Blogs

#FOREWORDFRIDAY: Resilient Business Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On October 22nd, 2015
As we are learning the hard way, the new normal of climate change and a volatile, hyper-connected global economy mean that sudden natural disasters and unforeseen supply chain disruptions are here to stay—and pursuing business as usual is no longer a viable option. But how can businesses adjust? Joseph Fiksel argues that the key is resilience—an organization’s capacity to survive, adapt, and flourish in the face of change.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Conservation in a world of uncertainty and change

By Charles G. Curtin / On October 20th, 2015
What does it mean to conserve is an era of ever growing rates of cultural, social, and ecological change? One dictionary definition of conservation I found defined it as the act of preserving, guarding, or protecting. But what does one guard or protect when gone is the certainty that even a particular habitat, species, park or preserve will remain viable in the relatively near future (next 100 or so years). What does that mean for how we conceive of conservation?

Partnership Building and Public Spaces in San Francisco

By Matt Solomon / On October 18th, 2015
It’s hard to get a feel for San Francisco in only three days. Like most big cities, there’s more to it than what you see on postcards and TV shows. Yes, the Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful (as is the Bay Bridge), and Lombard Street is charming and quirky. But I work for Island Press, publisher of great urban thinkers like Jan Gehl and Peter Calthorpe! I’m interested in healthy, active public spaces.

#FOREWORDFRIDAY: Start-Up City Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On October 15th, 2015
More than ever, cities are charged with carrying out national-level policies and are expected to be at the forefront of our response to climate change, housing inequality, job-creation and public health. At the same time, most city government agencies are perennially understaffed and impeded by cumbersome, often backward regulations that leave them at odds with the private sector. Seemingly insurmountable frustrations are everywhere. So the big question is: Can meaningful changes get made in spite of these realities?
Washburn

Choosing Hope in New Orleans

By Katharine Sucher / On October 11th, 2015
In 2006, six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, I toured the city’s decaying wreckage with a delegation of national environmental leaders.

#FOREWORDFRIDAY: Urban Design Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On October 8th, 2015
As the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy overwhelmed his neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City’s chief urban designer Alexandros Washburn took refuge on the upper floors of his house. For years he had played an integral role in creating the city that has become a model of vibrant urban design, and now he watched as flooding wreaked havoc. When the water receded, he saw devastation—but also dedication. The disaster revealed that what makes New York great is not only its physical setting, but also its citizens’ will to rebuild their communities better than before.

President Obama Should Include the Tongass In Alaska’s First Line of Global Warming Defense

By Dominick A. DellaSala / On October 6th, 2015
I began my career as forest ecologist in the 1990s, cataloging the remarkable web-of-life in the old-growth rainforests of Prince of Wales Island. Since then, I have worked with rainforest ecologists around the world to document exceptional places like the Tongass and how they can contribute to a global climate change solution. Last April, hundreds of scientists, including myself, sent President Obama a letter asking him to include the Tongass as Alaska’s first line of climate defense.

Pages