Regenerative development: Urbanization, climate change, and the common good

This chapter introduces the concept of regenerative development and provides an overview of existing literature on the topic. Herein, we illustrate the need for a thorough treatment of the subject by scholars in the social sciences. We then summarize the organization of the book and the contributors' approach to the analysis of regenerative development in the context of their disciplines/areas of expertise. The theoretical underpinning of the systems approach espoused by scholars in traditional fields associated with regenerative development has been vetted by social scientists from a variety of fields such as environmental sociology, political ecology, and interdisciplinary practitioners of coupled human and natural systems approaches. This chapter examines the complex ties between urbanization, climate change, and inequality. The existing housing stock undergoes transformations that can be good for energy consumption, but the new homes often have larger ecological footprints overall. Public transportation often improves with urbanization, but the cost is frequently higher than what the poor and lower income families can afford; and those in the service sector are forced into communities that lie outside of public transportation zones. Urban greenways, public transportation, green roof initiatives and energy-efficient buildings are examples of the innovations cities are implementing to ameliorate the costs and risks of their changing climates. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.