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Blue Urbanism: Exploring Connections Between Cities and Oceans
What would it mean to live in cities designed to foster feelings of connectedness to the ocean? As coastal cities begin planning for climate change and rising sea levels, author Timothy Beatley sees opportunities for rethinking the relationship between urban development and the ocean. Modern society is more dependent upon ocean resources than people are commonly aware of—from oil and gas extraction to wind energy, to the vast amounts of fish harvested globally, to medicinal compounds derived from sea creatures, and more. In Blue Urbanism , Beatley argues that, given all we’ve gained from the sea, city policies, plans, and daily urban life should acknowledge and support a healthy ocean environment.
The book explores issues ranging from urban design and land use, to resource extraction and renewable energy, to educating urbanites about the wonders of marine life. Beatley looks at how emerging practices like “community supported fisheries” and aquaponics can provide a sustainable alternative to industrial fishing practices. Other chapters delve into incentives for increasing use of wind and tidal energy as renewable options to oil and gas extraction that damages ocean life, and how the shipping industry is becoming more “green.” Additionally, urban citizens, he explains, have many opportunities to interact meaningfully with the ocean, from beach cleanups to helping scientists gather data.
While no one city “has it all figured out,” Beatley finds evidence of a changing ethic in cities around the a marine biodiversity census in Singapore, decreasing support for shark-finning in Hong Kong, “water plazas” in Rotterdam, a new protected area along the rocky shore of Wellington, New Zealand, “bluebelt” planning in Staten Island, and more. Ultimately he explains we must create a culture of “ocean literacy” using a variety of approaches, from building design and art installations that draw inspiration from marine forms, to encouraging citizen volunteerism related to oceans, to city-sponsored research, and support for new laws that protect marine health.
Equal parts inspiration and practical advice for urban planners, ocean activists, and policymakers, Blue Urbanism offers a comprehensive look at the challenges and great potential for urban areas to integrate ocean health into their policy and planning goals.
The book explores issues ranging from urban design and land use, to resource extraction and renewable energy, to educating urbanites about the wonders of marine life. Beatley looks at how emerging practices like “community supported fisheries” and aquaponics can provide a sustainable alternative to industrial fishing practices. Other chapters delve into incentives for increasing use of wind and tidal energy as renewable options to oil and gas extraction that damages ocean life, and how the shipping industry is becoming more “green.” Additionally, urban citizens, he explains, have many opportunities to interact meaningfully with the ocean, from beach cleanups to helping scientists gather data.
While no one city “has it all figured out,” Beatley finds evidence of a changing ethic in cities around the a marine biodiversity census in Singapore, decreasing support for shark-finning in Hong Kong, “water plazas” in Rotterdam, a new protected area along the rocky shore of Wellington, New Zealand, “bluebelt” planning in Staten Island, and more. Ultimately he explains we must create a culture of “ocean literacy” using a variety of approaches, from building design and art installations that draw inspiration from marine forms, to encouraging citizen volunteerism related to oceans, to city-sponsored research, and support for new laws that protect marine health.
Equal parts inspiration and practical advice for urban planners, ocean activists, and policymakers, Blue Urbanism offers a comprehensive look at the challenges and great potential for urban areas to integrate ocean health into their policy and planning goals.
216 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 10, 2020
A colleague of mine (I work in government consulting) recently recommended this book to me after I expressed my newfound broadened perspective of how we are harming the oceans and ourselves after reading Plastic Ocean by Captain Charles Moore. It was a perfect follow up, and is a much needed way of thinking about urbanism. There is so much talk about “green,” but most cities reside on a body of water and we are all so deeply connected to the ocean.
There were a lot of good ideas in here and I liked the real life examples. I was a bit saddened to google some of those examples and find that they seemed defunct or like the ideas never really took off, like urban aquaponics and blue roofs. Still, we mustn’t lose faith. And I was proud as an Angleno to see that LA WaterKeepers is still doing their thing! I’m inspired and grateful to Timothy Beatley for raising awareness of why and how cities can better integrate with and protect the oceans.
There were a lot of good ideas in here and I liked the real life examples. I was a bit saddened to google some of those examples and find that they seemed defunct or like the ideas never really took off, like urban aquaponics and blue roofs. Still, we mustn’t lose faith. And I was proud as an Angleno to see that LA WaterKeepers is still doing their thing! I’m inspired and grateful to Timothy Beatley for raising awareness of why and how cities can better integrate with and protect the oceans.
August 21, 2014
A practical guide to living like we love the water, even in cities.
October 3, 2017
Interesting read. Great book for getting cities to think about how to get their residents attached to the ocean and how urban planning can bridge this gap. Bit too much use of 'utilising'... 'using' would have sufficed.
