Degrowth in the Suburbs

While I’m on the announcements train, Degrowth in the Suburbs: A radical urban imaginary, by Brendan Gleeson and Sam Alexander (my co-author for the forthcoming book flagged in the status update just posted) has just been released. Full details are available from the publisher here (there’s also a page for the book on the website of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, where Brendan and Sam both work). From the blurb: Continue reading

Retrofitting Suburbia for Energy Descent Futures

Last week I attended the Eco-city World Summit in Melbourne.[1] On Friday, permaculture co-originator David Holmgren presented an ‘alternative keynote’ based on his forthcoming book RetroSuburbia. The session was arranged and chaired by Sam Alexander, Research Fellow in Sustainable Economy and Consumption with Summit co-organisers Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. Sam invited me to join award winning landscape architect and urban designer Kate Dundas in responding briefly to David’s presentation. My brief was to drill down a little further into the energy context and implications for RetroSuburbia. Continue reading