Free Book! Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes

Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes

Foreword by Oliver Sacks.
Edited by Lindsay Campbell and Anne Wiesen.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been picking my way through this excellent book, which seems to be right in line with the “urban naturalism” that I’ve been exploring for the last year or so. ( http://urbannaturalism.com/ )

I mention it here because it is a valuable resource that will be of interest to many of our readers and because it is also FREE! (either in print or as a PDF e-book)

This new book “explores human health in relation to the urban environment drawing attention to sites and programs that utilize restorative design, foster civic stewardship of natural resources, and promote resilient neighborhoods.”

From the introduction by Lindsay Campbell and Anne Wiesen:

“Parks, community gardens, building exteriors, rights-of-way,
botanical gardens, urban farms, vacant lots, public housing campuses,
and closed landfills offer unique opportunities for restoring social
and ecological function in the public, urban sphere. These fragments
of the commons must be considered as individual and unique, and
simultaneously as parts of a larger system. Even a jail’s yard can serve
as a restorative space for the inmates and staff. Cooperation with land
owners, developers, designers, building managers, and tenants will be
required to work creatively at the critical junctures where public meets
private urban land: including apartment and office building interiors,
front yards, and rooftops.  Humans are unique in that we actively
participate in creating conditions for our own health through the design of our buildings, neighborhoods, and cities at a
global scale. Thus, innovative design is a key approach for building Restorative Commons.”

You can read (or browse) the full book in PDF here:
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs-p-39.pdf

And, as I did, you can have a printed copy sent to you
(Federal tax dollars doing a good work here!):
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/8810
( Click “Order a printed copy of this publication” )

— Chris Smith

FREE EBOOK!
Reading for the Common Good
From ERB Editor Christopher Smith

"This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities
and the life of the church." 
-Karen Swallow Prior

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C. Christopher Smith

C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com