From 1960–1980, both eastern and western Europe experienced a construction boom of new dimensions. Cybernetics, the science of planning, and sociology, as well as the new possibilities offered by technology and production, paved the way to large-scale processes and systems in architecture and urban design, which favored technocratic and utopian concepts. Increasingly, architects and planners saw themselves as designers of comprehensive infrastructure and mega-structures in a technology-focused world. The authors assesses these developments on the back of a knowledge transfer between East and West. It confirms a change in attitude that can still be felt today – recession, social changes, and environmental problems led to criticism of the then contemporary concepts of modernity.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

Sensitivity to scales is one of the key challenges in environmental governance. Climate change, food production, energy supply, and natural resource management are examples of environmental challenges that stretch across scales and require action at multiple levels. Governance systems are typically ill-equipped for this task due to organisational and jurisdictional specialisation and short-term planning horizons. Further to this, scientific knowledge is fragmented along disciplinary lines and research traditions in academia and research institutions. State-of-the-art, Scale-Sensitive Governance of the Environment addresses these challenges by establishing the foundation for a new, trans-disciplinary research field. It brings together and reframes a variety of disciplinary approaches, using the idea of scales to create a conceptual and methodological basis for scale-sensitive governance of the environment from both a natural and social science perspective. This volume presents new visions, methods and innovative applications of thinking and decision making across scales in space and time to develop a holistic view on the subject. It is unique in providing: F analysis on how spatial, temporal, and governance scales are constructed, politically and scientifically defined, institutionalized in governance practices, and strategically used in policy discourses F details on how current environmental governance practices can be enriched by the use of theory on scale, with specific research themes to show the benefits of recognizing scales in empirical research F insightful case studies drawn from countries in the Americas, Eastern and Southern Africa, Europe, and South and Southeastern Asia, covering a wide range of environmental topics including biodiversity, climate change, commodities (tea and palm oil), cultural landscapes, energy, forestry, natural resource management, pesticides, urban development, and water management. With its comprehensive coverage of scale and scaling issues and convergence of widely different scientific approaches, this book is essential for environmental scientists, policy makers and planners, also conservation biologists and ecologists who are involved in modeling climate change impacts and sustainability. This reference will also benefit students of environmental studies, and all those who seek a response to the urgent environmental governance challenges for the decades ahead.

“If you care about climate change, John Doerr’s new book, Speed & Scale, offers concrete steps that we can all take to make a difference.” - Barack Obama With clear-eyed realism and an engineer’s precision, Doerr lays out the practical actions, global ambitions, and economic investments we need to avert climate catastrophe. Guided by real-world solutions, Speed & Scale features unprecedented, firsthand accounts from climate leaders such as Laurene Powell Jobs, Christiana Figueres, Al Gore, Mary Barra, John Kerry, and dozens of other intrepid policymakers, innovators, and scientists. In Speed & Scale, Doerr presents a compelling 10-step plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050–the global goal we need to reach to ensure a livable Earth for generations to come. From electrifying our energy grid to fixing our global food supply chain to capturing carbon from the air, Speed & Scale contains practical solutions for policymakers and entrepreneurs alike. As the world confronts an urgent climate crisis, Doerr reminds us that it is also the greatest economic opportunity of our lifetimes. Whether you’re a climate scientist or someone striving to make a difference in your local community, this book will help you to activate the sustainable solutions the world urgently needs. Praise for Speed & Scale: “Everybody should get Speed & Scale by John Doerr.” - Meryl Streep “A practical guide for participation in decarbonizing the global economy, a task as challenging as it is urgent.” - Christiana Figueres

The volume will provide a fresh and engaging analytical approach to the processes of rescaling in Europe within the context of democracy, efficacy in government, and social solidarity.

Think globally, act locally emphasizes the importance of scale in dealing with environmental challenges, but not how to factor it in. This major new book focuses on the spatial dimensions of urban environmental burdens, showing how important it is to take these into account when pursuing environmental justice and good governance - whether in the context of the sanitary risks of slum living, the pollution of uncontrolled industrialization and motorization, or the enormous ecological footprints of affluent urban lifestyles. Written by leading experts in the fields of urban development and environmental planning, the book reviews the urban environmental shifts that have shaped todays challenges, and examines conditions and problems in the urban centres of low-, middle- and high-income countries. Case studies address such economically diverse cities as Accra, New Delhi, Mexico City and Manchester, while thematic chapters explore issues including water, sanitation and transportation. The book concludes by exploring and analysing different scales of governance. The editors argue that we should not rely solely on local governance to address local burdens like poor sanitation, nor depend only on global governance for global challenges such as greenhouse gas emissions, but that scale is crucial in both understanding the problems and devising successful responses. Published with UNU-IAS and IIED.