Low Carbon Communities ─ Inspiring Car-Free and Car-Lite Urban Futures

With increasing awareness of the urgent need to respond to global warming by reducing carbon emissions and recognition of the social benefits of car-free and car-lite living, more and more city planners, advocates, and everyday urban dwellers are demanding new ways of building cities. In Low Car(bon) Communities, authors Nicole Foletta and Jason Henderson examine seven case studies in Europe and the United States that aim explicitly to reduce dependency on cars. Innovative and inspirational, these communities provide a rich array of data and metrics for comparison and analysis. This book considers these low car(bon) communities’ potential for transferability to cities around the world, including North America.

Aimed at practicing city planners, sustainable transportation advocates, and students in planning, geography, and environmental studies, this book will be an invaluable benchmark for gauging the success of sustainable urban futures.

Nicole Foletta has worked in the field of transportation planning for over ten years under a variety of contexts, from public to private sector, with experience in both Europe and the United States. She is currently a Senior Transportation Planner at Fehr & Peers transportation consultants in San Francisco, California, USA, where she brings a focus on improving communities to all of her projects and is dedicated to finding innovative solutions that promote sustainable principles.

Jason Henderson is a Geography Professor at San Francisco State University, USA. His research and teaching include transportation and land use, with an emphasis on how culture and politics shape urban transportation policy. His bookStreet Fight: The Politics of Mobility in San Francisco (University of Massachusetts Press 2013) examines debates over freeway removal, parking, bicycle politics, and transit finance.