112th: Steven Cohen on The Sustainable City

Event date: 
11/13/2017 - 7:00pm

Please join us on Monday, November 13th at 7pm as Steven Cohen discusses his new book The Sustainable City at Book Culture on 112th. Steven will be joined in conversation by Ester Fuchs.

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Living sustainably is not just about preserving the wilderness or keeping nature pristine. The transition to a green economy depends on cities. For the first time in human history, the majority of the people on the planet live in urban areas. If we are to avert climate catastrophe, we will need our cities to coexist with nature without destroying it. Many places are already investing in the infrastructure of the future--including renewable energy, energy efficiency, mass and personal transit, and advanced sewage and waste management--but the modern city still has a long way to go.

In The Sustainable City, Steven Cohen provides a broad and engaging overview of the urban systems of the twenty-first century, surveying policies and projects already under way in cities around the world and pointing to more ways progress can be made. Cohen discusses the sustainable city from an organizational-management and public-policy perspective that emphasizes the local level, looking at case studies of existing legislation, programs, and public-private partnerships that strive to align modern urban life and sustainability. From waste management in Beijing to energy infrastructure in Africa to public space in Washington, D.C., there are concrete examples of what we can do right now. Cohen synthesizes the disparate strands of sustainable city planning in an approachable and applicable guide that highlights how these issues touch our lives on a daily basis, whether the transportation we take, where our energy comes from, or what becomes of our food waste. Providing recommendations and insights with immediacy and relevance, this book has invaluable lessons for anyone seeking to link public policy to promoting a sustainable lifestyle.


Steven Cohen is executive director of Columbia University's Earth Institute and a professor in the practice of public affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He is the director of the Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy, the Master of Science in Sustainability Management, and the Research Program on Sustainability Policy and Management at Columbia. His books include Sustainability Management: Lessons from and for New York City, America, and the Planet (2011) and Understanding Environmental Policy (2014, second edition), both from Columbia University Press.

Ester R. Fuchs is a Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science and is the Director of the Urban and Social Policy Program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She served as Special Advisor to the Mayor for Governance and Strategic Planning under New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg from 2001 to 2005. Previously, Professor Fuchs served as chair of the Urban Studies Program at Barnard College and Columbia College and founding director of the Columbia University Center for Urban Research and Policy.

Event address: 
536 W 112th St
New York, NY 10025
The Sustainable City By Steven Cohen Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780231182058
Availability: On hand at one or more locations, see product page for details
Published: Columbia University Press - November 21st, 2017