Americaâ#x80 ; #x99 ; s Most Sustainable Cities and Regions : Surviving the 21st Century Megatrends

Introduction -- Manifest Destiny and the Growth of America: Cheap Energy and Spending Natural Capital -- The Myth of Urban Self Sufficiency -- A Tale of Twelve Cities and Ten Regions -- The Wealth of Nature is the Wealth of Nations: Ecosystem Services and Their Value to Society -- Global Climate Change: A Warmer and More Unpredictable Future -- Energy â#x80;#x93; The Master Resource -- Feeding Americaâ#x80;#x99;s Cities: Putting Food on the Table in the 21st Century -- Moving Away From a Ptolemic View of the Human Economy -- Revisiting the Cities and Regions -- Summing It Up: Alternative Routes for the Way Forward.;This book takes you on a unique journey through American history, taking time to consider the forces that shaped the development of various cities and regions, and arrives at an unexpected conclusion regarding sustainability. From the American Dream to globalization to the digital and information revolutions, we assume that humans have taken control of our collective destinies in spite of potholes in the road such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009. However, these attitudes were formed during a unique 100-year period of human history in which a large but finite supply of fossil fuels was tapped to feed our economic and innovation engine. Today, at the peak of the Oil Age, the horizon looks different. Cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas are situated where water and other vital ecological services are scarce, and the enormous flows of resources and energy that were needed to create the megalopolises of the 20th century will prove unsustainable. Climate change is a reality, and regional impacts will become increasingly severe. Economies such as Las Vegas, which are dependent on discretionary income and buffeted by climate change, are already suffering the fate of the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Finite resources will mean profound changes for society in general and the energy-intensive lifestyles of the US and Canada in particular. But not all regions are equally vulnerable to these 21st-century megatrends. Are you ready to look beyond â#x80;Americaâ#x80;#x99;s Most Livable Citiesâ#x80;#x9D; to the critical factors that will determine the sustainability of your municipality and region? Find out where your city or region ranks according to the forces that will impact our lives in the next years and decades. Find out how: ·resource availability and ecological services shaped the modern landscape ·emerging megatrends will make cities and regions more or less livable in the new century ·your city or region ranks on a â#x80;sustainabilityâ#x80;#x9D; map of the United States ·urban metabolism puts large cities at particular risk ·sustainability factors will favor economic solutions at a local, rather than global, level ·these principles apply to industrial economies and countries globally. Preface 6 Acknowledgements 10 Contents 12 Chapter 1: Introduction 14 The Future Is Now 19 Chapter 2: Manifest Destiny and the Growth of America: Cheap Energy and Spending Natural Capital 21 Historic Settlement Patterns in the United States 23 Trends in Urbanization and the Emerging Mega Regions in Population 25 The 11 Megaregions 28 The American Melting Pot 30 The Urban–Rural Imbalance 32 Chapter 3: The Myth of Urban Self Sufficiency 37 The Myth of the Self Sufficient City 38 Some Conclusions and What’s Next 46 Chapter 4: A Tale of Twelve Cities and Ten Regions 49 New York City, New York: The Capital City of the World 51 Population 52 History 53 Flint, Michigan: Rust Belt Return to Nature 58 History 59 Asheville, North Carolina: Blue Ridge Chic 62 Population 63 History 64 Orlando, Florida: Rollercoaster to an Uncertain Future 67 Population 67 History 68 The Lower Mississippi River and the Central Gulf Coast: Wetlands, Steamboats, and Oil 72 New Orleans, Louisiana: The Big Easy in the Big Bowl 73 Population 74 History 75 Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Red Stick Above the Waters 83 History 84 Houston, Texas: Oil City, USA 87 Population 87 History 88 Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Small Metropolis on the Fertile Plain 94 History 95 Amarillo, Texas: Cattle and Oil on the Semi-arid Plain 98 History 99 Las Vegas, Nevada: Betting on the Uncertain Future of Water 103 History 104 Los Angeles, California: Life in the Desert Fast Lane 109 History 110 Portland, Oregon: Green Paradise, Or Is It? 118 History 118 Summary 125 Chapter 5: The Wealth of Nature Is the Wealth of Nations: Ecosystem Services and Their Value to Society 127 What Are Ecosystem Goods and Services and Why Are They Important? 128 What Are the Types of Ecosystem Services? 131 How Are Ecosystem Services Valued, and How Much Are They Worth? 