March 14, 2017
Good policy outlines and recommendations but poorly written. If I never see the word "perhaps" again, I'll have already seen it too many times thanks to this book.
Wish there were more scientific, data-specific citations on outcomes rather than just words like "show improvement" or "positive impact" plus an endnote linking the original study.
Even in the three years since this book has been published, I see many more cities implementing some of these ideas. Certainly the outline of this book presents is a good jumping off point for local-level decision-makers interested in incorporating water-friendly strategies into city and regional policies.
Wish there were more scientific, data-specific citations on outcomes rather than just words like "show improvement" or "positive impact" plus an endnote linking the original study.
Even in the three years since this book has been published, I see many more cities implementing some of these ideas. Certainly the outline of this book presents is a good jumping off point for local-level decision-makers interested in incorporating water-friendly strategies into city and regional policies.
March 8, 2014
Humanity has an intrinsic sense of what our urban world entails. When we hear the word urbanism, we think of infrastructure. Concrete. Glass. Roads. Parks. Houses. What we never pause to think of is water, and not the water that runs from our tap, but the synergistic relationship we have with the oceans and rivers that make up the majority of this planet. We hear about the changing habits of water on a daily basis - shortages, dams, storm water runoff - but before Blue Urbanism, I had yet to read a good book that tackled issues around the urban environment and one of the most important aspects of our planet: the ocean.
The book has eight chapters which focus on different aspects of our urban connection to water. They cover everything from fish populations to parks to "blue belts," a phrase I had never heard before. The book begins with a chapter on the ocean and urban environment. It includes some fantastic facts to consider: "350 million jobs globally are dependent on oceans, and the annual trade in fish and seafood generates $108 billion." These facts alone are staggering and Beatley is just getting started at this point. To make things stronger, he contrasts our negligence - and strong amounts of apathy - towards our oceans with the strong upswing of care we are investing into our cities and infrastructure. Beatley even coins the term "ocean sprawl" to define some of the harmful acts that are taking place within our oceans as our on-land activities migrate farther and farther out to sea.
We know of several roads or highways that have transected wildlife habitats to the point that we post signs warning of possible collisions with animals crossing roads that are unfamiliar with them. Yet, we don’t erect signs in the middle of shipping routes to stop from crossing migratory paths of whales or dolphins who are killed en masse by the increasingly staggering amount of tankers crossing our oceans. Definitely food for thought.
Reading through Blue Urbanism, I often found myself wondering what type of approach - focusing on positive vs negative aspects - would be more effective in instigating a paradigm shift. This is truly a million-dollar question and I was not asking this from a cynical point of view, or to undermine any of the great statistical work that Beatley accomplishes. We hear frequently about the many wrongs we do, yet no change seems to occur. To his credit, Beatley is truly a champion in this area, showing a passion from chapter to chapter that brings the ocean to the table for discussion.
As I finished Blue Urbanism I was struck again by the thought that something so integral to our lives - water, oceans - can hide just out of our field of view because it doesn't directly impact our day to day life (a fact pointed out by Beatley). This is all too common and the absurdness I felt at times reading over Beatley's passionate words made me question (in a good sense) my own ability to see everything as a whole. Without seeing the ocean as part of the picture, we are not seeing the full image, and thusly are making decisions which may short-sightedly benefit our urban lifestyle, to the detriment of our oceans.
It is clear that a healthier, more cohesive connection needs to be made between the two. One that breeds a prosperous future......this, to me, was the main message I took away from the book. The ideas of "Blue Belts" should not cause a chuckle for their seemingly odd place in the urban language, but should be reflected upon seriously. I feel fortunate to have been able to come to this realization through reading Blue Urbanism.....a fantastic book for anyone wanting to see positive changes made to protect our fragile ecosystems.
The book has eight chapters which focus on different aspects of our urban connection to water. They cover everything from fish populations to parks to "blue belts," a phrase I had never heard before. The book begins with a chapter on the ocean and urban environment. It includes some fantastic facts to consider: "350 million jobs globally are dependent on oceans, and the annual trade in fish and seafood generates $108 billion." These facts alone are staggering and Beatley is just getting started at this point. To make things stronger, he contrasts our negligence - and strong amounts of apathy - towards our oceans with the strong upswing of care we are investing into our cities and infrastructure. Beatley even coins the term "ocean sprawl" to define some of the harmful acts that are taking place within our oceans as our on-land activities migrate farther and farther out to sea.
We know of several roads or highways that have transected wildlife habitats to the point that we post signs warning of possible collisions with animals crossing roads that are unfamiliar with them. Yet, we don’t erect signs in the middle of shipping routes to stop from crossing migratory paths of whales or dolphins who are killed en masse by the increasingly staggering amount of tankers crossing our oceans. Definitely food for thought.
