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The New City

By: Dickson Despommier
Narrated by: Wayne M. Lane
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Publisher's Summary

Cities are at once among humanity’s crowning achievements and core drivers of the climate crisis. Their dependence on the outside world for vital resources is causing global temperatures to rise and wildlife habitats to shrink. But we have the opportunity to make cities more sustainable by transforming the built environment.

Dickson D. Despommier proposes a visionary yet achievable plan for creating a new, self-sustaining urban landscape. He argues that we can find solutions through the concept of biomimicry: emulating successful strategies found in nature. A better city is possible if we heed the lessons that forests and trees teach about how to store carbon, grow food, collect rainwater, and convert sunlight into energy.

Touring established and leading-edge technologies, The New City provides a blueprint for tomorrow’s urban environment. Cities built from wood will be more resilient and less destructive than concrete and steel construction; they will also encourage reforestation, boosting carbon sequestration. Vertical farms inside city limits will supply residents with a reliable, healthy food supply. Buildings will harvest moisture from the rain and air to secure a clean water supply. Renewable energy, including not only wind, solar, and geothermal but also clear photovoltaic window glass and nonpolluting hydrogen fuel cells, will power a cleaner city.

The book is published by Columbia University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2023 Dickson D. Despommier (P)2024 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic Reviews

"This is a profoundly optimistic vision of cities inspired by and synchronized with nature." (Gregory Kiss, Kiss + Cathcart, Architects)

"Despommier’s excitement for this topic is almost palpable." (The Green Dispatch)

"Wondrous work...we see that the good news for the future might well be found in the rethinking and redesign of our cities." (Robert Fullilove, Columbia University)

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