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Florida, R. 2002. The Rise of the Creative Class. New York, NY: Basic Books.
In 2002 Richard Florida wrote The Rise of the Creative Class, arguing that creative persons would stimulate economic growth and lead to a more marketable city in the competitive urban dynamics of our increasingly globalized world.
Glaeser, E. 2011. Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Glaeser writes in Triumph of the City, that despite getting a bad reputation, cities actually enhance our lives in concrete and objective ways. In this cross-disciplinary analysis, Glaeser traces the role of the city through history in order to understand the role of the city in bettering our lives today.
Hannigan, J. (2014). Environmental Sociology (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis.
This book is a valuable contribution to the newly emerging field of environmental sociology, which was inspired by the 1970 Earth Day demonstrations.
Hawken, P. 2017. Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Drawdown looks at the proposals put in place through Project Drawdown. The book outlines 100 thought-provoking solutions to reverse global warming and restore the planet to its pre-industrial levels of CO2.
Hulchanski, D. 2010. The Three Cities Within Toronto: Income Polarization among Toronto’s Neighborhoods, 1970-2005. Toronto, ON: Cities Center Press.
In this milestone paper, Hulchanski writes that Toronto has been divided into three cities based on growing economic inequality. City #1 around the subway line has seen the greatest amount of economic growth, while City #3 in inner-city neighborhoods has seen a drastic decline in economic growth. City #2, the middle class, has shrunk substantially.
Klein, N. 2014. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Klein’s book looks beyond human destruction to the climate and towards the economic system that guides our Westernized life—capitalism. In this way, she links economics, politics, and the ecology into one inter-connected web where the climate cannot be solved until we look at the roots of our political system.
Speck, J. 2012. Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America One Step At A Time. New York, NY: North Point Press.
According to Speck the one variability that allows a city to thrive is its walkability. In Walkable City, Speck explores why this is the case and how making cities just a little more pedestrian friendly has colossal impact.
Recommended Videos
Before the Flood: https://www.netflix.com/watch/80141928?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C145f23a9-4b80-4669-b9d1-124fa50426d3-116880533%2C%2C
In Before the Flood, Leonardo Di Caprio talks to notable thinkers, such as Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Pope Francis, to understand why human actions are destroying the environment.
Kip Andersen explores the role of a non-truthful meat industry in the face of government deregulation to ultimately show how meat is destroying our eco-system.
Guggenheim, D. (Director). (2006). An Inconvenient Truth [Motion picture]. United States: Lawrence Bender Productions.
This is Al Gore’s highly researched documentary on the impact of climate change in the world. This documentary forced thousands of scientists and students to view ongoing climate change and greenhouse gas effects as a threat to humanity.
Jane Jacobs: City Limits https://www.nfb.ca/film/city_limits/
This documentary features Jane Jacobs speaking about the city and examining both Toronto and New York. Jacobs is interested in the ways that city spaces foster community and social interaction.
The Hidden World of Shadow Cities https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_neuwirth_the_hidden_world_of_shadow_cities
In Shadow Cities, Robert Neuwirth talks about the role of squatter communities in overindustrialized third-world countries. He makes the case that we need to leave room for the legitimization of such a community as they will become increasingly popular as more seek out opportunities in the city and move from rural areas.
Recommended Websites
City Lab: https://www.citylab.com
City Lab is devoted to innovative solutions to common city problems. Through articles, resources, and interactive videos, City Lab is interested in what can be done in the here and the now to make our cities more habitable places.
Environment Canada: www.ec.gc.ca
This is the Canadian Government’s main body for environmental issues. Its mandate is to preserve and improve the quality of the natural environment in Canada. This regularly provides weather updates to Canadians.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: www.ipcc.ch
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the main body for assessing climate change and was established by the UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization. Its responsibility is to provide the world with scientific knowledge about climate change and its environmental and socio-economic impact.
NASA Global Climate Change: https://climate.nasa.gov/blog/
NASA is tracking rising temperatures, rising oceans and ultimately the environmental effects of human actions. Their site provides information on recent studies and statistical analysis of what climate change data means for us right now and for our future.
Next Cities: Inspiring Better Cities: https://nextcity.org
Next City is a not for profit designed to improve and rectify problems associated with city life. They host events, have topics on culture, economics, and tech, along with webinars that provide comprehensive discussions on the optimization of the city sphere.
The City Fix: https://wrirosscities.org/thecityfix
The City Fix is interested in sustainable and ecologically friendly city practices. For example, air pollution, climate resilience, and quality water are all areas that they research and write about.