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Summary
Summary
Permaculture is more than just the latest buzzword; it offers positive solutions for many of the environmental and social challenges confronting us. And nowhere are those remedies more needed and desired than in our cities.
The Permaculture City provides a new way of thinking about urban living, with practical examples for creating abundant food, energy security, close-knit communities, local and meaningful livelihoods, and sustainable policies in our cities and towns. The same nature-based approach that works so beautifully for growing food--connecting the pieces of the landscape together in harmonious ways--applies perfectly to many of our other needs. Toby Hemenway, one of the leading practitioners and teachers of permaculture design, illuminates a new way forward through examples of edge-pushing innovations, along with a deeply holistic conceptual framework for our cities, towns, and suburbs.
The Permaculture City begins in the garden but takes what we have learned there and applies it to a much broader range of human experience; we're not just gardening plants but people, neighborhoods, and even cultures. Hemenway lays out how permaculture design can help towndwellers solve the challenges of meeting our needs for food, water, shelter, energy, community, and livelihood in sustainable, resilient ways. Readers will find new information on designing the urban home garden and strategies for gardening in community, rethinking our water and energy systems, learning the difference between a "job" and a "livelihood," and the importance of placemaking and an empowered community.
This important book documents the rise of a new sophistication, depth, and diversity in the approaches and thinking of permaculture designers and practitioners. Understanding nature can do more than improve how we grow, make, or consume things; it can also teach us how to cooperate, make decisions, and arrive at good solutions.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This eagerly awaited book from West Coast permaculture expert Hemenway, author of the classic Gaia's Garden, pushes permaculture design beyond its usual realm of homesteading and gardening, applying it to the complex systems that make up contemporary urban life. Other permaculturalists are also exploring these ideas, but Hemenway's intelligent, down-to-earth analyses, astute systems thinking, and clear organization offer a particularly comprehensive, open-ended, and sophisticated yet understandable overview to readers who want to discover, evaluate, utilize, and integrate the untapped resources abundant in any city or town. Hemenway focuses on the philosophical, "whetting appetites" and providing toolkits rather than in-depth instruction, with the goal of teaching readers "to become adept at a whole-systems approach to living in and finding solutions in cities, towns, and suburbs." Referencing livable-city innovators such as Jane Jacobs and human-scale design thinkers such as Christopher Alexander, Hemenway shows how permaculture concepts can be stretched and rethought in an urban setting to include not just one's house, garden, and yard but also neighbors, parks, and city agencies. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
For the past six years, Hemenway's acclaimed first book, Gaia's Garden (2009), has been the world's best-selling guidebook on home and garden permaculture. He now continues to champion this environmental philosophy that involves working with nature, instead of against it, for maximum sustainability. Although permaculture practices originally began with small-scale farms and gardens in mind, in his latest work Hemenway presents a much larger vision of applying them to metropolitan settings. In what is more than simply a handbook on finding space to grow fruits and vegetables in the concrete jungle, the author demonstrates just how widely the permaculture net can be cast by including advice on sustainably managing critical urban resources such as water, shelter, electricity, and even community centers. After introductory chapters on permaculture principles and the history and evolution of cities, Hemenway covers the basics of designing urban home gardens before moving on to discuss water wisdom and home energy solutions. An invaluable resource for city planners and dwellers alike, as well as an optimistic exploration of the possibilities for ecological well-being in our future urban landscapes.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2015 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Permaculture refers to a method of agricultural design that uses natural approaches. While several chapters address the unique challenges and opportunities in creating an urban garden, Hemenway refers often to his first book, Gaia's Garden, the initial major volume published in North America on permaculture principles, for further detail. Here, the author's focus narrows to an urban setting, where permaculture means more than having a sustainable garden but can generate powerful change and community growth. Combining anecdotal stories of local U.S. neighborhoods practicing permaculture principles with black-and-white and color photos, Hemenway describes ways in which urban dwellers can not only create their own backyard oasis but join with their neighbors to build shared spaces in which to produce food, culture, and identity. Valuable tips on water conservation via rain harvesting and graywater collection mingle with advice on reducing energy consumption, producing local energy resources, and decreasing your foodshed and carbon footprints. Notes and index provide a reliable reference for further reading. VERDICT An enlightening read for anyone interested in green gardening, environmental ethics, social justice issues, and seeking positive community change.-Venessa Hughes, Buffalo, NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction: Looking at Cities through a Permaculture Lens | p. ix |
| 1 The Surprisingly Green City | p. 1 |
| 2 Permaculture Design with an Urban Twist | p. 19 |
| 3 Designing the Urban Home Garden | p. 49 |
| 4 Techniques for the Urban Home Garden | p. 73 |
| 5 Strategies for Gardening in Community | p. 105 |
| 6 Water Wisdom, Metropolitan Style | p. 127 |
| 7 Energy Solutions for Homes and Communities | p. 153 |
| 8 Livelihood, Real Wealth, and Becoming Valuable | p. 181 |
| 9 Placemaking and the Empowered Community | p. 203 |
| 10 Tools for Designing Resilient Cities | p. 229 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 241 |
| Notes | p. 243 |
| Index | p. 251 |