Community Resilience Reader Press Release

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Jaime Jennings, 202-232-7933 x44 jjennings@islandpress.org Amy Buringrud, 541-566-8700 x112 media@postcarbon.org

PRESS RELEASE

The Community Resilience Reader Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval Edited by Daniel Lerch Washington, DC (September 12, 2017)—Resilience is often conflated with climate change adaptation and infrastructure, but this oversimplification may be limiting our ability to overcome the complex challenges facing our global community. The failure of international efforts to surmount problems of environmental degradation, fossil fuel dependence, economic inequality, and persistent social injustice mean that resilience-building efforts at the community level are needed more than ever. But what does resilience actually mean, and how can it be done in a way that’s effective and equitable?

New from the Post Carbon Institute, The Community Resilience Reader: Essential Resources for an Era of Upheaval (Publication Date: October 12, 2017) offers a new, practical vision for creating resilience in the 21st Century. In this contributed volume, leaders from a variety of fields including science, policy, community building, and urban design come together to show that building strength and resilience at the community level is not only crucial, but possible.

It describes in detail the environmental, economic, energy, and equity challenges we face, the essential tools of resilience science, and the wisdom of activists, scholars, and analysts working with community issues on the ground. Chapters range from “A Crash Course in the Science of Sustainability” and “Energy Democracy” to “Building Community Resilience at the Water’s Edge” and “Food System Lessons from Vermont.”

Throughout, The Community Resilience Reader shows that resilience is a process, not a goal; how resilience requires learning to adapt but also preparing to transform; and that resilience starts and ends with the people living in a community. The result is a holistic, accessible book that will inspire readers and provide them with the tools for creating resilience at the community level.

From the producers of the award-winning The Post Carbon Reader, The Community Resilience Reader is an invaluable resource for students, community leaders, and concerned citizens.

Daniel Lerch is Publications Director of Post Carbon Institute, serving as lead editor and manager of the Institute’s books and reports. He is the author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty (2007)—the first major local government guidebook on the end of cheap oil—and was the founding chair of the Sustainable Communities Division of the American Planning Association and a founding co-director of The City Repair Project. Lerch has delivered over 100 presentations to audiences across the United States and abroad, and has been interviewed for numerous media outlets. He has worked with urban sustainability issues for over twenty years in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

The Community Resilience Reader Island Press Paperback Original Publication Date: October 12, 2017 336 pages | 6x9 | Price: $28.00 (P) $27.99 (E) ISBN: 9781610918602 (P) 9781610918619 (E) Book page: https://islandpress.org/book/the-community-resilience-reader Founded in 1984, Island Press works to stimulate, shape, and communicate the information that is essential for solving environmental problems. Today, with more than 1,000 titles in print and some 30 new releases each year, it is the nation’s leading publisher of books on environmental issues. Island Press is driving change by moving ideas from the printed page to public discourse and practice.

Island Press’s emphasis is, and will continue to be, on transforming objective information into understanding and action. For more information and further updates be sure to visit www.islandpress.org.

The Post Carbon Institute envisions a transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world.

It provides individuals and communities with the resources needed to understand and respond to the interrelated ecological, economic, energy, and equity crises of the twenty-first century. Visit postcarbon.org for a full list of fellows, publications, and other educational products.

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