From the Ground Up

For decades, American cities have experimented with ways to remake themselves in response to climate change. Theseefforts, often driven by grassroots activism, offer valuable lessons for transforming the places we live. In From the GroundUp: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities, design expert Alison Sant focuses on the unique ways in which US cities areworking to mitigate and adapt to climate change while creating equitable and livable communities. She shows how, fromthe ground up, we are raising the bar to make cities places in which we don’t just survive, but where all citizens have theopportunity to thrive.The efforts discussed in the book demonstrate how urban experimentation and community-based development areinforming long-term solutions. Sant shows how US cities are reclaiming their streets from cars, restoring watersheds,growing forests, and adapting shorelines to improve people’s lives while addressing our changing climate. The bestexamples of this work bring together the energy of community activists, the organization of advocacy groups, the powerof city government, and the reach of federal environmental policy.Sant presents 12 case studies, drawn from research and over 90 interviews with people who are working in these communities to make a difference. For example, advocacy groups in Washington, DC are expanding the urban treecanopy and offering job training in the growing sector of urban forestry. In New York, transit agencies are working tomake streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians while shortening commutes. In San Francisco, community activists arecreating shoreline parks while addressing historic environmental injustice.From the Ground Up is a call to action. When we make the places we live more climate resilient, we need to acknowledgeand address the history of social and racial injustice. Advocates, non-profit organizations, community-based groups, andgovernment officials will find examples of how to build alliances to support and embolden this vision together. Togetherwe can build cities that will be resilient to the challenges ahead.