Designing Ecological Habitats is the third volume in the Four Keys to Sustainable Communities series and is an important and eloquent exploration of humanity’s limits to growth, addressing the problems arising from climate change, habitat destruction, population growth, and resource depletion.
This is not a book of theoretical ideas but an anthology of solutions, of experience, tried and tested, from experts all over the world. The designs and practices included in this book present a vision for the future, already tested out in ecovillages, sustainable communities, and projects in many countries. These are practical low-carbon solutions that provide significant improvements in the quality of life.
Designing Ecological Habitats is an anthology of work by writers who have created, built, lived in, and thrived in eco-developments, and addresses green building, food resources, appropriate technology, and restoring nature.
“By understanding the process of creating integrated ecological designs, we also make explicit the process of creating integrated social and economic systems. We reconnect with the true meaning of ecology that comes from the Greek word oikos, meaning ‘home’ or ‘a place to live.’ Humanity’s greatest challenge is to ensure that planet Earth can support human life far into future centuries not only by adapting to climate change but also by mitigating it.”—from the Foreword by Mark Richmond, director, Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO Education Sector.
The Four Keys represent the four dimensions of sustainable design—the Worldview, the Social, the Ecological, and the Economic. This series is endorsed by UNESCO and is an official contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The other books of the series are Beyond You and Me, Gaian Economics, and The Song of the Earth. The Four Keys to Sustainable Communities series was completed in 2012 and is now available in the U.S. for the first time.
It is not easy compiling so many interesting and relevant articles from such a roster of diverse and well-known writers and thinkers on ecological design of communities and villages, but the editors, have done a masterful job at collecting and selecting a most useful and wide reaching compendium of articles on the state of the art of ecological design. One of the things that struck me about this relatively short book is the inclusion of voices from every corner of the world. Together they have given us a glimpse into what the emerging world culture of sustainability has available to transform habitat design into something that present and future generations can work with and use to create the better world we all aspire to. --Giovanni Ciarlo
This book is a truly remarkable compendium of collective wisdom, bringing together a wide diversity of perspectives and doing so in true ecovillage fashion, by honouring the wisdom of many voices. The book brings the subject alive through contributions from the global North and South, by men and women, old and young, offering indigenous, professional, scientific, grassroots, and deeply personal points of view. Perspectives based on experience, on direct action, on daring to try, fail, and try again. Chris Mare did a fantastic job in collating and editing this compendium with Max Lindegger and the help of Maddy Harland. --Daniel C Wahl, PhD, reviewing, Fielding Graduate University website
