What does the transition to a Low Carbon Britain mean for the future development of cities and regions across the country? Does it reinforce existing 'business as usual' or create new transformational opportunities? Low Carbon Nation? takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackle this critical question, by looking across the different dimensions of technological, scientific, social and economic change within the diverse city and regional contexts of the UK.

Hodson and Marvin set out how the transition to low carbon futures needs to be understood as a dual response to the wider financial and economic crisis and to critical ecological concerns about the implications of global climate change. The book develops a novel framework for understanding how the transition to low carbon is informed by historical legacies that shape the geographical, political and cultural dimensions of low carbon responses. Through a programme of research in Scotland, Wales, the North East of England, Greater London, and Greater Manchester, the authors set out different styles of low carbon urban and regional response. Through in-depth illustration of this in newly devolved nations, an old industrial region, a global city-region and in an entrepreneurial city, international lessons can be drawn about the limits and the unrealised opportunities of low carbon transition.

This book is key reading for students on geography, economics, planning and social science degrees, as well as those studying sustainability in related contexts trying to understand the urban and regional politics of low carbon transition. It is also an essential resource for policymakers, public officials, elected representatives, environmentalists and business leaders concerned with shaping the direction and type of transition.

About the Author
Mike Hodson is a researcher at SURF (The Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures) at the University of Salford, and Simon Marvin is Professor at the DEI (Durham Energy Institute) Department of Geography, University of Durham University. Mike and Simon are well known for their research work on urban and regional transitions, territorial responses to climate change and resource constraint and the implications and consequences for new styles of urbanism. They have undertaken comparative work in the UK, within Europe and internationally focused on the world's largest cities in London, New York and Tokyo. They have both been actively engaged in policy debates in the UK and internationally through UNEP and UNDP work on urban responses to ecological change.

Reviews

A must read for those who believe that both carbon and socially just transformations are possible if a different political imaginary can be nurtured. - Erik Swyngedouw, Professor of Geography, University of Manchester

This is a very important book - not only for researchers, but for politicians and citizens concerned with the prospect of a low carbon future. - Harald Rohracher, Professor, Linkoeping University

It is an essential resource for academics, policy makers, public officials, elected representatives, environmentalists and business leaders seeking answers to difficult questions which confront our cities and regions. - Andy Jonas, Professor of Human Geography, Hull University

This is a really useful dissection of the complexities of producing a low carbon society. It provides very significant detail on how low carbon varies across Britain, the causes of such variations and policies that might enhance low carbonism within different areas. - John Urry, Distinguished Professor, Lancaster University

One of the great merits of this book is that it frames the low carbon debate in geo-political terms and refuses to be seduced by fashionable technological fixes. - Kevin Morgan, Professor of Governance and Development, School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff University

Book Information
ISBN 9780415632287
Author Mike Hodson
Format Paperback
Page Count 230
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 362g