304 pages
7 x 10
81 photos, 32 illustrations
For decades, American cities have experimented with ways to remake themselves in response to climate change. These efforts, often driven by grassroots activism, offer valuable lessons for transforming the places we live. In From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities, design expert Alison Sant focuses on the unique ways in which US cities are working to mitigate and adapt to climate change while creating equitable and livable communities. She shows how, from the ground up, we are raising the bar to make cities places in which we don’t just survive, but where all people have the opportunity to thrive.
The efforts discussed in the book demonstrate how urban experimentation and community-based development are informing 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 best examples of this work bring together the energy of community activists, the organization of advocacy groups, the power of 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 tree canopy and offering job training in the growing sector of urban forestry. In New York, transit agencies are working to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians while shortening commutes. In San Francisco, community activists are creating 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 acknowledge and address the history of social and racial injustice. Advocates, non-profit organizations, community-based groups, and government officials will find examples of how to build alliances to support and embolden this vision together. Together we can build cities that will be resilient to the challenges ahead.
"It’s the details from her interviews that make this book a valuable tool. Seeing how change is made allows readers to understand how, in their own communities, they too might be able to forge fruitful relationships to dismantle racist histories in favor of equity while equipping their city to handle climate change."
ASLA's The Dirt
"The contribution of the book lies in its practicality and applicability, showing us how this knowledge is operationalized in real-life cases and communities. As such, this book can be best read by fellow city-makers, urban planners, as well as researchers interested in the bottom-up approach for inspiration and to find applicable ideas for setting up community initiatives that last."
Journal of Urban Affairs
"The book is intended as a ‘call for action’ by showcasing exemplars of progressive urban change, demonstrating how neighborhoods and cities can be transformed to improve resilience and equality. It is beautifully written and illustrated, reflecting a care for detail and clarity that is a feature of the patient, humble nature of much of the work of the citizens, activists, public servants and professionals that it reports."
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment
"Especially and unreservedly recommended reading for environmental activists and governmental policy makers, From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities is a clarion and illustrated call to action regarding the necessity for communities to become climate resilient in the face of inexorable climate change driven impacts while acknowledging and addressing the unfortunate social and racial injustice of past urban developments."
Midwest Book Review
"From the Ground Up is an exciting contribution to action and debate about how cities can be transformed to adapt to changing climates, restore degraded environments and address social and racial injustice. The case study stories are presented in rich detail, demonstrating the power and promise of small interventions, without shying away from the struggles and persistence required to achieve progress. It is a useful casebook to share knowledge and inspire impactful action to create towards more resilient, just cities."
Journal of Housing and the Built Environment
"This clearly written book is the outcome of very thorough research by the author on actions by communities elaborating solutions for their neighborhoods to make them more livable, adaptable, and to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change."
Urban Design Journal
"Alison Sant’s adoration of urban ecosystems is palpable in From the Ground Up. Starting from the soil, she walks with leaders in cities’ natural resources and follows the interconnectedness of the streams below our sidewalks and the branches that brush our skyscrapers, the waters that lap our coastlines, and the people in neighborhoods who make it all possible. For those of us planning amidst multiple interconnected crises, Sant’s From the Ground Up is a critical reminder that the best solutions are led by communities first."
Erin Barnes, Founder and CEO of ioby
"Resiliency is more than infrastructure, organization, finance, and process. It’s all those things, but first and foremost, it’s about people seizing the resources at hand and taking control of our collective destiny. This is hard work, but fortunately, in this great read, Alison Sant points the way."
Anthony A. Williams, CEO and Executive Director, Federal City Council; former Mayor of the District of Columbia
"If you are like me and hope sometimes fails you, I have good news: Alison Sant has come to help. From the Ground Up surveys American cities not for their failings, but for the means of their future remaking. Her solution: Listen. Watch. Inquire. Communities, most especially communities of color, are developing solutions that do work. Show; don’t preach. If people like your idea, they will start doing it too. It’s ecological democracy. It’s not giving in. In this book are examples from sea to shining sea."
