illuminates how multi-cultural alliances and leadership by people of color are permanently changing the landscape of environmentalism. But more than all this, Breakthrough Communities shines with the radiant inner light of humanity that's sparking the change of heart that can truly change the course of civilization. Future generations will look back on BreakthroughCommunities as the seedlings of a true revolution." Kenny Ausubel, Founder and Coexecutive Director, Bioneers

David Pellow

Peter Calthorpe