In this immensely practical book, Timothy Beatley sets out to answer a simple question: what can Americans learn from Australians about “greening” city life? Green Urbanism Down Under reports on the current state of “sustainability practice” in Australia and the many lessons that U.S. residents can learn from
the best Australian programs and initiatives.
 
Australia is similar to the United States in many ways, especially in its “energy footprint.” For example, Australia’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions are second only to those of the United States. A similar percentage of its residents live in cities (85 percent in Australia vs. 80 percent in the United States). And it suffers from parallel problems of air and water pollution, a national dependence on automobiles, and high fossil fuel consumption. Still, after traveling throughout Australia, Beatley finds that there are myriad creative responses to these problems—and that they offer instructive examples for the United States.
 
Green Urbanism Down Under is a very readable collection of solutions.
Although many of these innovative solutions are little-known outside Australia, they all present practical possibilities for U.S. cities. Beatley describes “green transport” projects, “city farms,” renewable energy plans, green living programs, and much more. He considers a host of public policy initiatives and scrutinizes regional and state planning efforts for answers. In closing, he shares his impressions about how Australian results might be applied to U.S. problems.
 
This is a unique book: hopeful, constructive, and filled with ideas that have been proven to work. It is a “must read” for anyone who cares about the future of American cities.

As the need to confront unplanned growth increases, planners, policymakers, and citizens are scrambling for practical tools and examples of successful and workable approaches. Growth management initiatives are underway in the U.S. at all levels, but many American "success stories" provide only one piece of the puzzle. To find examples of a holistic approach to dealing with sprawl, one must turn to models outside of the United States.

In Green Urbanism, Timothy Beatley explains what planners and local officials in the United States can learn from the sustainable city movement in Europe. The book draws from the extensive European experience, examining the progress and policies of twenty-five of the most innovative cities in eleven European countries, which Beatley researched and observed in depth during a year-long stay in the Netherlands. Chapters examine:

• the sustainable cities movement in Europe
• examples and ideas of different housing and living options
• transit systems and policies for promoting transit use, increasing bicycle use, and minimizing the role of the automobile
• creative ways of incorporating greenness into cities
• ways of readjusting "urban metabolism" so that waste flows become circular
• programs to promote more sustainable forms of economic development
• sustainable building and sustainable design measures and features
• renewable energy initiatives and local efforts to promote solar energy
• ways of greening the many decisions of local government including ecological budgeting, green accounting, and other city management tools.

Throughout, Beatley focuses on the key lessons from these cities -- including Vienna, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Zurich, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin -- and what their experience can teach us about effectively and creatively promoting sustainable development in the United States. Green Urbanism is the first full-length book to describe urban sustainability in European cities, and provides concrete examples and detailed discussions of innovative and practical sustainable planning ideas. It will be a useful reference and source of ideas for urban and regional planners, state and local officials, policymakers, students of planning and geography, and anyone concerned with how cities can become more livable.