Eric W. Sanderson, Senior Conservation Ecologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society and author of "Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City"
Foreword by Eric W. Sanderson
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Interviewees
A Note on the Illustrations
Introduction: Reimagining Our Cities
PART 1: RECLAIM THE STREETS
CHAPTER 1: Places by People, San Francisco
CHAPTER 2: Safe Streets for Everyone, Minneapolis
CHAPTER 3: Making the City Accessible, New York City
ESSAY: Building Inclusive Cities from the Ground Up
by Tamika L. Butler
PART 2: TEAR UP THE CONCRETE
CHAPTER 4: Living with Water, New Orleans
CHAPTER 5: Watershed Planning, Portland
CHAPTER 6: Green Spaces for All, Philadelphia
ESSAY: Green Infrastructure Lessons from US Cities
by Mami Hara
PART 3: PLANT THE CITY
CHAPTER 7: Canopy Cover in the “City of Trees,” Washington, DC
CHAPTER 8: From Street Trees to Natural Areas, New York City
CHAPTER 9: The Forest in the City, Baltimore
PART 4: ADAPT THE SHORELINE
CHAPTER 10: Restoring Nature and Building Equity, San Francisco
CHAPTER 11: Growing One Billion Oysters, New York City
CHAPTER 12: Moving Away from the Coast, Louisiana
ESSAY: Adapting Urban Districts to Sea-Level Rise
by Mimicking Natural Processes by Kristina Hill
Conclusion: A Path Forward
Notes
About the Author
Now virtual:
From parklets and quick-build projects to its recent Slow Streets initiative, San Francisco has been a leader in experimenting with remaking its streetscapes. However, these programs and their benefits are often unequally distributed. One such example is the Tenderloin, which had fewer public street amenities than most other neighborhoods before the pandemic and was one of the last to see these types of projects unfold since. And, despite being San Francisco’s most dense neighborhood, with the highest number of unhoused residents, it suffers from a prioritization of automobile expedience over safe neighborhood streets, resulting in the highest number of incidents of traffic violence in the city. However, the efforts of grassroots organizers, advocacy groups and social enterprises are creating new models of ground-up approaches to neighborhood safety, including community policing, block safety and resident corner captains.
Join a panel discussion led by Alison Sant, the author of the new book From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities, to examine the ways in which local leaders are shaping the Tenderloin and the initiatives that may provide solutions to our most difficult challenges.
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET
Cities are experimenting with ways of reintroducing nature to be resilient to the rising tides, floods, and extreme weather events caused by climate change – from restoring wetlands to constructing oyster reefs, and expanding the floodplains of creeks, streams, and rivers.
This presentation will cover:
This webinar brings together experts in science, community organizing, and design--including From the Ground Up author Alison Sant--in a discussion about nature-based adaptation solutions.
Panelists
For decades, American cities have experimented with ways to remake themselves in response to climate change. These efforts, often driven by grassroots activism, offer valuable lessons for transforming the places we live. In From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities, design expert Alison Sant focuses on the unique ways in which US cities are working to mitigate and adapt to climate change while creating equitable and livable communities. She shows how, from the ground up, we are raising the bar to make cities places in which we don’t just survive, but where all people have the opportunity to thrive.
The efforts discussed in the book demonstrate how urban experimentation and community-based development are informing 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 best examples of this work bring together the energy of community activists, the organization of advocacy groups, the power of city government, and the reach of federal environmental policy.
Transportation accounts for the largest share of emissions in the United States. But many U.S. cities benefit by having dense urban footprints. By expanding low- and zero-carbon mobility options, cities can help to build more equitable transportation systems and increase economic mobility.
Join the Smart Growth Network as Alison Sant, author of From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities, Tracey Capers of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in New York City, and Ashwat Narayanan of Our Streets Minneapolis identify how to serve under-resourced communities through investments in walking, cycling, and public transportation.
Participants of the live webinar are eligible for one Equity credit and 1.5 AICP CM credits (live attendance required).
In the Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs wrote, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody”.
Today, the tactics of reclaiming the street with Parklets, Slow Streets, and Shared Spaces has exploded during the COVID Pandemic. However, these street interventions are not equally distributed. As they have spread in cities throughout the United States, they have exacerbated growing spatial inequalities. How do we reclaim streets from cars to create public spaces that serve everyone? Roads account for more than 25% of urban areas. What are they best used for and how should they be programmed?
Join a panel discussion with Tamika Butler, a national expert on the built environment and equity; Dani Simons, the Director of Public Affairs for the USDOT; and urbanist John Bela, one of the creators of Park(ing) Day, in conversation with Alison Sant, author of From the Ground Up."
Join Harvard Extension School’s Sustainability and Global Development Practice Degree Programs and Dean Nancy J. Coleman as we celebrate Earth Day 2022. This is an online Zoom event with your hosts Mark Leighton, Associate Director, and Lindi von Mutius, Director, Sustainability and Global Development Practice Degree Programs.
Helping communities to thrive in the face of climate change and other large challenges can seem like a daunting challenge. Learn how From the Ground Up author Alison Sant and Sonaar Luthra successfully work with communities using data, technology, community organizing, and a focus on equity.
Our relationship to water is increasingly defining the design of cities. Cloudbursts overwhelm watersheds, flooding low lying areas, while storm surges inundate coastlines.
How are cities using green infrastructure and nature-based solutions to manage floodwaters while creating jobs and co-powering communities?
