Concrete Mirage

Erin Heinz is a sociologist and research associate at Boston University's Institute for Global Sustainability.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Paradox of Sustainable DevelopmentChapter 1: LEED for Cities: Metrics of Endurance?Chapter 2: Metrics for Profitable PredictionsChapter 3: Barriers to Transformation Part I: Stunted EquityChapter 4: Barriers to Transformation Part II: Controlled ParticipationChapter 5: Building Cohesion? The Planned City and Social EquityConclusion: Rethinking FoundationsAppendix A: Stone MotherAppendix B: A Note on Research MethodologyBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

"In Concrete Mirage: Governance, Equity, and Sustainable Cities in the United States Southwest, sociologist Erin Heinz offers a compelling investigation into the promises and challenges of implementing the principles of sustainable development in the creation of sustainable cities in the American Southwest. But much like the shimmering distortions the intensive desert heat reflects upon our asphalt highways, the certification of these sustainable cities may be more illusion than concrete fact. Importantly, Heinz unpacks the challenges cities and third-party certification agents face in achieving the critical aspects of social sustainability in addition to the better-understand environmental and economic aspects."