134 Variation in Ecosystem Goods and Services across the Landscape 140 Ecosystem Services Across the Landscape 144 Chapter 6: Global Climate Change: A Warmer and More Unpredictable Future 148 Introduction 148 The Southwest 149 Evidence for Climate Change 154 Temperature 158 Precipitation 160 The Temperature–Precipitation Feedback Loop 161 The Great Plains 162 The Mississippi Valley 166 Coastal Areas 167 Perfect Storms and Other Weather Events 169 Orchestrated Denial 176 Chapter 7: Energy: The Master Resource 178 Introduction 178 It’s the Energy, Stupid! 179 Energy vs. Power 180 The Laws of Thermodynamics 182 History of Human Energy Use 186 World and U.S. Patterns of Energy Production and Consumption 190 Peak Oil 193 Energy Return on Investment: Why “Drill, Baby, Drill” Is Not a Sustainable Strategy 196 Will Unconventional Oil and Gas Replace Conventional Supplies? 198 The 100-Year Supply and Other Myths 203 Tar Sands 204 Coal 208 Renewable Energy to the Rescue? 208 How Much Energy Does Society Need? 212 Landscape Implications 227 Chapter 8: Feeding America’s Cities: Putting Food on the Table in the Twenty-First Century 228 A Brief History of Food Production 229 Crop Production in the U.S. 232 Livestock, Dairy, and Seafood Production in the US, Where and How Much 236 International Trade of Food Products 239 The Family Meal 240 What Does It Take to Produce Our Food? 242 Vast Expanses of Suitable Land 242 Energy 243 Fertilizers, Other Chemicals, and Irrigated Water 246 The Capacity of Different U.S. Cities and Regions to Produce Food 249 Impacts of Megatrends on Food Production 259 Chapter 9: Moving Away from a Ptolemic View of the Human Economy 265 Introduction 265 What’s Wrong with GDP? 269 An Empty World to a Full World 274 A Two-Edged Sword 276 High Oil Prices and Regional Sustainability 278 Chapter 10: Revisiting and Ranking the Cities and Regions 285 Sustainability of the Cities and Regions 289 New York City 294 Flint 296 Asheville 298 Orlando 299 Cedar Rapids 301 The Lower Mississippi River and the North Central Gulf–New Orleans–Baton Rouge–Houston 302 Amarillo 308 Las Vegas 308 Los Angeles 309 Portland 313 Global Versus Local Constraints on Local Sustainability 316 Sustainability at the National Scale 318 Chapter 11: Summing It Up. Alternative Routes for the Way Forward 322 Contemporary Economics Cannot Solve These Problems 325 The Limits to Technology 326 Adaptation: Learning from History 327 Regionalism in a Globalized World 330 Biographical Information 332 Bibliography 334 Index 350 This book takes you on a unique journey through American history, taking time to consider the forces that shaped the development of various cities and regions, and arrives at an unexpected conclusion regarding sustainability. From the American Dream to globalization to the digital and information revolutions, we assume that humans have taken control of our collective destinies in spite of potholes in the road such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009. However, these attitudes were formed during a unique 100-year period of human history in which a large but finite supply of fossil fuels was tapped to feed our economic and innovation engine. Today, at the peak of the Oil Age, the horizon looks different. Cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas are situated where water and other vital ecological services are scarce, and the enormous flows of resources and energy that were needed to create the megalopolises of the 20th century will prove unsustainable. Climate change is a reality, and regional impacts will become increasingly severe. Economies such as Las Vegas, which are dependent on discretionary income and buffeted by climate change, are already suffering the fate of the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Finite resources will mean profound changes for society in general and the energy-intensive lifestyles of the US and Canada in particular. But not all regions are equally vulnerable to these 21st-century megatrends. Are you ready to look beyond "America's Most Livable Cities" to the critical factors that will determine the sustainability of your municipality and region? Find out where your city or region ranks according to the forces that will impact our lives in the next years and decades. Find out how: ·resource availability and ecological services shaped the modern landscape ·emerging megatrends will make cities and regions more or less livable in the new century ·your city or region ranks on a "sustainability" map of the United States ·urban metabolism puts large cities at particular risk ·sustainability factors will favor economic solutions at a local, rather than global, level ·these principles apply to industrial economies and countries globally. This book should be cited as follows: J. Day, C. Hall, E. Roy, M. Moersbaecher, C. D'Elia, D. Pimentel, and A. Yanez. 