Reading through Blue Urbanism, I often found myself wondering what type of approach - focusing on positive vs negative aspects - would be more effective in instigating a paradigm shift. This is truly a million-dollar question and I was not asking this from a cynical point of view, or to undermine any of the great statistical work that Beatley accomplishes. We hear frequently about the many wrongs we do, yet no change seems to occur. To his credit, Beatley is truly a champion in this area, showing a passion from chapter to chapter that brings the ocean to the table for discussion.
As I finished Blue Urbanism I was struck again by the thought that something so integral to our lives - water, oceans - can hide just out of our field of view because it doesn't directly impact our day to day life (a fact pointed out by Beatley). This is all too common and the absurdness I felt at times reading over Beatley's passionate words made me question (in a good sense) my own ability to see everything as a whole. Without seeing the ocean as part of the picture, we are not seeing the full image, and thusly are making decisions which may short-sightedly benefit our urban lifestyle, to the detriment of our oceans.
It is clear that a healthier, more cohesive connection needs to be made between the two. One that breeds a prosperous future......this, to me, was the main message I took away from the book. The ideas of "Blue Belts" should not cause a chuckle for their seemingly odd place in the urban language, but should be reflected upon seriously. I feel fortunate to have been able to come to this realization through reading Blue Urbanism.....a fantastic book for anyone wanting to see positive changes made to protect our fragile ecosystems.
March 30, 2016
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and was inspired by it. I love reading conservation and science based books, but I wasn’t really certain about the premise of ‘Blue Urbanism’. However, from the first paragraph, I was completely hooked. I read it from cover to cover in two hours (at the detriment to the things I should have been doing, like study and housework…)
Beatley broke down the chapters wonderfully. They were distinctly different, but wove into one another so that you could follow his argument and point. The preface also helped to place his point in context and let you know what you were getting yourself into. It’s always nice when you can read a preface (or blurb) and say “yes, this is the book for me”.
Each chapter not only outlines Beatley’s argument, it also provides some great examples of areas across the world that are using his ideas. In chapter seven, when he is discussing the idea of citizen science in marine conservation, he discusses the Dolphin Watch program in Perth. I found this incredibly helpful. Not only are you being inspired by new ways to protect our gorgeous oceans, you also get examples of ways that this is already happening. It’s a healthy dose of optimism in an otherwise complex and very serious issue.
I really enjoyed the pace of this book and the ways in which it inspired me. I find with some science or conservation based books, they are a little dry and inaccessible to people who don’t have a writhing passion for its topic. Luckily, I generally have that desire, so it doesn’t bother me. But I would rarely recommend these books to my friends and family – they get bored a little too easily. I would easily recommend Blue Urbanism. Beatley covers the issues well, without harping on. He also shows the reader how serious the consequences can be if we don’t start employing Blue Urbanism in our coastal cities; but it’s not all doom and gloom. He has a healthy dose of hopefulness for the future and in being so sanguine about our potential, he inspires you to get off your butt and do something.
This is definitely one of the better science based books I’ve read in a long time and is definitely worth sinking your teeth into. Especially if you live near the coast.
Beatley broke down the chapters wonderfully. They were distinctly different, but wove into one another so that you could follow his argument and point. The preface also helped to place his point in context and let you know what you were getting yourself into. It’s always nice when you can read a preface (or blurb) and say “yes, this is the book for me”.
Each chapter not only outlines Beatley’s argument, it also provides some great examples of areas across the world that are using his ideas. In chapter seven, when he is discussing the idea of citizen science in marine conservation, he discusses the Dolphin Watch program in Perth. I found this incredibly helpful. Not only are you being inspired by new ways to protect our gorgeous oceans, you also get examples of ways that this is already happening. It’s a healthy dose of optimism in an otherwise complex and very serious issue.
I really enjoyed the pace of this book and the ways in which it inspired me. I find with some science or conservation based books, they are a little dry and inaccessible to people who don’t have a writhing passion for its topic. Luckily, I generally have that desire, so it doesn’t bother me. But I would rarely recommend these books to my friends and family – they get bored a little too easily. I would easily recommend Blue Urbanism. Beatley covers the issues well, without harping on. He also shows the reader how serious the consequences can be if we don’t start employing Blue Urbanism in our coastal cities; but it’s not all doom and gloom. He has a healthy dose of hopefulness for the future and in being so sanguine about our potential, he inspires you to get off your butt and do something.
This is definitely one of the better science based books I’ve read in a long time and is definitely worth sinking your teeth into. Especially if you live near the coast.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews