Urban sprawl, global warming, and the empire of capital / George A. Gonzalez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gonzalez, George A., 1969- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City planning--United States.

City planning.

Regional planning--United States.

Regional planning.

Cities and towns--Growth--Environmental aspects--United States.

Cities and towns.

Geopolitics--United States.

Geopolitics.

Real estate development--United States.

Real estate development.

Urban economics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (173 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York : State University of New York Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Argues that the United States refuses to address global warming because of the reliance of the American economy on urban sprawl. This far-reaching and penetrating study sheds new light on the role of the United States in global warming. Shortly after the Second World War, urban development in the United States became an important spur for the global economy, creating demand for products such as automobiles, furniture, and appliances. Growing urban sprawl in recent decades is also a key factor behind the massive energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of the American economy. Although today the United States is the largest per capita emitter of carbon dioxide, the nation's culpability in global warming is frequently sidestepped due to the enormous political and economic influence of corporations and wealthy individuals who continue to benefit from America's access to abundant supplies of fossil fuels. Troubling and insightful, Urban Sprawl, Global Warming, and the Empire of Capital reveals both the alarming global consequences of urban sprawl at home and the entrenched political and economic forces working against a solution to the problem. George A. Gonzalez is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami. He is the author of The Politics of Air Pollution: Urban Growth, Ecological Modernization, and Symbolic Inclusion and the coeditor (with Sheldon Kamieniecki and Robert O. Vos) of Flashpoints in Environmental Policymaking: Controversies in Achieving Sustainability , both also published by SUNY Press.

Contents:

Urban Sprawl, Global Warming,and the Empire of Capital; Contents; Acknowledgments; 1. Urban Sprawl and the Empire of Capital; 2. Political Economy and the Imperatives of the State; 3. Real Estate Interests and the Techniques of Urban Sprawl; 4. The Federal Government and the National Establishment of Urban Sprawl; 5. U.S. Oil Policy and Urban Sprawl; 6. Democratic Ethics,Environmental Groups,and Symbolic Inclusion: The Case of Global Warming; Conclusion: Political Power and the Future of the Planet; Notes; References; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W

YZ

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-7914-9400-4