2016. America's most sustainable cities and regions: Surviving the 21st century megatrends. Springer, New York. 348 p. "This book takes you on a unique journey through American history, taking time to consider the forces that shaped the development of various cities and regions, and arrives at an unexpected conclusion regarding sustainability. From the American Dream to globalization to the digital and information revolutions, we assume that humans have taken control of our collective destinies in spite of potholes in the road such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009. However, these attitudes were formed during a unique 100-year period of human history in which a large but finite supply of fossil fuels was tapped to feed our economic and innovation engine. Today, at the peak of the Oil Age, the horizon looks different. Cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas are situated where water and other vital ecological services are scarce, and the enormous flows of resources and energy that were needed to create the megalopolises of the 20th century will prove unsustainable. Climate change is a reality, and regional impacts will become increasingly severe. Economies such as Las Vegas, which are dependent on discretionary income and buffeted by climate change, are already suffering the fate of the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Finite resources will mean profound changes for society in general and the energy-intensive lifestyles of the US and Canada in particular. But not all regions are equally vulnerable to these 21st-century megatrends. Are you ready to look beyond 'America's Most Livable Cities' to the critical factors that will determine the sustainability of your municipality and region? Find out where your city or region ranks according to the forces that will impact our lives in the next years and decades. Find out how: Resource availability and ecological services shaped the modern landscape ; Emerging megatrends will make cities and regions more or less livable in the new century ; Your city or region ranks on a 'sustainability' map of the United States ; Urban metabolism puts large cities at particular risk ; Sustainability factors will favor economic solutions at a local, rather than global, level ; These principles apply to industrial economies and countries globally"--Provided by publisher This book takes you on a unique journey through American history, taking time to consider the forces that shaped the development of various cities and regions, and arrives at an unexpected conclusion regarding sustainability. From the American Dream to globalization to the digital and information revolutions, we assume that humans have taken control of our collective destinies in spite of potholes in the road such as the Great Recession of 2007-2009. However, these attitudes were formed during a unique 100-year period of human history in which a large but finite supply of fossil fuels was tapped to feed our economic and innovation engine. Today, at the peak of the Oil Age, the horizon looks different. Cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas are situated where water and other vital ecological services are scarce, and the enormous flows of resources and energy that were needed to create the megalopolises of the 20th century will prove unsustainable.^Climate change is a reality, and regional impacts will become increasingly severe. Economies such as Las Vegas, which are dependent on discretionary income and buffeted by climate change, are already suffering the fate of the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Finite resources will mean profound changes for society in general and the energy-intensive lifestyles of the US and Canada in particular. But not all regions are equally vulnerable to these 21st-century megatrends. Are you ready to look beyond ĺlAmericaĺls Most Livable Citiesĺl to the critical factors that will determine the sustainability of your municipality and region? Find out where your city or region ranks according to the forces that will impact our lives in the next years and decades.^Find out how: ℗ʺresource availability and ecological services shaped the modern landscape ℗ʺemerging megatrends will make cities and regions more or less livable in the new century ℗ʺyour city or region ranks on a ĺlsustainabilityĺl map of the United States ℗ʺurban metabolism puts large cities at particular risk ℗ʺsustainability factors will favor economic solutions at a local, rather than global, level ℗ʺthese principles apply to industrial economies and countries globally Introduction -- Manifest Destiny and the Growth of America: Cheap Energy and Spending Natural Capital -- The Myth of Urban Self Sufficiency -- A Tale of Twelve Cities and Ten Regions -- The Wealth of Nature is the Wealth of Nations: Ecosystem Services and Their Value to Society -- Global Climate Change: A Warmer and More Unpredictable Future -- Energy â#x80 #x93 The Master Resource -- Feeding Americaâ#x80 #x99 s Cities: Putting Food on the Table in the 21st Century -- Moving Away From a Ptolemic View of the Human Economy -- Revisiting the Cities and Regions -- Summing It Up: Alternative Routes for the Way Forward.