Transforming Distressed Global Communities

This volume argues for the need to redesign and re-plan our cities in holistic ways that reflect our new understanding and relate to their diversity and multi-dimensionality. Presenting a range of case studies from around the world, this volume examines how these distressed cities are dealing with these issues in planning for their future. Alongside these empirical chapters are philosophical essays that consider the future of distressed cities. Bringing together a team of leading scholars, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, private consulting firms, international organizations and foundations, and policy officials, this volume provides a unique and comprehensive overview on how to transform distressed communities into more livable places.

Fritz W. Wagner is co-Director of the Northwest Center for Livable Communities, Research Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning, and former Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington. Dr. Wagner also taught at the University of New Orleans, where he served as Director and founding Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs for twenty years. Riad G. Mahayni is a Professor Emeritus of Community and Regional Planning at Iowa State University and former Chair of the Department. He previously taught at the University of Rhode Island, where he chaired its Urban Affairs Program. Dr. Mahayni worked as the Technical Coordinator of the Makkah (Mecca) Region Planning and Development Project, Saudi Arabia, with Dar Al Handasah Consultants. Andreas G. Piller is a Master of Planning graduate at the University of Washington focusing on land use and transportation. He has a B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has worked in the Transportation Department at the City of Bellevue, Washington since 2011.

1: Introduction; 2: Berlin; 3: Marseille; 4: Liverpool Story; 5: The Evolution of City-Wide Master Plans in the Context of Urban Shrinkage; 6: Houston; 7: The Transformation of a Mid-Sized Metropolitan Area in Canada; 8: Rio de Janeiro; 9: In the Wake of Katrina; 10: Distressed City; 11: "Green, Global, and Connected"; 12: A Transformational Path for Cape Town, South Africa; 13: Twilight in Delhi; 14: Planning the Recovery; 15: Rapid Urbanization and Healthy Cities and Healthy Villages Programs in the Eastern Mediterranean; 16: Integrated Urban-Rural Planning in China; 17: Visions of New Urban-Rural Relations and Alternative Definitions of Well-Being in Rapidly Urbanizing China; 18: City Life in Modernizing Societies; 19: Best Practice Methods for Cities; 20: Conclusions and Lessons Learned