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.
