Resettling America: Energy, Ecology and Community

by Gary J. Coates (Editor)

Overview

Every movement has its bellweathers, the ideas that lead the way and rally its adherents towards a set of shared values and visions. Resettling America was one such beacon – a publication for its time and ahead of its time. Those of us doing the work of sustainability and the transformation of communities feel grateful for Gary’s early and prescient contribution that has shaped the thinking of so many around the US and beyond. Essential reading for all green warriors! Jason F. McLennan, Chief Sustainability Officer – Perkins & Will. Founder, Living Building Challenge.

Originally published in 1981 and now reissued with a new Preface by Gary J. Coates, Resettling America was one of the first comprehensive, transdisciplinary books on the crisis of sustainability and the implications of that crisis for the re-design of buildings, towns, cities and regions. Through essays by Coates, which provide a theory of ecological design, and case studies written by leading authors and activists of the time, the book presents a strategic vision of how it would be possible to create a sustainable and livable society through a process of cooperative community development rooted in a radical re-visioning of nature, self and society. By providing a strategic vision, as well offering practical means for creating a sustainable society worth sustaining, Resettling America remains more relevant and inspiring than ever to those who face the ecology of crises that now surround us in the 21^st Century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032544892
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/01/2023
Series:	Routledge Revivals
Pages:	580
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Professor of Architecture emeritus Gary J. Coates has long been recognized nationally and internationally as a leading voice in the movement to create socially, technologically and ecologically sustainable buildings, towns, cities and bioregions.

Coates’ contributions have been recognized with numerous awards. At Kansas State University, where he taught for 45 years, Coates was selected as the inaugural Victor L. Regnier Distinguished Faculty Chair. He has received national awards from the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for his innovative courses on sustainable and regenerative design. Coates was chosen as an ACSA Distinguished Professor of Architecture for a lifetime of "sustained creative achievement" through teaching, research, scholarship and service.

Professionally, Coates has consulted on town planning and architectural design projects, and collaborated with colleagues to help create a number of international professional organizations including: the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA); the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU); the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) and; the Architecture, Culture and Spirituality Forum (ACSF).

Table of Contents

Introduction. Part 1: Vision 1. Future Images, Present Possibilities Revisioning Nature, Self, and Society Gary J. Coates 2. Sharing Smaller Pies Tom Bender Part 2: Expression Introduction to Contemplative Community Richard Baker-roshi 4. Resettling the Shakers: The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, NY Elizabeth Rechtschaffen Introduction to Rural New Towns 5. Rural New towns for America Shimon S. Gottschalk 6. Cerro Gordo: Future Residents Organize to Plan and Build an Ecological Village Community Christopher Canfield Introduction to Urban Decentralization 7. Self-Reliant Cities: The Rise of the New City-States David Morris 8. Self-Help Housing and the Cities: Sweat Equity in New York City Michael Freedberg 9. Community-Controlled Economic Development and Environmental Enhancement: The Case of the Whiteaker Neighbourhood, Eugene, Oregon Daniel Goldrich, Maureen Good, Steve Greenwood and Jim McCoy 10. Beyond Solar: Design for Sustainable Communities Peter Calthorpe with Susan Benson 11. Urban Agriculture: A Strategy for Transition to a Solar Society William and Helgar Olkowski 12. The Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse Gary M. Garber 13. The David Experience Marshall Hunt and David Bainbridge 14. The Appropriate Technology Vision and the Future of Our Communities Dennis R. Holloway Introduction to Biotechnology and Regional Integration 15. Goals for Regional Development Peter van Dresser 16. A Renewable Energy Future for Franklin County, Massachusetts David Pomeranz 17. Strategies for Bioregional Food Systems George Burrill and James Nolfi 18. Agricultural Landscapes: Strategies Toward Permanence Earle A. Barnhart 19. New Roots for Agriculture Wes Jackson Part 3: Reflection 20. Energy, Eco technocracy and Ecology Murray Bookchin 21. Planning and the Paradox of Conscious purpose Gary J. Coates.

Editorial Reviews

'…rich in anecdote and detail as well as analysis and theory, this book represents the most important work of its kind since the pioneering studies by Lewis Mumford and the original Regional Planning Association of the 1920s.' Kirkpatrick Sale, The Nation

'Resettling America provides one of the most thorough and accessible introductions to the work in progress around the country, and more importantly, to some of the conceptual framework that will ultimately unify this work in a science of ecological design and "right livelihood".' John Peterson, Rain Magazine

'So many books on the future tend to be either highly theoretical or narrowly technical. Coates’ new anthology is different… He has arranged his anthology so that the theoretical pieces create a political-spiritual context for the pieces that describe what people and groups are actually doing. ' Mark Satin, Renewal Magazine.

From the Publisher