This panel will explore the ways in which cities are adapting to the threats of future floods by greening streets, designing adaptive neighborhoods, creating absorbent schoolyards, and restoring habitat. Join this panel discussion moderated by Alison Sant, author of From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities.
Panelists: Jessica Dandridge, Executive Director of The Water Collaborative in New Orleans Owen Franklin, Pennsylvania State Director Trust for Public Land Peter Malinowski, Executive Director, Billion Oyster Project in New York City
Join author Alison Sant, the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC), and our partners, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria for a tree planting event on Saturday, October 29 in Highbridge Park, Manhattan.
This event highlights the power of the written word, community engagement, and local nature conservation — and the exciting collaborations that can happen when they all come together! At 9:00 A.M., participants will meet at the Word Up Community Bookshop for a welcome and to meet author and urban planner Alison Sant who recently published her book: From the Ground Up - Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities.
After this short introduction, we’ll walk across the street to Highbridge Park for a walking tour and tree planting. As we walk to the tree planting site, experts from the NAC and NYRP will discuss how we’re working in the park to keep the forests healthy and encourage community stewardship. The group will then have the opportunity to plant a number of native trees and shrubs to improve the forest.
The meeting location for this event is Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria at 2113 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10032. Please come dressed in sturdy boots or shoes, long pants, and clothing that can get dirty. Face masks are required when visiting the Bookshop. Registration is required. Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by a chaperone.
This event is made possible thanks to generous funding from Con Edison. The NAC’s community forestry program in Highbridge Park is supported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Hudson River Estuary Program. And the plants and shrubs planted during this event are provided through a grant from the Greenacre Foundation.
All Together Now: Action + Accountablility for People-Foucsed Mobility. Happening in Chicago from May 2 - 4. Alison Sant, author of From the Ground Up, keynoting the conference.
Funding & Affordability
Tools & Incentives
Infrastructure
Metrics & Outcomes
Hurricane Ida’s record flooding in 2021, summer of 2023 heat records, and record for worst urban air quality in the world on June 8, 2023, these events demonstrate that climate change is on Philly’s doorstep, and we must respond. What is Philadelphia doing to address the effects of climate change from the parcel, project, and regional scale while addressing historic environmental injustices?
Join AIA Philadelphia and ULI Philadelphia to hear about the creative ways in which our local leaders are responding with solutions that will work in our specific context.
The Urban Resilience Forum will be a half-day program with three sessions featuring guest speakers presenting case studies, moderated conversations, and audience Q&A. Following the program, continue the conversation over a networking happy hour.
Learn about Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), Trust for Public Land (TPL), and Patterson Elementary School’s collaboration to develop a storm water solution that also provides environmental justice and educational opportunities. These projects are featured in Alison Sant's book From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities, who will be moderating the panel.
Hear how commercial property owners are making investments at key moments in a building’s lifecycle to improve environmental efficiencies and drive higher returns.
Hear how local government, news outlets, state representatives, community organizers, and infrastructure design firms might approach opportunities to balance regional needs to move people and goods, improve safety, enhance neighborhoods, and decarbonize the built and transportation environment.
Agenda
Doors Open at 12:30 PM
Welcome 12:45 PM
Panel 1: 1 - 2 PM - Eco-Inclusivity: Ensuring Green Stormwater Practices Benefit All Communities
10 min break
Panel 2: 2:10 - 3:10 PM - Pivotal Points: Capitalizing on Building Milestones for Environmental Gains
10 min break
Panel 3: 3:20 - 4:20 PM - Collaborative Roadmaps: Engaging Multiple Stakeholders to Design and Build More Resilient Regional Transportation System
Closing Remarks – 4:20 PM – 4:30 PM
Networking 4:30 - 6 PM
Read part of chapter 1 below or download it here.
In a commentary piece written in collaboration with the Urban Resilience Project, Alison Sant (author of From the Ground Up) writes that as the conversations about power, equity and climate reverberate around the country, the solution to these systemic problems must include streets.
She writes:
In my neighborhood in San Francisco’s Mission District, you can walk down Valencia Street – literally, the middle of the street – on the weekend. People pour into former car lanes to eat dinner and sip cocktails at freshly laid tables. Shops selling vintage clothes, records, flowers and coffee burst out of their storefronts while street performances draw crowds no longer confined to the narrow sidewalk. Pedestrians meander along the entire roadway, runners bounce through the crowds, and bikes and scooters snake their way down the street.
Read the full article published in U.S. News & World Report HERE.
In a new analysis published in collaboration with the Urban Resilience Project, Alison Sant (author of From the Ground Up) spotlights the Open Streets model for prioritizing people on city streets.
Sant writes:
The 34th Avenue Open Street shows how urban roads can be repurposed to make a more livable city. Even more, it is an example of how communities must lead these efforts so that streets reflect a common vision for what communities care about.
Read the full piece published in City Limits HERE.